If you are looking for a baked or roasted jalapeno poppers recipe, you are in the right place! This simple jalapeno poppers recipe with cream cheese and bacon will become a favorite appetizer for New Year’s, or any other occasion! Plus, learn how to cook frozen jalapeno poppers, and how to reheat them in the oven or toaster oven!
How to Make Jalapeno Poppers
First, you’ll need some nice, medium-sized jalapeno peppers. To make 40 jalapeno poppers, you’ll need 20 peppers. Just go ahead and wash them off before you start.
Now you’re going to cut the peppers in half length-wise.
WARNING: Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth while you are cutting the jalapeno peppers! If you do, you will be sorry! Unless you enjoy long-lasting burning sensations on your mucous membranes. (Don’t ask me how I know this. Or how many times I have tempted fate and lost). If you have rubber gloves, wear them!
Once the peppers are cut in half, you need to scoop out the seeds and membranes (the light green spongy area in the middle of the pepper). The easiest way is to just use a spoon to scoop or scrape out the center. Face the spoon down to keep the peppers from spraying juice into your eye.
It’s o.k. if there is still a little bit of the membrane left inside.
Now you just need to take some softened cream cheese and spread it in the middle of each jalapeno.
It doesn’t need to be pretty 🙂
Grab some actual bacon (not turkey bacon or tofu bacon or anything crazy like that). For 40 jalapeno poppers, you’ll need about a pound of bacon. Take the bacon out of the package and just slice it into three equal sections.
Take a piece of bacon and wrap it around each stuffed jalapeno popper, securing with a toothpick. If you need to, go ahead and stretch the bacon so that it overlaps a little.
Now it’s time to bake the jalapeno poppers! Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Then place a wire rack inside the cookie sheet. I just used two cooling racks for cookies. (If you don’t have metal racks, lightly spray the tin foil and just place the poppers directly on the foil).
Just bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. If the bacon doesn’t look like it’s brown enough, turn your broiler on for a few minutes and then watch it carefully. I took my poppers out of the oven when the cream cheese started turning brown in spots.
Serve warm, room temperature, or cold! They are delicious no matter what! And leave the toothpicks in, because it makes it easier for people to pick them up.
How Do You Adjust the Spiciness Level of Jalapeno Poppers?
I know that some of you are afraid of jalapenos or anything hot and spicy. The fact is, you can adjust the spiciness level of these so that they are completely mild with basically no heat at all. Or, you can make them super spicy!
The heat lies in the seeds and the ribs (or membranes).
If you want no heat, make sure you get rid of all the seeds and the membranes.
If you want a little heat, get rid of the seeds, but leave a little bit of the membranes.
If you want a lot of heat, get rid of the seeds (just because the texture of seeds is not great) but leave as much of the membranes and ribs that you can.
Are Jalapeno Poppers Keto?
Yes! With only three ingredients (jalapenos, cream cheese, and bacon), it’s easy to see that these perfectly fit into the keto diet.
Can Jalapeno Poppers Be Made Ahead of Time?
You can prepare the jalapeno peppers up to two days ahead and keep them in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Place them on a tray and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Your main concern is making sure the cream cheese doesn’t dry out.
Can You Freeze Jalapeno Poppers?
Yes! If you made too many, or just want to have some on hand for the future, you can freeze jalapeno poppers and keep them frozen for up to five months. (After that, the cream cheese starts losing integrity).
How to freeze jalapeno poppers:
Place the jalapeno poppers on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer and put in the freezer. (It’s fine to leave them uncovered). Leave in the freezer at least 2-3 hours, or until hard.
Once frozen, transfer the jalapeno poppers to a freezer-safe plastic bag or airtight plastic container.
How to bake frozen jalapeno poppers in the oven:
Place frozen jalapeno poppers on a foil-lined, sprayed baking sheet, or on a metal rack in a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes. Again, if the bacon isn’t dark enough, go ahead and turn on the broiler for a few minutes and watch carefully.
How to Reheat Jalapeno Poppers in the Oven
Just pop them back into a 350-degree F. oven for 5-10 minutes, until the bacon is bubbly. I like to use the toaster oven for this.
How to Cook Frozen Jalapeno Poppers in an Air Fryer
If you want to cook these in an air fryer, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
The type of air fryer you use will yield different results. I personally have a toaster oven/air fryer combo, and I’ve noticed that things tend to brown more quickly on the air fryer setting, because things are also very close to the heating elements at the top.
If you use a dedicated air fryer, this won’t be an issue.
Either way, make sure you make a single layer of the jalapeno poppers, and that you test one or two first to see how they turn out before you do a whole batch.
According to Air Fryer World, you want to fry the frozen poppers at 380 degrees F. for about five minutes. Then shake or turn them and continue frying for 2-4 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
This recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman.
For more great party and appetizer ideas, try my Secret Ingredient Pico de Gallo, Jalapeno Popper Pizza, and The Best Darn Beans You Will Ever Eat.
Today’s Freebie!
Easy Jalapeno Poppers Recipe
If you are looking for a baked or roasted jalapeno poppers recipe, you are in the right place! This simple jalapeno poppers recipe with cream cheese and bacon will become a favorite appetizer for New Year's, or any other occasion!
Ingredients
- 20 medium-sized jalapeno peppers
- 1 pound bacon, sliced into thirds
- 1 pound (2 8 ounce blocks) cream cheese, softened
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Wash the jalapeno peppers. Cut off the end with the stem and slice each pepper in half length-wise.
- Scoop out the seeds and membranes. To make mild jalapeno poppers, make sure to thoroughly clean out all the membranes and ribs. For more spicy jalapeno poppers, leave in as much of the ribs as you can (but still remove the seeds).
- Spread cream cheese in the middle of each jalapeno.
- Remove the bacon from the package and slice into thirds.
- Wrap a short slice of bacon around each stuffed jalapeno making sure to slightly overlap the bacon on the top of the pepper. Secure the bacon with a toothpick.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a metal baking rack on top of the foil and then place the poppers on the baking rack. (If you don't have a metal baking rack, lightly spray the foil and place the poppers directly on the foil).
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. To make the bacon more crispy or brown, turn the broiler on at the end of the baking time for 2-3 minutes if desired. Watch carefully!
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 40 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 58Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 196mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g
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This is my husband’s favorite appetizer! I haven’t made it for him in forever, thanks for reminding me about them!!
These delicious bites would be the first thing gone at a party!
I love these! I can never stop eating them!