If you love spicy and you love cheesy, you’ll definitely love Jalapeño Poppers! This cute little appetizer recipe has New Year’s Eve written all over it, and it’s perfectly easy and delicious for football games as well…Or, if you’re just as obsessed with them as I am, they’re also great for a regular Monday afternoon. 😜
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“This is a wonderful recipe!! I’m making it tomorrow for our NY Eve celebration. But for folks who don’t like hot stuff–can you imagine?–those bags of adorable little multicolored sweet peppers work well for this delicious recipe. I have a grandson who won’t touch a jalapeno, so I’m doing both hot and sweet this year.”
Janet
Spicy, Cheesy, and Always a Crowd Favorite
Jalapeño poppers are a staple in American pop food culture and are often served at sports bars or other fast-casual restaurants. They can take several forms, sometimes breaded and deep fried, sometimes baked, and sometimes wrapped in bacon, but they’re almost always made from fresh jalapeño peppers stuffed with a flavorful mix of cheese (for that spicy-cheesy-creamy flavor combo!). Pickled jalapeños are my everyday fridge staple, but when I want a warm, crowd-pleasing bite, poppers win every time.
For my recipe, I went the easy and budget-friendly route (obvi) and opted for baked poppers with just enough bacon added in to give great flavor without making them over-the-top expensive. This jalapeño poppers recipe is easy enough for even a beginner to make, and tasty enough that you’ll be thankful you didn’t drop a ton of cash on ordering out!
Recipe Success Tips
- Use medium-sized peppers. This recipe makes enough filling for jalapeños that are about 3 inches long. If your peppers are bigger, you may need a little extra cream cheese to fully fill them without skimping.
- Shop around for the best price. Luckily, jalapeños are usually some of the least expensive items in the produce aisle, but if you can’t find them for a good price at your local chain grocery store, look for a Hispanic or Latin grocery store where they’re guaranteed to be super affordable.
- These jalapeño poppers are pretty spicy! Despite removing the seeds and ribs (the spiciest part of the jalapeño), some of the spicy oils remain in the jalapeño, giving these poppers just the right amount of spicy heat to balance the creamy cheeses. If you’re not a spicy foods fan you’ll probably want to skip this one!
- I use a mix of cream cheese and cheddar cheese for an ultra-creamy finish with a nice cheddar bite. You can also try using Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack (if you like it EXTRA spicy!) in place of the cheddar.
- Wear disposable gloves to avoid spicy fingers. Jalapeño oils love to linger, and gloves are the easiest way to protect your hands. I’ve also shared a few tried-and-true ways to remove the oils from your hands under the step photos below if you skip the gloves.
- Sweet peppers work great, too. One reader shared that they use those small multicolored sweet peppers for anyone who doesn’t love heat, and I think that’s such a smart move. The filling works just as well, and you still get a cheesy bite without the spice.
Jalapeño Poppers
Cost $4.54 recipe / $0.76 serving
Ingredients
- 2 oz. bacon (about 2 slices, (56g) $0.74)
- 6 jalapeños (3 inches long, $1.44*)
- 4 oz. cream cheese (room-temperature, (113g) $1.04)
- ½ cup cheddar cheese (shredded, (57g) $1.10)
- 1 green onion (sliced, $0.10)
- 1 tsp everything bagel seasoning (about 3.5g, $0.10**)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder (about 0.5g, $0.02)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it is brown and crispy. Remove it from the pan and let it cool on a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise and then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and white ribs, being careful not to tear or puncture the peppers.
- Once the bacon is cool, crumble it into tiny pieces and reserve about 1 tablespoon to use as a topping. Add the bacon to a bowl with the cream cheese, shredded cheddar (reserve a small amount for topping as well), sliced green onion, Everything bagel seasoning, and garlic powder. Mix the ingredients together until they're evenly combined.
- Divide the cheese filling between the 12 pepper halves and then spread it out to fill and smooth out the top.
- Place the filled peppers on a large parchment-lined baking sheet then sprinkle the reserved crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese over the top.
- Bake the peppers for 15 minutes or just until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly. Avoid over-baking the peppers or else they'll become too soft to pick up and enjoy. Allow the poppers to cool just enough to handle, then serve and enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Jalapeño Poppers Step-by-Step Photos
Cook the bacon: Preheat your oven to 425ºF. Meanwhile, cook 2 oz. of bacon (about 2 slices) in a skillet over medium heat until it is brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the skillet and let it drain on a paper towel-lined plate as you prepare the rest of the dish.
Prep the peppers: Slice six jalapeño peppers in half length-wise, then scrape out the seeds and white ribs with a spoon, taking care not to tear the outside of the pepper. To prevent the transfer of spicy oils from your hands to your eyes, mouth, or nose, either use gloves while preparing the peppers or see our tips above for removing jalapeño oil from your hands below.
Make the filling: Once the bacon is cool enough to touch, crumble it into tiny pieces. Reserve about 1 teaspoon of the bacon to use as a topping, then add the rest to a bowl with 4 oz. of room-temperature cream cheese, ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (reserve about 2 Tbsp for topping), 1 sliced green onion, 1 teaspoon Everything Bagel Seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. Mix these ingredients together until evenly combined.
Fill the peppers: Divide the cheese mixture evenly between the 12 jalapeño halves, then spread it out to fill the peppers, smoothing out the top.
Place the filled jalapeños on a large parchment-lined baking sheet, then sprinkle the reserved bacon bits and shredded cheddar over top.
Bake: Place the jalapeño poppers in the preheated 425ºF oven and bake for 15 minutes, or just until the cheese is melted and bubbly on top. Avoid overcooking the poppers or else the peppers will get too soft to pick up and eat. Allow the peppers to cool just enough to handle, then serve and enjoy!
How to Remove Jalapeño Oil From Your Hands
If you’ve ever cooked with jalapeños before, you know the horror of accidentally touching your eyes afterward!! Jalapeños contain natural oils that can easily transfer from your hands to your eyes or any other delicate skin, causing an intense burning sensation, and sometimes, just washing your hands isn’t enough to remove the oils. Here are some of my tried-and-true steps you can take to reduce the burn:
- Massage a teaspoon or two of cooking oil into your hands. The oil will help dissolve the spicy oils from the jalapeños that are stuck to your hands.
- Wash your hands with dish soap instead of hand soap. Dish soap is formulated to break up oily residues whereas hand soaps are often designed to keep skin moisturized.
- Rub your hands with an acidic substance, like lemon juice, vinegar, or tomato sauce. This can help break up any spicy oils left on the skin.
- OR just wear gloves while working with the jalapeños and avoid the risk. 😉
Serving Suggestions
I love these little poppers on their own, but if you want a dipping sauce I would definitely recommend ranch dressing. I’m not usually a ranch person, but the flavor combination between the spicy jalapeño poppers and cooling ranch dressing is hard to beat! I’d also serve them with another starchy appetizer, maybe something like our Steak Fries or Loaded Smashed Potatoes.
Storage & Reheating
Store leftover jalapeño poppers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days after they’ve cooled completely. To reheat, I prefer using a 350ºF oven for about 8-10 minutes so they warm through evenly. The microwave works in a pinch and will heat them in 30-60 seconds, but the peppers will soften quite a bit.
I don’t really recommend freezing these poppers since the cream cheese filling can turn grainy once thawed. If you don’t mind these possible texture changes, lay them out on a baking sheet and flash freeze for an hour before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag. Freeze them for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge before reheating.
My advice while preparing these? Wear gloves. We have at least half a box of medical type disposables left over from the covid years. They are not expensive, come in handy for other tasks, and will keep you from accidently getting chili oils in you eyes if you forget and touch your face
Quick. Easy. Yummy.
Hi, can this recipe be frozen before or after making or cook please.
Delicious recipe! Took a tray to a party and they disappeared quickly. Tip on preparing jalapeños is to use a grapefruit spoon to scrape out the seeds and membrane. Works like a dream.
Exactly what I used!!
Very very yummy! Did not disappoint. Had to use a little more cream cheese than anticipated due to buying bigger jalapeños.
I get that it’s a budget thing but I recommend just wrapping the whole popper in a half a strip of bacon. Other than that these are amazing just as the followed recipe.
What is the sauce on the side?
Ranch!
This is a wonderful recipe!! I’m making it tomorrow for our NY Eve celebration. But for folks who don’t like hot stuff–can you imagine?–those bags of adorable little multicolored sweet peppers work well for this delicious recipe. I have a grandson who won’t touch a jalapeno, so I’m doing both hot and sweet this year. The guy who hates hot stuff is just past his middle 20s, while his younger brothers are bona fide pepper lovers.
I remember once I pre-made a jalapeno popper dip as an appetizer the night before a holiday gathering and didn’t use gloves because I can remember not to touch my eyes and whatnot, but my finger tips were literally burning all night long just due to the oils alone. Thanks for the tips on how to get that off, but I’m doing gloves all the time from then on, it was so uncomfortable!
Love your story–having forgotten gloves once myself!!! Well, more than once because I forget that poblanos can sometimes be hotter than bell peppers–maybe once in 20 or 30 times