Whip up this healthier appetizer for parties or anytime snacks: you can make these Gluten Free Stuffed Baby Peppers two different ways, one with goat cheese and one with hummus for dairy free!
I have been loving the mini sweet bell peppers lately. They are a portable, snackable veggie that are much sweeter than their larger counterparts. Plus, they are perfect for making kid-friendly (i.e. not too hot) poppers.
I love jalapeno poppers, but my kids and I can’t eat the store-bought ones because they are filled with cream cheese. My husband can have dairy products and he loves goat cheese, so I came up with 2 kinds of poppers that everyone in our family can enjoy.
Stuffed Sweet Peppers with Goat Cheese
There are endless variations of these poppers. I made these ones with sweet peppers, but you can use hot peppers if you want some heat. Find some flavors you enjoy and throw them in! I was limited by what I had on hand, but you can add in some fresh garlic, fresh or dried herbs, pesto, Brie, Parmesan, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, or anything else you can think of.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Peppers
Ingredients
- 12 mini sweet peppers or any small peppers of choice
- 6 ounces soft chevre goat cheese
- ½ cup part skim ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Dash chipotle pepper powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with foil.
- Wash the mini peppers and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds but leave the top in tact.
- In a small bowl, mash together the goat cheese, the ricotta, and the seasonings until well blended. A hand blender, potato masher, or flat whisk works well.
- Snip the corner off of a small ziploc bag and fill the bag with the cheese mixture. Squeeze the bag and pipe the cheese into the pepper halves. At this point you can wrap with peppers with a little bacon or prosciutto if you like.
- Arrange the peppers on the baking sheet and broil for about 5-6 minutes until nicely browned. You can also try these on the grill, too
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Stuffed Baby Sweet Peppers with Hummus
Follow the above recipe except use hummus (either prepared or home-made) to fill the peppers. For the ones pictured below, I used Tribe Roasted Pepper Hummus. Yummy!
We try to avoid beans for the most part since they are legumes (related to soy and peanuts), but I have a little bit now and then in treats like this 🙂 Wayfare Foods makes some yummy cheese-alternative dips that are gluten, soy free, and vegan. Their imitation cheese spread doesn’t have beans in it (it does contain yeast), but the WayFare imitation sour cream has beans.
If you can’t have beans or hummus, you can also use some homemade cashew “cheese” or any of your favorite thick dips to fill the peppers.


Hummus Stuffed Sweet Peppers
Ingredients
- 12 mini sweet peppers or any small peppers of choice
- 1 cup hummus your favorite flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with foil.
- Wash the mini peppers and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds but leave the top in tact.
- Scoop hummus into the pepper halves to fill them
- Arrange the peppers on the baking sheet and broil for about 5-6 minutes until nicely browned. You can also try these on the grill, too
- Enjoy!
Nutrition

Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.
stuffed mini-peppers of various colors and small tomatoes with minced onion, garlic, tomato, peppers, left over spiced rice., topped with seasoned panko crumbs. Baked them. Arranged them on platter for serving. Lovely, delightful. My Sicilian mother stuffed all sorts of small vegetables for an antipasto.
Made these last night and they were delicious! Sprinkled panko on top then Roasted in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Such a great idea, Leasa! Thanks for sharing 🙂