As I get older, I find more ways to bond with my dad. We are very different people and have had very different lives, but one thing that we’ve always enjoyed together is spicy food. One of our mutually favorite snacks is jalapeño poppers, but the full fried version is quite a process. So, I came up with these easy Baked jalapeño poppers!
It’s not unheard of for me to eat a dozen of these by myself. They are that good!
Sometimes I’ll make complicated versions of poppers with shrimp or cook them in a smoker or over the grill. Sometimes they are fried or baked, but they always have cheese.
These baked jalapeño poppers are my introduction to those that are unfamiliar with the joys of a bacon-wrapped, cheesy and just-spicy-enough popper. Make them for a game. Make them to share. Or just make them for your damn self because they are really good.
Baked Jalapeño Poppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 large jalapeños, halved and seeded
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 8 strips bacon, halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Split jalapeños down the center. Leave the stems intact. Scoop out seeds. WASH HANDS!
- Cut cubes of cheese to fit in each half of each jalapeño.
- Cut bacon strips in half and wrap each jalapeño with bacon. Make it so the seam of the bacon wrap is on the bottom of the jalapeño so the bacon stays closed as it bakes.
- Bake poppers for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees F. until bacon is crispy, pepper is blistered, and cheese is very melted. If you have thick bacon, you might need to bake for an extra 5-10 minutes.
- Let poppers cool for a few minutes before serving. Reheat poppers in a 350 degree oven.
Video
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
- Are you a shrimp fan? Try out my Shrimp Jalapeno Poppers!
How to Make Jalapeño Poppers in the Oven
There are very complicated popper recipes out there. If you want to get into it, I usually recommend starting with a cream cheese base and then adding flavors you like.
The one problem with cream cheese though is that it can get too melted. You have to be a bit careful with how you cook it.
Using cheddar though is a lot easier to work with. All you need is three things: good sharp cheddar, BIG jalapeños, and bacon.
To prep the peppers, cut the jalapeños in half longwise, but leave the stems on. If you cut the stems off, the cheese will just ooze out of the back of the peppers. NO GOOD.
Then scoop out the seeds and most of the white pith of the pepper. This will make the peppers more mild since most of the capsaicin is in the pith.
Then just cut up some cubed cheddar that fits in the pepper!
For these, I don’t recommend using grated cheese. Grated cheese melts faster and that’s actually bad for this recipe. These bake for a while and you it’s better to have blocks of cheese in there.
Then, just wrap each pepper with half a strip of bacon. The only trick here is to wrap it so the ends of the strip are under the pepper. This will keep the bacon wrapped around as it bakes.
Place all the finished peppers on a baking sheet lined with foil!
NOTE: Remember to wash your hands after handling all those peppers!
Finishing the Homemade Jalapeño Poppers
Bake these beauties at 400° F. for at least 20 minutes. They will most likely need 25 minutes and may need up to 30 if you use thick bacon.
As the jalapeno poppers bake, here are some things that might happen.
The bacon might slip off a few peppers. Don’t worry about it.
The cheese might explode out of a few peppers. Don’t worry about it.
The peppers and/or cheese might stick to the foil a bit. Don’t worry about it.
Get it? At the end of the day, even with all that, these will be very delicious. Just let them cool for a few minutes before chomping into one!
I usually stop myself after 4-5 of these, but I’m not sure what the upper limit is for me. I could eat a bunch of them!
Don’t think you need to set up a fryer or have some fancy prep method to make good poppers. These easy baked jalapeño poppers are very delicious and Macheesmo (and Dad-of-Macheesmo) approved!
Here are a few other great Game Day Party Appetizers!
- Roasted Broccoli and Cheddar Queso
- Korean Chicken Wings
- Baked Shrimp Dip
- BLT Dip from Yellow Bliss Road
Angie
Ok, this sounds fantasit! Its almost October here, but we’re far enough south that my jalepeno plants are still going strong. I’m canning my red peppers tomorrow, but I think I’m going to make a few of these for Sunday’s game.
Michelle @ Modern Acupuncture
A friend made these for me recently and they were out of this world. Happy to have found a recipe – actually way easier than I imagined!
Bernard @MeyerFoodBlog
These are absolutely fantastic. I make my version with a mixture of feta and herbs, but I think any cheesy stuffing would work
Yuen Mi | A Travel Diary
I love spicy food and trying out new peppers everytime I find them in the supermarket. This looks absolutely fantastic and so easy to make. Will give this a try this weekend since I’m heading to the farmer’s market. Salty and spicy just can’t go wrong.
Sarah
I’m not one for spicy food BUT, I love jalapenos! Making these along with quesadillas tonight, can’t wait!
Cheryl
I have made these so many times; I love them and when I throw a party these are always the first to be gone!!!
Thanks for sharing this easy and delicious recipe!!
Beth
When you serve these for a party how do you keep them warm? I need to make about 100!
Nick
Hey Beth, I think you would have to re-warm them in a 300F. oven for a few minutes in batches. I think that’s what I would do! Good luck!
Geoffrey O. Hartwig
I do the prepping a little differently. I do cut off the stems making sure the cut removes only the stem and none of the pith. Cut out the seeds and some of the pith leaving a dam of pith to keep all the cheese right where it is supposed to be at time for eating. Creating this dam also broadens ingredients options like not adding any wheat based fillers to help eliminate any gluten sensitivity reactions. I also use a counter top convection oven. I have really had a delicious time experimenting with all the variables such as bacon thickness, cooking time and cooking temperature. I do most of my cooking with no preheating the oven. I welcome any comments which will take us all to even better recipes. Eating the dam is optional! LOL ;^}
Margie
This recipe is getting closer to realistic cooking times/temps. I have seen recipes that say 350/10mins, 400/15 mins. I cooked yesterday at 410 for 20 minutes,then broiled for 10(top of bacon got done, not the bottom), still had to cook 10 more minutes at 425 ,to get the bacon done. I use cream cheese with shredded cheese added and cut my bacon in half lengthwise
Caroline
These are excellent, thank you!
MamaMakesDo – Charlotte
These look awesome, I know what I’ll be popping in the oven for our Eurovision party night (… pun intended)
Kata
Greasy, salty and spicy in one bite? I am allll in for that! :)
Hannah
These look so yummy!
Amy
Could I sub cream cheese here without making any other changes to cook time/ temp, etc? Thank you!!
Jurgen
These are really good! Very tasty and easy to make!
Mike
This tasty recipe is just what I wanted. No mixing, No long list of ingredients, No muss, No fuss. Love this KISS recipe! Very glad I found it! Thank you!
LOL BEANS
This scrumptious recipe is exactly what I was looking for. There is no need to mix the components, and there is not a large list of them either. Very yummy, and the preparation is a breeze.