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Home » Sides & Vegetables » Vegetable Dishes » Crispy Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Crispy Baked Jalapeno Poppers

June 15, 2019 by victor 8 Comments

Absolutely delightful baked jalapeno poppers with extra crispy tops and a creamy, cheesy filling inside. These little morsels are a hit every time and are a perfect party food if you want to impress.

Baked jalapeno poppers on a plate with a saucer with white dipping sauce.

I’ve been a long-time fan of turkey stuffing filled jalapeno poppers and never thought I’d enjoy something else just as much. Not until I tried these little morsels. They blew me away. I didn’t even miss the smoky flavor. The filling is sheer goodness. It’s not overly cheesy yet rich, creamy and has a nice texture to it. If you are tired of plain cream cheese or cheddar inside you popper, you must try this. The tops are crunchy and tasty and add a great contrast to the creamy filling.

Baked jalapeno poppers with crispy tops on a baking sheet.

Making jalapeno poppers

Jalapeno poppers are one of the easiest foods to make. All you have to do is cut jalapeno peppers in half, stuff with some kind of a stuffing and bake until done.

The simplest types of stuffing used are cream cheese and cheddar cheese. You can use one or the other, or a combination. Often jalapeno poppers are wrapped in bacon for extra flavor. The challenge with these simple recipes is that the filling comes out a little too rich and ‘cheesy’. It also tastes too plain and boring. The bacon wrapped around a pepper and baked for 20 minutes or so also doesn’t have enough time to get crispy. It comes out a bit raw tasting and rubbery.

My solution is to cook the bacon separately until crispy, chop it and mix it into the stuffing. Adding more ingredients to the stuffing, such as green and white onions, will make it more flavorful and more balanced. You will also appreciate the added texture and volume.

To make the poppers even more exciting, I topped them with a mix of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. The tops will crisp up in the oven and create a tasty, crunchy layer that’s impossible not to love.

Partial view of a platter with crispy, well-browned jalapeno poppers and a white dipping sauce.

Serving jalapeno poppers

These poppers are fantastic on their own. Just make sure to serve them hot from the oven. The abundant creamy filling inside them does not warrant a need for a dipping sauce. That said, there is nothing wrong with ‘saucing’ them up.

A dairy based dipping sauce is especially good if you want to balance out the heat from the peppers. My favorite sauce for jalapeno poppers is the homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. Or just plain sour cream or Greek yogurt which work surprisingly well too.

A close up of a jalapeno popper cut in half showing gooey cheese filling.

Tips and tricks

  • Wear food gloves when cutting and seeding jalapenos to prevent hot juices getting on your hands and causing stinging and burning.
  • To reduce heat, keep cut and seeded peppers in a bowl with cold water for up to 2-3 hours.
  • The filling in this recipe does not run off easily, allowing you to stuff them with small ‘heaps’.
  • Never leave these peppers under the broiler unattended. They will begin browning very quickly so make sure to have long tongs and an oven mitt handy to quickly move the browned peppers aside or take them out of the oven altogether.
  • Instead of bacon, use chopped smoked kielbasa. It adds a lot of flavor.
  • Add garlic, red onion and minced celery as a filler in place of white and green onions, or make a combination.
  • Use Neufchâtel cheese in place of cream cheese.  It has less fat and doesn’t feel as rich and heavy.
  • To get even more flavor, add a teaspoon or so of BBQ rub mix to the filling or to the dredging mix.
Baked jalapeno poppers on plate with a white dipping sauce.

Crispy Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Scrumptious baked jalapeno poppers with crunchy tops and a delicious creamy filling made with bacon bits, two types of cheese and onions.
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baked jalapeno poppers, jalapeno poppers
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Preparing bacon: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 550kcal
Author: Victor

Ingredients

  • 8 jalapeno peppers large; or 10-12 smaller jalapenos

For the filling

  • 2 cups sharp cheddar shredded; about 1/2 lb
  • 8 oz cream cheese half a package
  • 6 bacon strips
  • 1/3 cup sliced green onions
  • 1/3 cup chopped white onion

For the topping

  • 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400F.

To make bacon bits

  • Spread the bacon slices on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake for 15 minutes, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess grease. Let cool for a few minutes then chop with a large kitchen knife.
    Bacon slices on a baking sheet lined with foil, ready for baking.

To make jalapeno poppers

  • Rinse the peppers, slice in half, remove the membranes and the seeds.
  • Collect the ingredients for the stuffing: cream cheese, chopped green and white onions, chopped bacon and shredded cheddar cheese.
    Ingredients for baked jalapeno poppers stuffing.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together the cheeses, the onions, and the bacon bits.
    Mixed stuffing for jalapeno poppers in a stainless steel bowl.
  • Stuff jalapeno pepper halves. The stuffing can stick out a little.
    Raw stuffed jalapeno peppers on a plate.
  • Prepare the dredging mix by combining seasoned bread crumbs with an equal amount of grated Parmesan cheese on a plate or a shallow bowl.
  • Dredge the stuffing side in the mix. Gently press on it to ensure the mix sticks well.
    Stuffed raw jalapeno peppers dredged in bread crumb and Parmesan cheese mix in a shallow bowl.
  • Transfer the peppers to a baking sheet, stuffed side up. Sprinkle the remaining dredging mix on top of the peppers.
    Stuffed jalapeno peppers, dredged in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese mix, on a baking sheet.
  • Bake on the third rack from the top (about 8-10 inches from the top) for 20 minutes or until the tops start to brown and the filling has melted.
  • Turn on the broiler and cook on high with the oven door half-way open for about 3-5 minutes or until the tops are well-browned. Keep an eye on the poppers at all times as they will brown very quickly. Some will brown faster than others so have long tongs handy to remove them or move away from under the heating element as soon as they are ready.
    Well-browned under a broiled baked jalapeno poppers on a baking sheet.
  • Serve the poppers hot, on their own or with your favorite dipping sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 550kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 937mg | Potassium: 323mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1780IU | Vitamin C: 35.7mg | Calcium: 558mg | Iron: 1.3mg

 

 

 

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    Recipe Rating




     

  1. Josephus

    June 06, 2022 at 9:07 am

    There are SO many recipes to use that bacon grease. If you eat bacon, you should pop over to a search engine and research awesome ideas. Bacon drippings aren’t gold but they are amazing. I cook bacon in my long glass casserole pans, not on metal to make cleaning easier. Cleaning up after bacon, did I say Krud Kutter? Krud Kutter… My best discovery of kitchen paraphernalia since for ever. Biodegradable…I am in no way affiliated with them. It’s just the answer to the bacon conundrum, that’s all.

    Using aluminum foil and the garbage is unconscionable waste of resources.

    I just made bacon dripping brownies for first time. Smokey, chocolate-y and amazing. When you cook with the drippings it lends a salty, smokey flavor, not a pig one.

    Making these poppers for lunch! Can’t wait! Recipe looks absolutely amazing.

    Reply
    • victor

      June 07, 2022 at 10:51 am

      Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Angelique Lopez

    May 03, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    Loved this recipe. Shared with friends on the back patio in front of the fire pit with Margaritas! So easy

    Reply
    • victor

      May 03, 2020 at 7:55 pm

      Awesome! Happy cooking!

      Reply
  3. MR

    July 10, 2019 at 2:34 pm

    Delicious jalapeno poppers! I mixed in some blue cheese too and the taste was outstanding. Loved the crunchy tops. Thank you so much!

    Reply
  4. Leah

    June 16, 2019 at 5:57 pm

    Wow! I had made these jalapeno poppers for my dad and brothers, and they absolutely loved them! These are our favorite appetizers now!

    Reply
  5. Kelly

    June 16, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    I love the addition of Panko crumbs and Parmesan! It’s different from the normal poppers using just cream cheese, cheese and bacon. We usually grow jalapenos in our garden, and this recipe is our favorite way to use them! soooo easy and soooo delicious!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Best Appetizer for Superbowl Sunday - Jenn Reviews It says:
    January 27, 2018 at 5:52 pm

    […] Baked Jalapeno Poppers […]

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Hi, I am Victor and welcome to my blog dedicated to simple and delicious everyday food... Read more...
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