Jalapeño Poppers Recipe (2024)

This recipe is popular in Texas. If you are working with jalapeños, wear gloves or use a baggie to handle them and do not touch your eyes. You can vary with a cream cheese/jalapeño, peach or other jam stuffing and/or brush with BBQ sauce when grilling. I usually mix shredded sharp cheddar and chopped scallions into soften cream cheese and brush on a jalapeño jelly glaze at the end and bake. Google “Texas Twinkies” for more ideas.

Little simpler, I mix cream cheese with shredded cheese (about 50-50) and a splash of chili powder. (Monterey, Colby, Mozzarella all work)Fill the pepper halves with cheese and then press into a pile of panko bread crumbs to give it a crunchy top, place on baking sheet crumb-side up. Bake till crumbs lightly browned and cheese bubbling (375-400F ~20min). Make sure you let cool! Burned my mouth many a time.I find them best while still warm, put them on a warmed plate to serve.

11/10! Make these as written (meaning, include the optional lime zest) and plan on extra baking time. The filling has a nice brightness that left my dinner party delightfully surprised and reaching for more. FWIW, I had a guest who does not eat pork, and I took someone else’s suggestion of rolling the top of the popper in Panko (with a little cooking spray spritz on top right before going into the oven) and I was torn between which version I liked better - both are equally tasty!

Made this for Super Bowl Sunday. Since one of our friends is vegetarian I skipped the bacon on half of them and instead topped them with panko. The verdict was unanimous: we preferred the panko topped poppers over the bacon ones. It was all about the texture. Besides, the filling is so flavorful (don't skip the lime zest), that you don't even need the bacon. I sprayed the panko with cooking spray to help with browning. Next time I'll sauté them in butter for more flavor.

I put the cream cheese mixture into a ziplock bag, snip off a corner and pipe it into the jalapeño halves. It makes quick work of filling the peppers without a lot of mess.

I've been making these for years and have found that it's best to partially pre-cook the bacon before wrapping the jalapenos. That way, the bacon cooks up more crispy and evenly without having to overcook the jalapenos to get the same results.

I've made these poppers in the past and they are very tasty but I prefer a mixture of cream cheese and sharp cheddar. I cut the bacon in half lengthwise so I have long bacon strips to wrap the peppers and roast them at 300 degrees for about 1/1/2 - 2 hours so less cheese oozes out, the bacon slowly crisps, and the flavors meld together better. Insert toothpicks if needed to hold them together while baking which also serve as a handy way to get them off the serving platter.

These are outstanding on a grill using lump hardwood charcoal. Use a heavy grill basket over indirect heat to keep from burning the bacon or flesh of the pepper.

I could not stop eating these! Used the exact amounts and ingredients called for in the recipe (shocking, I know) and they were perfection. I do recommend cutting the bacon strips lengthwise as others have suggested. The bacon won’t fall off or unfurl if you securely wrap the longer pieces around each popper.

These are dynamite. Doubled the filling. Wrapped half in bacon and the other half in pulverized tortilla chips from our local Tex-Mex restaurant. (Put in a brown lunch sack and rolled with a rolling pin.) The lime zest is a definite must. The vegetarian ones are scrumptious.

Love the recipe, but it worked out better for me when I chopped up the bacon and sprinkled it on top before cooking. Easier to eat this way. Also, when wrapped, the bacon didn't cook on the bottom.

I smoked the poppers outside and finished them off under the oven broiler. They were deeelish!

Has anyone prepped these and then frozen before cooking for use at a later time? My jalapeño plants were *very* bountiful this year and I have about 2.5lbs of jalapeños to use. TIA!

Ohmygod, these are incredible! Followed exactly, wrapped in thin bacon and cooked them on a drip pan over the sheet pan and the bacon cooked perfectly. Took about 10 minutes longer in cooking than stated. Definitely use lime zest (not optional!) and definitely wear gloves and you are golden. This recipe rocks.

Ran out of filling with 6 halves left to fill so suggest doubling and being more generous with the filling.

These were a huge hit at our Superbowl party, especially with the keto crowd!

We make a variation of this delicious recipe on the bbq grill every summer. Substitute whole poblanos for the jalapenos. Core them, steam for 9 minutes, cool to room temp, stuff 'em with shredded sharp cheddar mixed with a bit of cooked white rice, wrap with a slice of regular (thin) bacon, and smoke with indirect heat on the grill til the bacon is nearly crisp. Yum.

I’ve never made jalepeño poppers at home but the photo with this recipe inspired me to change my ways. So glad I did. These were excellent. Sad I skipped the lime zest after reading many notes declaring it ‘not optional.’ Good thing I plan to make these again!

Made the veggie version as directed with ground up Doritos as a topping. A big hit at the co*cktail party!

Awesome outcome per relatively easy effort! Made the veg version and followed the helpful suggestions to add bread crumbs. Huge hit at home tonight!

My husband and I make our stuffed jalapeños with Italian Imported Provolone. We believe cream cheese is too mild for such a delicacy. We cut off the tops and core the inside and then return as many of the seeds as possible. We do not use the green fibers inside. Take the provolone out of the frig a few hours in advance so it becomes softer and easier to cut and insert. We pack them firmly cut a bread slice circle to cap them so the cheese doesn't ooze out. We use a jalapeño tray to stand them

Any suggestions re omitting the bacon?

These are even better if you use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. (To the non-believers, try it first.) Easier to assemble, more consistent cooking, and easier to eat (no chewy bits on the bacon to bite through.)

There is one PRO TIP in this recipe that deserves repeating: Use a rack so the poppers can be nested between (not across) the wires. This prevents the cheese/fillings from tipping out. One more TIP is to use parchment paper if you have it. Melted cheese sticks to foil but can be easily removed from parchment (save that cheesy goodness!).

I make these frequently when my garden jalapeños are prolific in the summer and early fall. I chop of the stem and de-seed, put a scant amount of cream cheese, and then wrap with prosciutto (often at Costco, much cheaper). I like that better than bacon because it's less fatty. Bake at 450º until prosciutto is crispy (about 10 minutes). The shorter cooking time leaves the jalapeños crunchier and retains their wonderful floral flavor that gets lost when fully cooked.

These are so tasty - sometimes I use prosciutto rather than bacon. It's thinner and bakes better.

I wrap jalapeno poppers filled with a half cheddar, half cream cheese filling in prosciutto

Pro tip: Do not scratch that itch near your eye after halving the jalapeños.

Very time-consuming recipe!! Pretty yummy substituting panko for bacon but no way this took one hour from start to consumption....

A half piece of bacon? Nope!!! I’ve been making these for years, and please use a full piece of bacon, just not thick cut. I usually make this on indirect heat on the grill, which also means you don’t need to fuss with baking them on a rack. The grill grate keeps them from tipping.