Crab Stuffed Little Peppers are a fantastic appetizer for serving your friends and family this holiday season. This Thanksgiving, I was asked to bring a hot appetizer to the family gathering I attended. I wanted something I could make quickly, as they had also asked for dinner rolls, and I had my hands full. One of the first recipes I posted on my blog years ago was these little peppers stuffed with goat cheese. It was the first thing that came to mind, except that the person who gave me that idea for those peppers was part of this incredible family that has brought me into their embrace. I wanted to do something with at least a variation to the goat cheese and make them even more elegant. Lumps of crab meat were just the ticket. These little zippy bites of creamy crab-filled peppers are fantastic and very easy to make. I pulled them together in 30 minutes, and they were nice and bubbly ready to go to the festivities. I knew I only had a 5-minute drive, and they arrived hot and ready for action.
Of course, the price of crab is outrageous right now, so this only calls for 1 cup of precious crab. But it is well worth the expense and effort to find. The little peppers are what you find in the open trays of most grocery stores in the deli section. However, with the times the way they are, I have found them packaged in the same area. Or you can find jars of them on Amazon. (I get a small commission at no cost to you from Amazon. If you use any link on this page, please consider helping fund my food journey.) The jars came very well packaged and had so much packaging you could have used it as a football and the jars would be fine…lol.These zippy but not too hot peppers are called peppadew (Though the actual name is Juanita Peppers, Peppadew is the brand name). They originated in South Africa, where they are still packaged and sold worldwide today.
This recipe for Crab Stuffed Little Peppers can easily be cut in half. I chose this size, as many containers of crab are about 1 cup. If you have a small demitasse spoon, it makes stuffing the peppers even easier. The holes at the top are small. A regular spoon works, but it is a little harder to get a good amount of filling in each pepper. One of the great things about this recipe is that you can stuff the peppers an hour or two earlier and bake when it is time, making them something you pop in when needed.
I hope all of you in the States had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did! It was great to see and be with a happy group of friends (all being careful). My heart got bigger that day! That is all for this week. Please stay safe and healthy out there and until next time!
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup lump crab meat picked over for shells
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 40 whole little peppers preferably Peppadew or hollowed out pickled cherry peppers
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Preheat the oven to 375°
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper lightly grease the baking sheet.
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Mix together the cream cheese and the mayonnaise until well blended.
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Add the crab, ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and a little salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Try not to over mix the crab into the mixture. You still want small lumps of crab.
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Arrange the peppers open side up onto the prepared baking sheet. They can be grouped together to make sure the holes are open side up.
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Spoon the crab mixture into the peppers. If you have a demitasse spoon that is very small, it works fantastic here. You want to fill the peppers as much as you can.
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Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top of each pepper.
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The stuffed peppers can hold at this point for an hour or two before baking if needed.
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Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until the cheese on top has melted, and the peppers are very hot.
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Serve warm.
