How to Make Herbed Cheese Spread for Stuffed Pickled Peppers, Crackers, and More

Are you ready to make a super easy, homemade cheese spread to wow your guests? They’re great on crackers, spread on baguette, eaten with charcuterie, and more. You can take it up another level by using fresh or your homegrown herbs as well. Today I’m going to show them stuffed into my pickled peppers, with a link to that base recipe as well.

I recently posted my pickled Bishop’s Crown peppers recipe. I love using peppers like these because of their signature “sweet heat.” In pickled form, they develop an incredible confluence of flavors—bright, tangy, and just enough kick to keep things interesting. I can’t wait to make a charcuterie board with these and some of the easy cured meat recipes I recently did from my second cookbook! (All designed to be easily done in a refrigerator rather than a complicated curing chamber.)

Other peppers that work well for this pickle recipe include Cherry Peppers (or “Cherry Bombs”), Peppadews, Sweety Drop, Roquito, and more.

If you want to see my process for making charcuterie-style pickled peppers, just click on the recipe.

Whether you’ve made your own or picked up whole pickled peppers from the store, they’re perfect for stuffing with a variety of meats or cheeses. One of my favorites is filled with a fresh herbed cheese spread—so today, I’m sharing my easy go-to recipe.

Yield:

Fills approximately 14–16 small pickled peppers

Shelf Life:

• Refrigerated: Up to 5 days in an airtight container
• Freezing not recommended due to texture changes in fresh herbs and cheeses

Equipment:

• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Small mixing bowl
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Fork (for mashing and mixing)
• Spoon (for stuffing)
• Suggested: digital kitchen scale

Ingredients:

• Around 15 pickled peppers (or pieces if using a larger variety, halved or quartered)
• ¼ cup goat cheese crumbles (30 g) (or 30g homemade kefir cheese or kefir goat cheese, recipe here)
• ¼ cup cream cheese (50 g)
• 1½ tsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for garnishing, as applicable)
• ¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves (5 g) — or 1 tsp dried & crushed
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves (1 g) — or ¼ tsp dried & crushed
• ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves (<½ g) — or ~pinch to 1/4 tsp dried
• Optional: Other minced herbs such as rosemary or marjoram
• Optional: black pepper to taste (e.g. 1/4 tsp)
• Optional: 1 clove garlic, minced, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Mince fresh herbs finely on a cutting board using a sharp knife.

• If using dried herbs, crush them well between your fingers or use a mortar and pestle to release flavor (and reduce grittiness; some of them are available for purchase in powdered form as well)

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, cream cheese, olive oil, herbs, and any optional ingredients.

3. Mix until smooth and well incorporated.

4. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed; black pepper optional.

5. Use a small spoon or piping bag to stuff into pickled peppers or serve as a spread for crackers, sourdough bread, and more. garnish with some added EVOO.