Italian Stuffed Jalapeños
Yield: 8 servings
With Italian sausage, cream cheese, Parmesan, and mozzarella, these Italian Stuffed Jalapenos are extra cheesy with just the right amount of heat. Serve on game day and watch them quickly disappear!
Ingredients
- 15 large jalapeno peppers cut in half seeded and deveined
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
- ⅓ cup minced red onion
- ⅓ cup minced red bell pepper
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan plus more for garnish
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- minced fresh Italian parsley and/or chives for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Place halved jalapenos on a rimmed sheet pan. Line the pan with aluminum foil first, for easy clean up, if desired. Roast for 10 minutes, or until nicely softened. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Once oil is warmed, add sausage and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it up occasionally. Add onion, pepper, and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Once sausage is thoroughly browned, remove the mixture to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature (place in refrigerator to speed up cooling, if desired).
- Add cream cheese and Parmesan to cooled sausage mixture. Fold thoroughly and then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place about 1 heaping tablespoon (depending on the size of your jalapenos) of mixture into each jalapeno half, and top with a bit of mozzarella cheese. Repeat until all halves are stuffed.
- Place pan of stuffed jalapenos under broiler, and cook until mozzarella cheese is melty and blistered/browned. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle with a bit more shredded Parmesan, and then some fresh Italian parsley and/or chives. Serve hot or warm.
Notes
Don't like the heat of jalapenos? Grab a bag of those colorful mini sweet peppers and substitute! These sweet peppers usually have thinner walls, so simply roast them for 5 to 6 minutes, instead of the 10 minutes as written in the instructions.
To mostly prepare this ahead of time: Prepare the stuffed jalapenos as per the instructions above, through Step 5 where the jalapeno halves are stuffed. Then place all stuffed jalapenos in a single layer, in a covered container, in the refrigerator. About 30 minutes prior to baking, place stuffed jalapenos on a rimmed baking pan (lined with foil, if you like), and add shredded mozzarella over the top of each one. Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake for about 5 minutes, just to warm them up. Then place under broiler to melt and blister the mozzarella. Serve warm, with additional shredded Parmesan and minced fresh Italian parsley and/or chives.
Adapted from friend Joel Symmank’s recipe box, originally from Guy Fieri on Food Network.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 470kcal Carbohydrates: 10g Protein: 19g Fat: 40g Saturated Fat: 19g Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g Cholesterol: 99mg Sodium: 730mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.