Cheesy Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers – Lets bring the heat!

by 47 Comments

Fresh from the garden Jalapeno peppers stuffed with beef and cheese, served piping hot for an unbeatable snack or appetizer!

Total Time: 25 minutes
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How to make Stuffed Jalapenos Peppers, because some days you need to bring the heat!

baked stuffed jalapeno peppers sitting on a white plate

It’s chile season in the southwest so we’ve got chiles popping out of our ears and I never stop looking for new ways to make a chile sing.

jalapeno peppers cut in half and deseeded sitting on a cutting board

This dish was a special request from a picky eater who likes to bring the heat.

I needed to come up with something that would get him to the table as painlessly as possible, so I came up with these stuffed chiles.

jalapeno pepper halves stuffed and topped with cheese sitting on a white plate

The thing about chiles is that they aren’t all about heat. And, in fact, I remove the seeds and membranes, which is where most of a chiles’ heat comes from, whenever I make this dish.

Chiles actually have a lovely, distinct flavor that pairs perfectly with so many other foods.

And stuffed chiles is an infinitely diverse dish – you can stuff just about anything into these little gems and the flavor will just blow your mind. I went with well-seasoned sirloin topped with creamy cheese. After just a few minutes in the oven, we were feasting on stuffed chile heaven.

Baked stuffed jalapeno peppers with melted cheese sitting on a white plate

If you’ve tried this Cheesy Stuffed Jalepeno recipe or any other recipe on askchefdennis.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME  on Instagram @chefdenniseats and @chefdennistravels,  Twitter and Facebook

4.84 from 6 votes
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CHEESY STUFFED JALAPENO PEPPERS

Fresh from the garden Jalapeno peppers stuffed with beef and cheese, served piping hot for an unbeatable snack or appetizer!

Nutrition Facts
CHEESY STUFFED JALAPENO PEPPERS
Amount Per Serving
Calories 254 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g 28%
Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Cholesterol 68mg 23%
Sodium 505mg 21%
Potassium 296mg 8%
Total Carbohydrates 4g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 2g
Protein 18g 36%
Vitamin A 15.1%
Vitamin C 52.6%
Calcium 21.6%
Iron 9.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 254 kcal
Ingredients
  • 10 jalapenos (You will want to select the largest chiles that you can find.)
  • 8 oz lean ground sirloin (I selected a lean sirloin here, but you could easily substitute chicken, turkey or even tofu or a meat substitute if you prefer.)
  • ¼ cup yellow onion , finely diced
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • ½ tsp cumin , ground
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp white pepper , ground
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp dried cayenne chile , ground (As I mentioned, A. likes to keep things spicy, which is why I added this dried, ground chile. You can simply choose to omit the cayenne.)
  • 1 c cheese (I opted for a simple blend of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses here – you can use any creamy melting cheese of your choice.)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450˚.

  2. Carefully carve a rectangle into the top of each chile pepper, 

  3. Remove the panel of skin and scoop out the inside of each chile. Before you begin carving, I recommend that you rest the chile on its side to see how the fruit naturally falls – this will ensure that your chiles ‘stand up’ on your baking sheet and aren’t falling over and spilling out their filling as they bake.
  4. Place your carved chiles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside.
  5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, place your ground meat, lime juice, diced onion and seasoning. Use clean hands to combine the ingredients, taking care not to over-work the meat so that it doesn’t become tough. Spoon the filling into the chiles, pressing into place so that each chile is liberally stuffed. Sprinkle the cheese over the tops of the chiles (you may need to press it into place on top of the meat, just to make sure that it stays in place).
  6. Bake your stuffed chiles for 12-15 minutes. Baking times will vary depending on how large your chiles are and how well you have stuffed them – you are just trying to make sure that the meat is cooked through and your cheese is melted.
  7. Remove baked chiles and serve immediately.

 

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Chef Dennis is a semi-retired Chef, writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis aka Ask Chef Dennis®. Chef Dennis worked professionally in White Table Cloth Restaurants for 40 years and has been developing easy to make, restaurant-style recipes since 2009. Dennis has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for his creative, delicious recipes and travel adventures. For more details, check out his About page.

Comments

  10. mary says

    Thanks for the guest blog, Chef Dennis! The chilis look great, and I love the concept of a community of food bloggers. So many great recipes, so little time.

    Reply

  11. Peggy says

    Chef ~

    Now I have too say, being Texan thru and thru, this recipe from Scarletta Bakes has gotten my attention. I adore beautiful, fresh jalapeno peppers or poblano peppers when I’m in the mood for a little spice. And Meghan knows the secret of scraping out the seeds and ribs if there are any. What flavor and a delightful surprise when you pop a bite into your mouth! Not hot! Just delicious! Muy Bueno Meghan and Chef!

    Reply

  12. Jen says

    I’ve made lots of stuffed peppers in my day, but never a stuffed jalapeno. It’s the perfect time of year for a nice spicy little bite though.

    Reply

  17. Eva says

    Honestly, now I wish I had planted more than ONE jalapeño plant! These looks simply wonderful. I’m going to bookmark this recipe for my next dinner party!

    Reply

  23. Joanne says

    Great minds, right?! I posted my recipe for tuna stuffed peppers, much more “tame”. I used green bells. But I do love your photos. They look so cheesy and scrumptious. Delish!

    Reply

  25. Kate @ Kate from Scratch says

    I’m a HUGE fan of Scarletta Bakes. I don’t think there’s a single post I haven’t read, honestly. This is soo perfect for us! Thanks Meagan!

    Reply

  35. Elin says

    Chef Dennis….I am going to grow sideways and my to do list is growing longer, now that you share so many good dishes and bakes that I could not resist !!! WB is getting rounder each day :p Now only your recipes but your guest’s recipes is doing the same to us 🙂

    Thanks Meagan, for sharing this, this is a lovely one and I would definitely try this out. I am a fan of stuffed peppers and cheesy stuff…and great photos too. Well done ! I will be hopping over to your blog to continue drooling 🙂

    Have a great weekend to the both of you 🙂
    Elin

    Reply

  37. Kim Bee says

    Great guest post. These look so amazing. I think I could eat a whole tray of them all by myself. So nice to see two great people on one blog. Hope you both have a fabulous weekend.

    Reply

  38. Ann says

    Holy Guacamole! Those look unbelievably good! My hubby was reading this over my shoulder and kept give me that “you’ve gotta make these” nudge! I suspect he’ll keep nudging me until I pull them from the oven!

    Reply

  41. Boulder Locavore says

    These look great! Though I’ve followed Megan/Scarletta Bakes on Foodbuzz I did not get the Southwestern focus until reading about it today. I will admit it to be one of my favorite genres of food; never met a SW dish I did not like.

    Megan so nice to learn more about you and Dennis another great, delicious kick off to the weekend; thank you!

    Reply

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