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GET IT NOWNot sure what to do with banana peppers? These stuffed banana peppers are my favorite way to eat them! They remind me of jalapeño poppers, but without the heat and sausage instead of bacon. And since they are larger, I serve them for dinner rather than as an appetizer. Like my stuffed artichokes or stuffed spaghetti squash, stuffing banana peppers with sausage and cheese turns them into a meal, with protein and veggies in one tidy package. No more wondering what to do with your yellow wax peppers — make my stuffed banana peppers recipe with me!
Why You Need My Banana Peppers Recipe
- Sweet, tender peppers stuffed with sausage and cheese – Need I say more? Many banana pepper recipes are more of a snack, appetizer, side, or topping, but mine is a light meal with comfort food factor. The filling is meaty, creamy, and cheesy all in one.
- Simple ingredients – If you’ve got the chilis, chances are you have everything else to make these stuffed banana peppers. If not, these are common staples found at any grocery store.
- Easy to make – I love that there’s no extra step to roast the peppers separately. It’s the perfect quick, healthy dinner for busy weeknights.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for stuffing banana peppers, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Banana Peppers – My local store calls these Hungarian peppers, but I’ve also seen them labeled yellow wax peppers or banana chilis. Make sure to get fresh ones, not pickled or jarred ones! I look for the largest ones to fit enough filling. If all the ones you see are small, you might want to use this filling with regular bell peppers or poblano peppers instead.
- Sausage – I chose Italian sausage, but any ground pork or savory sausage would work. (If you have extra, use it for my Italian stuffed peppers next!) You can also make ground beef stuffed banana peppers if that’s your preference, or opt for ground turkey or chicken if you want them lighter.
- Garlic – I used fresh minced garlic cloves, but you could use 1 tablespoon jarred minced garlic for convenience.
- Fresh Tomatoes – I remove the seeds, but you can leave them in if you want the filling more saucy. You can also use canned diced tomatoes if that’s what you have, or even substitute 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
- Seasoning – Since Italian sausage is already well seasoned, I found that simply fresh parsley, sea salt, and black pepper were enough. However, you could add some Italian seasoning or dried oregano if you like.
- Cheeses – Cream cheese, grated parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Feel free to substitute the parmesan and mozzarella for an Italian cheese blend, or any shredded cheese that melts well.
- Olive Oil – For sauteing. Avocado oil works, too.
How To Make Stuffed Banana Peppers
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Slice the peppers. Use a sharp knife to cut each banana pepper in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and white flesh from the center. Arrange on a baking sheet (I love this warp-resistant one) lined with parchment paper, open side up.
- Brown the sausage. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned. Reduce the heat, stir in the minced garlic, and cook until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes and fresh parsley. Cook until any excess tomato juice has evaporated or absorbed into the meat.
- Stir in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir until creamy.
- Stuff the banana peppers with the sausage mixture. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake. Pop the stuffed banana peppers in the oven, and bake until they are soft and the cheese is melted and golden. I like to garnish with either more fresh parsley, or even fresh basil if I have it.
My Recipe Tips
- When handling peppers, wear disposable gloves. They protect your skin and eyes from capsaicin, which can cause irritation, even though these peppers aren’t really spicy.
- When slicing, double check the direction to make sure the halves can sit upright. When my peppers are curved, I cut parallel to the curve.
- Forgot to soften your cream cheese? You can microwave it before adding to the meat mixture. You can also add it cold, but I find it mixes in more smoothly and easily if it’s room temperature or even warm.
- Prefer a more saucy filling? Use 1 cup of canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh ones, or if using fresh, don’t remove the seeds.
- My meat chopper is helpful for breaking up the sausage and also for the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese starts to melt more, I mix it in with a spoon.
- If your peppers don’t sit upright easily, it can help to use a baking dish rather than a sheet pan. Crowding them together can keep them from falling over.
- Want to change up the filling? When I want to serve these stuffed banana peppers as an (admittedly large, haha) appetizer or side dish, I stuff them with caramelized onion dip, cold crab dip, or spinach artichoke dip before topping with cheese and baking.
More Stuffed Pepper Recipes
Peppers are made for stuffing! Try one of my other recipes with them, or you can even turn any of these into banana pepper recipes by stuffing the filling inside this type of pepper:
Stuffed Banana Peppers (Sausage & Cheese)
My stuffed banana peppers recipe has the best filling — Italian sausage, juicy tomatoes, and melty cheeses — for an easy, healthy dinner.
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Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (191 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Cut each banana pepper into half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and white flesh from the center. Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, open side up.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Italian sausage and cook for 8-10 minutes, breaking apart with a spatula, until browned.
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Reduce heat to medium. Add minced garlic and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.
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Stir in diced tomatoes and fresh parsley. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft.
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Stir in the cream cheese, breaking apart with a meat chopped or wooden spoon. Stir in the parmesan cheese, and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
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Fill banana peppers with the sausage filling. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
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Bake stuffed banana peppers for 18-20 minutes, until the peppers are soft and the cheese is melted and golden.
LAST STEP: Leave a rating to help other readers, or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 2 stuffed banana pepper halves
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you with slicing the peppers, prevent them from falling over, a shortcut to soften the cream cheese, my favorite tool for browning the meat, and a few filling variations.
- Store: Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. I place paper towels between layers to prevent the filling from sticking to the bottoms of the peppers on top.
- Meal prep: Feel free to stuff banana peppers ahead of time and just bake the day-of.
- Reheat: Warm leftovers in your oven at 350 degrees F, or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until hot. I like to refresh them with a little extra cheese on top before heating.
- Freeze: Wrap the peppers individually in plastic wrap, then place in a zip lock bag in the freezer. They’re best within 3 months. You can reheat them from frozen, but they heat more evenly if you thaw them first.
- Note on serving size: Two halves are ideal for a filling meal on their own. If you’re serving this banana pepper recipe as an appetizer, I recommend one per person instead.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Stuffed Banana Peppers Recipe
29 Comments
Dianna
1GREAT!
Jennifer V
0Ah yes, I made this! If you’re not following Maya at Wholesome Yum, you’re missing out! This is a great recipe. Had a garden bounty through the grace of God of Hungarian hots so I assembled them all, following the recipe without change. The ones for dinner, I baked with mozzarella on top. The others, I baked and froze and will top with mozzarella when reheating to serve. I’m thinking that these might be good served with a bit of marinara. I used mild italian sausage and believe me that I had plenty of heat from those peppers! Thanks again Maya, now onto my next recipe, Crack Chicken! Going to add jalapeno halves to this one!
Wholesome Yum D
0Wow, thanks so much, Jennifer! I love hearing how the peppers turned out for you and your idea to freeze them and top with mozzarella later is genius. The marinara pairing sounds delicious, and I bet those Hungarian hots brought the perfect amount of heat. Can’t wait for you to try the crack chicken next!
Jen G
0These are so dang good! And I love the idea of making and freezing – I wonder if freezing just the halved peppers would turn out instead of the whole stuffed pepper. I may try that with my hot pepper bounty. Thanks for the idea!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Jen! I’m so happy you liked them. Yes, you can freeze the empty halved peppers, but I would pre-cook them (bake) a little first, as the texture isn’t great later if you freeze them completely raw.
Mary G
0So delicious! I only had smaller peppers but they came out beautiful! I used a can of diced tomatoes and added just a pinch of baking soda to get rid of the “tinny” taste from canned tomatoes.
Wholesome Yum D
0I’m happy you enjoyed it, Mary! Great tip on the baking soda and I bet the smaller peppers still just as delicious.
Renee
0I want to make this into a dip. How would I cook the peppers, first or cook as it bakes?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Renee, I haven’t turned this into a dip before but that sounds yummy. I’d recommend roasting the peppers first, then chop up with the other cooked ingredients and bake. Let me know how that goes!
Carolyn
0Fabulous!
Excellent with sausage or bacon. College football staple!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Carolyn! I’m happy you liked them.
April Bowser
0Love love this recipe
Chef Roberto
0Through the roof delicious & best recipe ever for stuffed Banana Peppers!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Awww, thank you, Roberto! That means a lot to me.
Erin
0Cleaning out my garden to use up everything that is left, including lots of banana peppers. I couldn’t find my usual stuffed banana pepper recipe so I tried this one. I won’t go looking for my old recipe because this one is fantastic. Saving this and not losing it! Excellent. Thanks for sharing.
MT
0My peppers weren’t very “boat like” so we sautéed them and added to the mix, then scooped over a slice of GF bread w mozzarella on top and baked in the oven… so delicious! Thank you.
Kelly Haas
0Great for garden vegetables. I used my abundance of sweet banana peppers for this recipe! Super easy and great flavor. First time I used ground beef and Second time I used ground pork. Next time I will try it with hot Italian sausage. This recipe is a keeper!
Tony
0So easy, so delicious!!!
Maureen
0Great flavor! Will make again!
Holly
0Excellent!! I didn’t have parsley, so subbed basil, and it turned out wonderful! I heated up some marinara and cooked rice to go with.
Robert
0Absolutely delicious! Everyone Loved this recipe, I love this recipe and it is the third time I am preparing this m as I sit in type to you now? Simply delicious!! This has my seal of approval in the Wow factor of the top 5 recipes of this type! Did I say Wow, well Wow again!
Thank you for such a simple and delicious dish…
Marian
0Yes. Quick and delicious.
Mimi
0Delicious!!
geri martinez
0After you make them can you freeze them?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Geri, Place cooked peppers uncovered on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 2 hours, until firm and slightly frozen. Transfer to a freezer bag or container, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Maryann
0I must try this very soon ‼️???
Abby
0I’ve never thought about stuffing a banana pepper and man have I been missing out! So good.
jess
0I’ve had stuffed bell peppers, but I have never tried stuffed banana peppers until now and they are fantastic! thank you so much for sharing this recipe
Abeer
0This was such a filling meal. Next time, I want to try stuffing with shredded chicken. I think that would be yummy too.