Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Why This Recipe Works

Perfect for a Crowd: To make a party extra special, bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers are my go-to appetizer! Seriously, I don’t think I have met anyone who doesn’t like these! They are spicy, creamy, smoky and savory all at the same time, and they have a variety of textures that are so amazing together! So, to please a crowd, whether it be on game day, 4th of July, or any special occasion, this jalapeño popper recipe has got your back!

Baked not Fried: A lot of people steer clear of making jalapeño poppers at home since they are traditionally deep fried. My easy jalapeño popper recipe is baked, not fried, and they still turn out perfectly crispy and SO delicious. Plus, from start to finish this recipe only takes 45 minutes and you can double the recipe if you are serving a lot of people! Trust me, these will disappear quickly!

Ingredients

• Cream Cheese: I used light cream cheese, but you can use any plain cream cheese you prefer!
• Grated Cheese: Any kind of grated cheese will work here including cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack or monterey jack cheese!
• Seasonings: Garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper will season up the cheese filling to spicy and savory perfection!
• Jalapeños: Fresh jalapeños will need to be cut in half and carefully hollowed out so that no seeds or white membrane remain. I recommend using gloves if you have them, since the oils from the seeds can stay on your hands! If you don’t have gloves, be careful to touch the inside of the jalapeño as little as possible and let your knife do the hard work.
• Bacon: Each jalapeño popper will get wrapped in a piece of bacon that will crisp up beautifully in the oven.

Here’s How to Make It

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preheat & Prep: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Beat together the cream cheese, grated cheese, garlic powder, cayenne and a little salt and pepper, and set aside. (photos 1-2)
2. Prepare Jalapeños: Halve each jalapeño down the middle and using the tip of a sharp knife, hollow out the seeds and the white membrane to create a little boat. (not pictured)
3. Fill: Using a small spoon with a flat edge, fill the jalapeños with the cream cheese mixture until they all have relatively level tops. Depending on the size of your jalapeños, you may not need all the mixture, but don’t be tempted to overfill. (photo 3)
4. Assemble: Halve each bacon slice and wrap a half slice around each jalapeño, securing the loose ends with a toothpick. (photo 4)
5. Bake: Transfer the jalapeño poppers to a lined baking tray and spritz with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes, before finishing under the broiler to crisp the bacon. (photo 5)
6. Serve: Wait until the cheese filling has stopped bubbling before serving and enjoy! (photo 6)

Expert Tips

• Avoid thick-cut bacon! Don’t get me wrong, thick cut bacon is delicious. But you’ll want to use normal bacon here so that it has time to crisp up in the oven!
• Serve them with sauce! These bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers are amazing on their own, but they also great with a side of ranch!
• Adjust the spice! If you leave some seeds or membrane in the jalapeños, they tend to be more spicy. If you thoroughly take out all of the seeds and membrane, then they won’t be very spicy at all! You can also omit the cayenne pepper if you don’t want that extra spice!
• Keep the stem on for easy eating! When you slice the jalapeños in half, it is a good idea to keep the stem on so that they are easy to grab and hold onto while eating.