Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
Published 6/17/2022
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These bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers are stuffed with cheddar cheese and cream cheese and wrapped in bacon for the perfect appetizer of all time.
The Cheesiest Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
There is no question that cheesy appetizers are the appetizers that most people gravitate towards (especially here on the Cheese Knees). These bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers are cheesy, spicy, and the perfect finger food for game day or any event!
Jalapeño poppers come in all shapes and sizes, but there is one thing that is consistent for most jalapeño poppers- there is always CHEESE!
Why you’ll love them!
- These jalapeño poppers have the perfect spicy flavor.
- What’s better than finger food? You can make these little poppers and people can use their hands or a toothpick to deliver the popper straight into their mouths.
- We took these jalapeño poppers up a notch by wrapping them in bacon!
- These jalapeño poppers are easy to reheat so you can make them a day before or have them for a snack throughout the week.
What You Need
The ingredient list for these jalapeño poppers is pretty short! Below are the ingredients along with some tips and substitution options if you need them.
- Jalapeños – You want to find the largest jalapeños that you can! You will be stuffing these jalapeños with cheese and you want space.
- Bacon – We recommend using thinner cut bacon. Thick-cut bacon tends to take a bit longer to cook. If you do use thick-cut bacon, be sure to bake the bacon a little longer than usual. If you do not eat bacon, feel free to use turkey bacon or omit the bacon altogether.
- White shredded cheddar cheese- The flavor of white shredded cheddar cheese is sharp and delicious, which is why we chose it. Feel free to use any type of shredded cheese you would like.
- Cream cheese- Softened cream cheese adds a creaminess that levels out the spiciness of the jalapeños.
How to soften cream cheese
Looking for a quick method to soften cream cheese? Check out our post – How to Soften Cream Cheese – 4 Ways! Here you’ll learn 4 unique (and quick!) methods to soften cream cheese to the perfect amount for baking and cooking.
How to Make Jalapeño Poppers
From start to finish these jalapeño poppers are ready in under one hour. Get all the ingredients you need and let’s get cooking.
Cut the JalApeños
First, you are going to rinse those jalapeños, dry them off, and set them aside.
Then, before you do one more thing, put on a pair of rubber gloves and chop the stem off of the jalapeño. Use your hands or a small butter knife to dig out the seeds and innards of the jalapeño and discard them.
Place the jalapeños on a baking sheet.
don’t forget gloves
Why do I need to wear gloves to handle jalapeños? Jalapeños and other hot peppers seep a chemical called capsaicin that can irritate skin and eyes! We recommend wearing thick rubber gloves. And? DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES.
You never know how spicy a pepper will be until you cut into it.
Pre-Bake Jalapeños + Bacon
Once the jalapeños are cut, seeded, and placed on a baking sheet and bake them for 15 minutes at 400ºF.
While the jalapeños are baking, spread bacon out on a separate baking sheet and place them in the oven for 10 minutes as well!
Why do I have to pre-bake ingredients? Baking the jalapeños before you stuff them helps to ease the spiciness of the jalapeño and ensures that the jalapeños will be baked through! It doesn’t take long for cheese to melt once these bad boys are stuffed.
You have to pre-bake the bacon to give the bacon a head start on cooking before you wrap the jalapeños in the bacon. The thicker the bacon, the longer pre-bake time the bacon needs. You don’t want to bacon to be completely cooked, only partially cooked.
Stuff the Jalapeños
Once the jalapeños and bacon have partially baked, it’s time to stuff them full of cheese!
Let the jalapeños and bacon cool a bit and mix the softened cream cheese with the shredded cheddar cheese.
Next, separate the cheese mixture up into small cream cheese balls. The number varies depending on how many jalapeños you have (10 jalapeños= 10 cheese balls).
From there, roll each ball into an oblong cylinder and stuff the jalapeño with the cheese. Repeat this process until all jalapeños have been stuffed.
Wrap Jalapeños in Bacon
The last step before bake time is the most important! Wrap those jalapeños in a delicious piece of bacon.
To wrap the jalapeño, take a the end of a piece of bacon and place it on the opening of the jalapeño popper to keep the cheese from oozing out of the jalapeño. Then, wrap the bacon around the jalapeño and secure the bacon with a toothpick.
Repeat until all jalapeños are wrapped.
Final Bake
Finally, place the jalapeño poppers into the oven until the bacon browns (about 15-20 minutes.)
FAQ
What Ingredients can I add to these jalapeño Poppers?
You can definitely take these jalapeño poppers up a notch by adding some delicious ingredients into the cream cheese mixture!
Check out some fun ingredient options below and simply add the ingredients into the cream cheese mixture before you stuff the jalapeño poppers.
- 1 tablespoon fig or raspberry jam
- 1/4 cup minced caramelized onions + 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon red garlic chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning
Can I cut these jalapeños in half before I bake them?
Yes, you can cut these jalapeños in half instead of using whole jalapeños.
- After you have seeded the jalapeños, cut the jalapeños in half lengthwise and be sure to pre-bake them as well.
- Next, half the cheese balls and the bacon pieces.
- Stuff the peppers with the cheese, wrap the jalapeño half with half a piece of bacon, and place them cheese side up on the baking sheet.
- Bake them until the bacon is golden brown and cooked through.
How do I store Bacon-WRapped jalapeño poppers?
To store jalapeño poppers, let them cool completely before placing them in an air-tight container. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To reheat the poppers in the microwave heat them on high for 30 second increments until the cheese is warm.
To reheat the poppers in the oven preheat the oven to 325ºF and place the jalapeño poppers on a baking sheet. Place them in the oven and reheat them for 15-20 minutes.
Can you freeze jalapeño poppers?
Yes, you can make these jalapeño poppers and then freeze them for later!
Let the jalapeño poppers cool completely and then place the poppers in a freezer-safe bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
To reheat the frozen jalapeño poppers, preheat the oven to 350ºF and place the poppers on the baking sheet.
Bake the poppers for 20-30 minutes or until thawed.
Bacon Wrapped Jalepeño Poppers Recipe
Ingredients
- 10-12 large jalapeños, stems cut off and seeded
- 10-12 slices of bacon
- ½ cup white shredded cheddar cheese, room temperature
- 5 oz. cream cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Then, lay a piece of paper towel onto a plate. Set aside.
- Spread the jalapeños out on the baking sheet and place them in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Lay the bacon across a separate baking sheet. When there is 10 minutes left on the bake time for the jalapeños, place the bacon in the oven and let it bake for the remaining 10 minutes with the jalapeños.
- Remove the jalapenos and the bacon from the oven.
- Place the partially cooked bacon on top of the paper towel covered plate.
- To prepare the cheese filling, add the cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese to a bowl and mix until combined.
- Separate the cream cheese mixture into 10-12 cream cheese balls (or however many jalapenos you have).
- Carefully roll a cream cheese ball into a cylinder shape and stuff it into a jalapeno
- Then, wrap the jalapeno with a piece partially cooked of bacon. To wrap the jalapeno in bacon, place the end of the bacon over the opening of the jalapeno and then wrap the rest of the bacon around the jalapeno and secure it with a toothpick (see photo). Place the jalapeno popper on the backing sheet. Repeat until all jalapenos are wrapped in bacon.
- Place the jalapeno poppers in the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is cooked through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Not too spicy, so a win for me! I subbed sharp cheddar cheese and add onion powder to the cream cheese mixture. Perfect for our “at home” happy hour!