Spanish Tapas: Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese make the perfect appetizer or small-plate tapas. We recently served these at a Spanish Paella party at friend’s amazing hilltop house in beautiful Redmond, Oregon  They were a huge hit. The other hit of the party were the AMAZING fresh grilled oysters soaked in garlic butter and dusted with parmesan! We also added addictive Blistered Padron Peppers and Dates Stuffed with Manchego Cheese Wrapped in Bacon. The party was topped off with a gorgeous Chocolate Flourless Cake and Raspberries!  What a feast and wonderful group of new friends!

The Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese are really easy to make. You only need 4 ingredients: Spanish Piquillo peppers, goat cheese, olive oil and fresh thyme. The lemon thyme sprigs are from my garden.  They can be made ahead of time and served warm or room temperature making them a perfect appetizer.  Pair a bold and citrusy Albarino Spanish white that works beautifully with goat cheese.

Piquillo Peppers have a slight kick to them but are not too hot. They are best fire roasted and peeled whole.  The GREAT news is that you can buy fire-roasted ready-to-use Whole Piquillo Peppers in the can or jar on Amazon or at an international grocer. I have not tried substituting red bell peppers, but I imagine they would be similar. The important thing is that they are whole and can be stuffed. These are drained right from the can.

The stuffing is a simple mixture of goat cheese, olive oil, cracked black pepper, salt and extra virgin olive oil. Drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Garnish with more thyme and olive oil and serve room temperature or warm. Serve the baked Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese on a Spanish Ines Rosales Olive Oil, Rosemary & Thyme Tortas. A crispy french baguette slice would also be delicious.

Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Goat Cheese are two decadent bites of heaven!  #PiquilloPeppers #tapas #Spanishfood #Goatcheese #appetizers #PaellaParty #InesRosales

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Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese make the perfect appetizer or small-plate tapas.  Serve these at a Spanish Paella party along with other tapas.  They are easy and fast to make. You only need 4 ingredients: Spanish piquillo peppers, goat cheese, olive oil and fresh thyme. 

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Spanish

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 20 servings

Ingredients

• 1 14 ounce can whole roasted piquillo peppers (approx 20 peppers)
• 4 oz. goat cheese room temperature
• 4 sprigs fresh lemon thyme
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt coarse grind

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, mix goat cheese, 1 tablespoon olive oil, black pepper, and Kosher salt until well combined.
3. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil in the bottom of a 9 x13 baking dish.
4. Stuff one teaspoon of the goat cheese mixture into the pocket of a pepper and place in the baking pan. Repeat until all peppers are stuffed. Drizzle with olive oil
5. Bake 10 minutes or until the goat is hot but not runny.
6. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves and dusting of pink salt.
7. Serve warm or room temperature.
8. Best served with baguette slices or Ines Rosales Olive Oil Tortas