If you love bell peppers, this is the appetizer for you. These Roasted Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Bites will be calling your name all spring long. Easy to make with frozen puff pastry, lightly roasted bell peppers, a hint of parmesan cheese, some dried herbs and topped with fresh mozzarella. They are baked in the oven to crispy perfection and make the best weekend appetizer.
Okay, so it’s no secret by now that I’m a huge fan of Puff Pastry. You can always find it in my freezer or fridge because I know that I can whip up pretty much anything if I have it on hand. Through the years, I hosted many parties and dinners where Puff Pastry always helped in preparing dishes in a hurry. And what’s so great about Puff Pastry is that is super versatile, easy to use and can be found in just about all supermarkets.
If you haven’t checked out my recipe roundup for Puff Pastry Recipes and Ideas, you need to do that soon. There’s everything there from main courses to appetizers and desserts. You’ll love it, I promise.
But for the moment, we’re going to take a look at these delicious bites. These Roasted Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Bites are the perfect appetizer nibble. Although I say it myself, they go down pretty darn great with a glass of Chardonnay!
What We Need To Make The Roasted Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Bites
It’s all pretty self explanatory and easy. Just some good ol’ basic and fresh ingredients. I’d like to point out that I used a ball of fresh mozzarella and cut it into cubes. You can just as easily use shredded mozzarella for this recipe. Just the kind you use on pizza is totally fine.
- A sheet of puff pastry
- Bell peppers – three colours
- Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Basil
- Oregano
- Salt
- Arugula leaves (optional)
REMEMBER, The full recipe with ingredient list and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How To Make This Tasty Bell Pepper Appetizer
This Puff Pastry appetizer is super easy to put together and it delivers big on flavour.
- Dice the peppers small for this appetizer. You don’t want them too big. Plus the smaller you dice them the quicker they will cook in the oven. These are probably about 1/2 inch in size. It doesn’t have to be be exact (obviously), just small.
- Toss the peppers in olive oil and salt and roast them between 12 – 15 minutes. They will be soft and slightly charred when they are done.
- Take them out of the oven and let them cool.
prepare The Puff pastry
To save on time, prepare the pastry while the peppers are roasting. This way, as soon as they come out of oven, the pasty is ready to be topped.
- Lay out the cold sheet of puff pastry. Make sure it’s cold, very important. Cold puff pastry is much easier to work with. If it becomes warm, it will be soft and difficult to cut into squares.
- Brush olive oil over the puff pastry. Sprinkle over the grated parmesan cheese, oregano and basil.
- Cut into 16 equal part. Yes, I know you only see 15 on the baking tray, because that’s all I could fit.
- Arrange them on the baking tray.
Top The Pastries
- Evenly divide the peppers among all the pastry squares. It will most likely be about a tablespoon of the mixture depending on what size peppers you used.
- Top with the mozzarella cheese. Again, you can use the shredded cheese if you don’t have the fresh ball mozzarella cheese.
- Bake these for about 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degrees f/180 degrees c oven.
Fresh From The Oven and Ready to Enjoy This Easy Puff Pastry Appetizer
And just like that you got a pretty tasty little appetizer. These are so easy to make and so delicious. You will be going back for seconds and thirds, I promise.
Oh, i almost forgot, I did top them off with a few arugula leaves for a fresh touch at the end. You will see this in the photos that follow. Again, it’s totally optional but it’s adds a nice finishing touch.
I love adding arugula to dishes, it gives a nice finishing touch. Check out my Grilled Arugula & Basil Pizza and you’ll see what I mean.
Can I Prepare These Roasted Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Bites In Advance
Yes, you sure can. That’s what’s great about this appetizer, you can make the entire thing in advance, pop it in the fridge and bake it just before serving. Although this appetizer is easy, it isn’t quick because of the time it takes to roast the peppers. So you can prepare them up the the stage just before baking. Cover them with aluminum foil and bake just before you want to sere them. You can do this in the morning if you are planning to serve them in the evening.
How Should I serve This Appetizer
Honestly, just as it is! It’s great fresh out of the oven. I like to serve these as a nibble food alongside some cheese, ham, olives and whatever else you’d like to think of .
They can also be served as part of a party buffet, a picnic food or even to go with lunch. You choose.
And if you love little bites like these, be sure to check out my Tri Bell Pepper Mini Pizzas or my Pesto Puff Pastry Pinwheels.
Well, dear friends that just about sums up this delicious appetizer. I hope you get a chance to make it sometime. It would make a great side dish to some great Summer Salads and some Hot Wings as well. Yes, I said summer, because we all know it’s right around the corner. And if we’re on the topic of summer, you’re going to want to break into the Margaritas, right? Okay, I might be getting carried away now as it’s still April.
Until next time, happy cooking and enjoy the appetizers!
Here’s Some More Great Pastry Ideas You’ll Love
Get The Recipe
Roasted Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Bites
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 medium Red pepper diced small
- 1 medium green pepper diced small
- 1 medium yellow pepper diced small
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
- 1 oz parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- arugula leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Put the chopped peppers in a baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle over 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Give a good stir and roast for about 15 minutes or until soft. Remove from oven and set aside to cool
- Roll out the puff pastry sheet. Brush over the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle over parmesan cheese, oregano and basil.
- Cut into 16 equal squares. Arrange the squares on your baking tray. Top each square with a spoonful of the bell peppers. Top with a couple of mozzarella cubes.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and puffed.
- Remove from oven and top with the fresh arugula leaves. Serve immediately.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Notes
- I used a fresh mozzarella ball cut into small cubes.ย You can just as easily use shredded mozzarella for this recipe.
- Make sure your puff pastry is really cold when you cut it into squares.ย It is much easier to work with when it’s cold.
