Bacon Wrapped Hatch Peppers

If you aren’t from the Houston area, or have never been to Houston, you are probably wondering what the heck a hatch pepper is, right? Well, up until about 2 months ago, I was right there with you. My husband and I moved to Houston back in January and it wasn’t hatch pepper season yet. We were unaware of what a huge deal it is down here, but once the season rolled around….hatch peppers were EVERYWHERE! Every single grocery store advertised them, it was on signs, produce stands, etc. Craziness I tell you!

Well, after week two of seeing Hatch peppers everywhere, I gave into the craze and decided to try the Hatch pepper burgers that were at my local grocery store! One bite in, my entire family was hooked. They are quite similar to a jalapeno, but less spicy, so even my kids enjoyed them!

My husband and I ran back up to the store the next evening after enjoying the burgers and bought a few pounds of peppers. We had no idea what we were going to do with them, but decided to play around with ideas. My husband made a hatch pepper enchilada sauce (recipe coming soon) that was amazing, and then we wrapped the rest in bacon and grilled them!

Flavorful, creamy, not overly heated, and incredibly simple to make….these became our new go to grilling item!! We used both goat cheese and cream cheese, so either one works great!! These are great for football parties, snacks, grilling sides, appetizers, etc.

Enjoy!!

*If you don’t have access to Hatch Peppers, no worries, you can sub in jalapenos!!

Ingredients:

• 5 hatch peppers, de-seeded, sliced in half longways
• 4 oz. cream cheese (or goat cheese)
• 1 package bacon (I used thick cut)

Directions:

1. Once peppers are prepared (seeds removed, top cut off, and cut in half), fill each center with cream cheese (or goat cheese).
2. Wrap one slice of bacon around each stuffed pepper.
3. Place on a baking sheet and continue stuffing process until complete.
4. Place baking sheet in preheated oven, 450, for 10-15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and serve!

*If grilling, place peppers on grill for about 10 minutes, or until bacon is cooked and crispy!