Mini Pepper Pizza Poppers

June is Pepper Month at Veggie Buds Club and we are excited to bring you this fun and colorful pepper recipe from Heather at Happy Kids Kitchen! 

This recipe was developed by Heather Staller, a mom of two boys, ages 6 and 4, and cooking instructor specializing in bringing cooking into preschool classrooms. After college, Heather knew she wanted to be a teacher, but first followed her lifelong dream of going to culinary school. Teaching cooking combines both of her passions, and she truly enjoys introducing young children to the joys of cooking with fresh ingredients. Find Heather on Instagram (@heather.happykidskitchen), where she shares inventive kid-friendly recipes and ideas for cooking with kids at home.

Mini Pepper Pizza Poppers

One of the best ways to get kids excited about vegetables is to pair them with kid-friendly flavors that they love. Pizza is one of those things that kids usually can’t get enough of, right? Not only are these stuffed peppers “pizza-fied,” they are mini 
which makes them even more fun! However, if you can’t find mini peppers, you can use two regular peppers (cut in half lengthwise) and follow the recipe below. Feel free to customize the pepper stuffing as you please: you can leave out the spinach or add extra chopped or shredded veggies like carrots or zucchini. Topping the “pizzas” is a great way to let your little chefs get involved and add what they’d like on top of each pepper. Also, if you want to make this dish dairy-free, feel free to use a cheese alternative or leave out the cheese entirely. It will still taste great! 

​Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa or rice
• ½ cup marinara sauce
• ½ cup baby spinach, finely chopped
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
• 10 to 12 mini sweet peppers, halved lengthwise and seeds and ribs removed
• Additional toppings: sliced olives, pepperoni, or anything else you’d like

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or aluminum foil.
   
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix quinoa, marinara sauce, chopped spinach, and a ¼ cup of the cheese.
   
3. Stuff each pepper half with about a teaspoon or so of the quinoa mixture then place on the prepared baking pan. Once peppers are all filled, sprinkle each one with a pinch of the remaining cheese and top with any additional toppings.
   
4. Bake peppers until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.