The idea for this recipe came from the produce guy who sells fresh fruits and vegetables out of the back of his truck. As I was buying jalapenos for my husband, he inquired what I planned to do with them. I told him that I planned to fill them with cream cheese and bacon then bake them. He told me that my recipe sounded delicious, but asked if I had ever filled jalapenos with tuna. I told him no, and he urged me to try it. This recipe is the result of his suggestion, and it came out very well if I do say so myself. Of course, Baker’s Man liked them, too, so I’m not the only one who thought they were good.
Baker’s Man loves tuna melts. On occasion, he has been known to add slices of pickled jalapenos to his sandwich. Not having a recipe to follow, I started where I always start when making a tuna salad. It began with a can of tuna. I added the usual ingredients to the bowl, but I opted to leave out the celery and relish that I usually add to the recipe. Wanting it to be a bit thicker than usual, I cut back on the mayo. I also stirred in some shredded cheese and a bit of cream cheese.
This mixture was then inserted into the halved jalapenos from which I had removed the seeds and veins.
The filling inside of the pepper was then topped with some strips of sliced cheese before being popped into the oven for 20 – 25 minutes at 400 degrees.
The resultant stuffed pepper was very good. It was different from my usual offering, and Baker’s Man commented that I had created a very tasty gluten free spicy tuna melt.
Here’s the recipe. Give it a try and leave a comment to let us know what you think. Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry
- 10 jalapenos, halved and seeded
- 1 (7 oz) can of tuna
- 2-3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup shredded cheese (we used a Mexican blend)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped white or yellow onion
- 10 slices of thinly sliced Colby jack or your favorite cheese
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut jalapenos in half and remove seeds and veins.
- Open can of tuna and drain away excess liquid.
- Place drained tuna into a bowl.
- Add mayonnaise, chopped onion, lime juice, cream cheese, and Mexican shredded cheese to the tuna and mix well.
- Divide tuna mixture evenly among the jalapeno halves.
- Cut each slice of cheese into 4 thin strips.
- Carefully arrange two strips of the cheese on top of the filling inside the jalapenos
- Arrange on a prepared baking sheet
- Bake for 20- 25 minutes until filling is sizzling and cheese is lightly browned.
- Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. The filling is very hot at this point.
This looks like a fun spicy appetizer. I think I’d like it.
It really reminded us of a tuna melt.
I love jalapenos, and I have more tuna than I know what to do with! This looks perfect for me!
We were really happy with the final result. Let me know how you liked them.
Decided to make it with chicken salad instead!! OMG they were great!!!
I’m glad you enjoyed them. We really loved this version of a stuffed jalapeno. I haven’t tried it with chicken instead of tuna, but I will have to give it a try.
I just made this dish and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I didn’t have a lot of jalapeños, so I used baby bello mushrooms to use the remainder of the tuna filling. Both are delicious and this will be a much used recipe from now on.
I followed the recipe verbatim, but I used a red onion because the recipe did not state yellow, red, or green.
I also added a little salt to taste.
Bridgette, I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Stuffing the baby bellas with the tuna mixture sounds like a great idea. I will have to try that one, too. I usually have white or yellow onions, but I use red often because it looks so pretty. I’m sure a chef would disagree, but, to me, an onion is an onion. You do have a valid point. I should specify which type of onion I use in each recipe.
I usually use green onions in my tuna recipe but I decided to go with the red onion because I had a little left and I just wanted to “finish it off”. My family gobbled both the jalapeños and the mushrooms! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
Bridgette, you are very welcome. Thank you for the great idea for stuffing baby bellas with the same mixture. I have used leftover tuna filling, topped with cheese, on English muffins that I bake like open faced tuna melts. That’s really good, too.