The 2-Ingredient Air Fryer Snack That Tastes Fancy Enough To Be An Appetizer

Your air fryer plus quartered peppers and cheese equals a quick and versatile snack that practically begs you to eat more than one. In its simplest form, this delicious appetizer requires you to slice up your favorite peppers — say, bell or jalapeños — so that they're about 1½ to 2 inches across and open-faced. Bigger peppers, like bell peppers, can be quartered; jalapeños work just fine if they're only cut in half. In all cases, you'll want to remove the seeds before you stuff the peppers.

A generous dollop of cream cheese or Boursin cheese spread placed in the middle of the pepper takes them from plain roasted vegetables to something way more decadent. Spritzing the peppers with some garlic-infused avocado or olive oil also adds flavor and helps the veggies to roast more thoroughly. After these steps, pop the cheese-stuffed pepper poppers in your air fryer for a short sojourn of around five or 10 minutes. That's all it takes to make a plate of wonderful appetizers that'd be great as a movie night snack or one of the party-perfect foods served on your next carefully designed charcuterie board. 

As great as this simple air-fried cheese-and-pepper snack is, it transforms to next-level good when you introduce gourmet cheese options, like Brie or feta. Both are spreadable and offer some tasty flavor alternatives that stand out even more than cream cheese will. Or if you'd still like the cream cheese, but want a bit of crunch to balance out its softness, try using up the cheese and tuna ball that's leftover in your fridge from your last get-together. 

A cheese ball recipe, whether it's made with tuna or not, is easy to stuff inside your cut peppers like you would cream cheese, but also includes other flavors like onions, garlic, bacon, nuts, ranch dressing, and Worcestershire sauce, giving your poppers a wholly umami, sometimes smoky flavor that plain cream cheese lacks. Additionally, you can also take inspiration from popular types of stuffing for dishes like stuffed mushroom. For instance, add panko breadcrumbs to your cheese for a creamy, savory, crunchy mixture that tastes just as delicious inside peppers, too. To make the flavor more memorable, skip the plain stuffed mushroom mix and go with one that includes seafood like crab or use a cheesy smoked sausage mixture. 

Finally, a sprinkle or two of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese turns your stuffed peppers a golden brown on top, thanks to the famous Maillard reaction (notably different from caramelization). Finish your cheese-stuffed peppers off with some hot honey or maple syrup to create a sweet-and-savory flavor that's reminiscent of many of the dips served alongside pepper poppers at your favorite fast casual restaurant.