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Italian Tuna Stuffed Cherry Peppers are the easiest antipasto or appetizer to make at home. Filled with an umami rich tuna filling and piped into pickled cherry peppers. Absolutely delicious served with other little bites and a glass of fizz!
Tuna stuffed cherry peppers or ‘peperoncini ripieni di tonno’ are a popular antipasto originating in Calabria but can be found all over Italy.
Although you could use fresh cherry peppers that you deseed and pickle yourself I find that the jarred peppers are perfect for this.
This is such a quick and easy recipe to put together to serve as an aperitivo with drinks such as an Aperol or Campari Spritz or as part of an antipasti platter (see our serving suggestions below).
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below
Ingredients
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Pin ItIngredient notes and substitutions
- Cherry peppers – I buy these already pickled in jars. They come in either mild or hot. You can use either but I prefer to use the hot ones.
- Tuna in olive oil – using tuna canned in olive oil is a must, don’t use tuna in spring water, brine or sunflower oil. You don’t need to use really expensive tuna but don’t use the cheapest either (I like to use Rio Mare but use whatever brand you love and use yourself).
- Anchovies – use salted anchovies in oil.
- Capers – use capers in brine not ones jarred in salt.
Step by step photos and instructions
Drain the tuna then add it to a bowl with the anchovies and capers. Blitz it to very smooth paste using a hand-held immersion blender (photos 1 and 2).
Drain the cherry peppers on kitchen paper and set aside. Fill a piping bag with the tuna mixture and pipe it into each cherry pepper then serve (photos 3 and 4).
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Drain the cherry peppers well – drain the peppers upside down on kitchen paper for a few minutes. Makes sure they’re upside down as a lot of excess pickling liquid will be inside them.
- Use tuna in olive oil – I mentioned this above but it’s really important. I have made this recipe many times with various different types of tuna and a good quality tuna canned in olive oil makes a huge difference. Tuna canned in brine, spring water or even sunflower oil tends to give the filling a grainy/gritty texture that I don’t like. There’s also a massive difference in overall flavour.
- Use a piping bag – although you could use a small spoon to fill the peppers a piping bag makes it so quick and easy.
Once stuffed, the peppers will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. Make sure to cover them with plastic wrap (cling film).
Serving suggestions
Traditionally stuffed cherry peppers are served as an antipasto often with cured meats, cheeses, olives and other little bites. We love to serve them like this too with drinks (cocktail or Prosecco). See more of our antipasti recipes below.
If you’ve tried this Tuna Stuffed Cherry Peppers recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Step By Step Photos Above
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Italian Tuna Stuffed Cherry Peppers
Equipment
- Piping bag
- Immersion blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 jar pickled cherry peppers, mild or hot (380g or about 30 peppers)
- 320 g/11.2 oz canned tuna in olive oil, see notes, we use Rio Mare
- 12 anchovy fillets in oil
- 3 tablespoons capers in brine
Instructions
- First, drain the cherry peppers upside down on kitchen paper and set aside.
- Drain the tuna then add it to a bowl with the anchovies and capers. Blitz it to very smooth and creamy paste using a hand-held immersion blender.
- Fill a piping bag with the tuna mixture and pipe it into each cherry pepper then serve.
Notes
- Tuna – the quality of the tuna is important. I find this only works well with tuna canned in olive oil (we like to use Rio Mare). If you use tuna canned in brine, water or sunflower oil I find that the flavour isn’t as good and there’s a grainy/gritty texture to the mixture.
- Cherry peppers – if you’re using fresh cherry peppers you’ll need to prepare them first by deseeding and pickling them. I find that for this, easy and simple recipe, jarred pickled peppers work great.
- Storage – once stuffed the peppers can be stored in the fridge (covered in plastic wrap) for up to 2 days.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
