The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and that means pulling out all the stops on fun finger food. And anything with cheese, sausage, and jalapenos should surely get you extra points!
We were introduced to these Italian Stuffed Jalapenos a couple years ago at a potluck party. The loaded peppers were the new dish on the block, and the biggest hit of the evening.
If you’re not afraid of a little jalapeno kick (yes, that’s a dare!), give these ultra flavorful and just plain addictive Italian Stuffed Jalapenos a try.
Joel’s Italian Stuffed Jalapenos
(print recipe)
15 jalapenos cut in half, seeded and deveined
1 T. canola oil
1 lb. mild Italian sausage
1/4 c. minced red onion
1/4 c. minced red bell pepper
3 T. minced fresh garlic
2 c. cream cheese
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
minced chives for garnish
Preheat oven to 350°.
Place halved jalapenos on a pan wrapped in aluminum foil, for easy clean up. Or place jalapenos directly on an oven safe serving dish, to serve directly from. Roast for 10 minutes, or until nicely softened. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Heat the oil in a medium saute pan. Add the sausage and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, and garlic and cook to soften for about 5 minutes. Remove and place in a large bowl. Cool to room temperature, then add cream cheese and Parmesan. Mix ingredients thoroughly and season with salt and pepper, as needed.
Place approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture into each jalapeno half, and top with a bit of mozzarella cheese.
Turn broiler on medium-high.
Place the stuffed peppers back in the oven and broil until the mozzarella cheese melts and is nicely browned. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with a bit more shredded Parmesan, and then the chives. Serve warm.
*Note: This does take some time to assemble, but it’s easy to prepare most of it earlier in the day. Have your jalapenos ready by slicing, deveining and seeding them, and then place them in the refrigerator. Prepare the stuffing mixture of sausage, onion, pepper, garlic, cream cheese, and Parmesan (salt & pepper, to taste), and place in a bowl in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake the jalapenos, most of the work has already been done!
Servings: 4 to 6 appetizer size portions
Source: Joel Symmank’s recipe box, adapted from Guy Fieri’s (maker of some serious guy food!) original recipe on Food Network
Here are some more famous Game Day hits!
You didn’t really think I could leave out the chocolate, didja?! 
I’m linking up with:
Cheryl at Tidy Mom for I’m Lovin’ It Friday
Kim at Quit Eating Out for Saturday Swap
Lisa at Simply…This, That & the Other! for Sweet Treat Saturday
Absolutely not!
All of these delicious looking appetizers and treats may just make me become a football fan!
It all looks fabulous!
these look awesome!! I love stuffed jalapenos but have never seen a version like this. I bet they are DELICIOUS!
found you on Saturday Swap!
Wonderful to hear from you, Aggie – thank you!
Ok, I thought I was following you on Twitter and somehow wasn’t! Anyhoo, I’ve corrected that and just tweeted this. Sounds perfect for an appetizer or SuperBowl. Thanks so very much for linking to Saturday Swap with this!!! Have a great weekend…
Kim at Quit Eating Out {Recipes to Make Dining Out a Choice, Not a Chore} recently posted..Its Time for Saturday Swap! Im sharing Grilled Chicken- Whats Your Recipe
Thanks much, Kim!
I was just asked to bring something to a Super Bowl party we are going to. I’m thinking it will be these, they look delicious!!
amelia recently posted..sweets to the sweet
You just can’t go wrong, Amelia – they’re always a hit!
Yummy!!! We love stuffed jalapenos at our house and can’t wait to try this version. Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome – would love to hear what you think of them!
We tried stuffed peppers for the first time over the holidays……this sound delicious!!
Thanks for linking up! I featured your post in my wrap up post http://tidymom.net/2011/projects-by-you/
TidyMom recently posted..I’m Lovin’ It Wrap Up 1-30-11
Thanks so much, Cheryl – I’m Lovin’ It.
I have never seen jalapenos stuffed like this. These would for sure be a hit at my Super Bowl Party. I love your photos.
Thanks, Jenn – great to hear from you!
I’m a day late on those jalapeno poppers! But that’s OK, I printed & stashed for an upcoming party, they look amazing. Great game-day post, everything in fact looks delicious.
There’s plenty of time to make these, Steph!! Great to hear from you!
We made these yesterday for the Super Bowl and they were a hit! I had a lot of the stuffing leftover as my jalepenos were a bit small. So I just threw it in the freezer, you figure it will be ok to use later?! And we made the buffalo chicken dip AND mint brownies! YUM! Thanks for the great ideas!
Wow, Caroline, I feel like I was watching the game with you! Thanks for trying all these recipes – that makes my day! I’ve actually frozen the stuffing myself. It works fine, just let it thaw completely in the refrigerator before using it.
I made these for a friend’s Super Bowl party also. HUGE hit! A little spicy for some people but they were gone very quickly! All of the guys were in love with them. I think an exact quote was “Who brought the stuffed peppers? … Absolutely incredible!” Thanks for the recipe. And I’m glad to see that I can freeze the stuffing, I had a lot left over also.
Hi Linda, thanks for letting me know these went over so well! I know there’s still quite a bit of stuffing – so this works great for a larger party. I even cut down the quantity from the original recipe!
omg that looks so yummy! i would love to try this recipe without the sausage.
Thanks, Jasmine. This recipe could definitely be changed up with different ingredients – enjoy!
Great take on jalapeno poppers!
Thanks, Kevin – they’re delicious!!
ummmmm….. I need to try the stuffed jalapenos. They look fantastic!
So delicious! Have a crisp cold beer close!