Smoked Stuffed Pepper Poppers

These smoked stuffed peppers are the perfect appetizer for your next barbecue. They are stuffed with creamy Boursin cheese and then smoked for a non-spicy alternative to jalapeño poppers that will impress your guests.

Plus, as an added bonus, they only take about 30 minutes to whip up!

I like to serve them with smoked brisket sausage, but these stuffed pepper poppers are great on their own. 

Stuffed sweet pepper poppers

When most people think of a “popper”, a jalapeño comes to mind, but if you are craving something without the spice these sweet peppers are the perfect alternative. They’re also great for kids and fussy eaters who won’t touch anything with spice.

This recipe is simple but jam-packed full of flavor. The sweetness of the peppers combined with the creamy Boursin cheese, plus a hint of shallot, garlic, and barbecue rub makes for a delicious snack.

You can find miniature sweet peppers at most grocery stores. I was walking through the produce section at my local H-E-B and these beautiful peppers caught my eye. 

Mini sweet peppers are slightly sweeter than bell peppers, but they come from the same family. They are small, but pack a flavorful punch, and are full of vitamin C.

How to make smoked stuffed pepper poppers

1. Preparing the peppers

There are a couple of different ways you can make these peppers, and it’s all about personal preference. I like to leave them whole and just chop the tops and stems off, then fill them up with the cheese mixture. 

You can also slice them in half lengthwise to create a more open-faced style of popper.

Another bonus to using sweet peppers instead of jalapeños is that they are much easier to prepare. Mini sweet peppers are very young peppers, so the seeds and stems are easy to remove. 

You should be able to just scrape them out lightly with a butter knife (or even your finger) and some peppers will have almost no seeds inside.

Did you know that the color of the pepper indicates the maturity of a pepper? 

As bell peppers grow the chlorophyll pigments begin to disappear, causing them to change colors. The color of bell peppers changes from green to yellow to orange, and finally to red. Green peppers are more bitter, and they get increasingly sweeter until they finally reach their sweetness peak when they are red.

2. Let’s get cheesy

When I was explaining my concept for this recipe to a friend, I mentioned that I planned to stuff the peppers with Boursin cheese. She responded with, “Oh, you mean the greatest cheese on the planet?”.

While that statement is a matter of opinion, I can say that Boursin cheese is absolutely one of my favorite cheeses to cook with.

In 1957, François Boursin opened a cheese factory in northern France. He was working to perfect his cheese recipe and a French newspaper mistakenly reported that he had launched a cheese infused with garlic. He quickly worked to create the cheese because the public absolutely loved the idea and that is when Boursin cheese was born.

It’s a combination of soft cheese mixed with garlic and herbs, but they also have another variety that is mixed with shallots and chives. I opted to use the shallot and chive variety for this recipe because I think onions and peppers pair so perfectly together.

While the cheese is great on its own, I wanted to spice it up a little bit and put my own twist on the dish. 

In a small bowl, you are going to combine the Boursin cheese with a clove of minced garlic, a touch of salt and pepper, and your favorite all-purpose BBQ rub. 

I used the Blazing Star BBQ All in One seasoning for this recipe because it is one of my favorite all-purpose rubs to use. It is a combination of spices with a bit of ginger, thyme, and chipotle pepper in it and the flavor is fantastic.

Once your cheese mixture is well-combined, just fill each pepper and they are ready to hit the smoker!

3. Fire up the smoker

These poppers can be done on the smoker, on the grill, or even in the oven. I chose to smoke them on my Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 with Acacia wood lump charcoal. 

I wanted to make sure that the cheese didn’t melt out and make a mess, so I put them on a small baking sheet coated in aluminum foil while they cooked.

They take about 30 minutes to cook, and you will know they are done when the peppers begin to darken and get soft. 

I served them with smoked brisket sausage and it is a fantastic combination, but they would be great on their own as well.

Smoked sausage is already pre-cooked, so you are essentially just heating it up and adding a bit of smoke flavor in the mix. Just slice the sausage into pieces and you have a perfect meal! 

Here are a few more appetizers you might like to try

• Smoked Pig Shots
• Texas Twinkies
• Smoked Armadillo Eggs Wrapped in Bacon
• Bacon wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Smoked Stuffed Pepper Poppers Recipe