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These Bacon Jalapeño Poppers are exactly the right snack for any and all occasions! Unbreaded and unfried these poppers are sure to be a hit with your family and friends.
Large mild jalapeños are cleaned out and then stuffed with a spicy cheese filling then baked to perfection in the oven. Sriracha adds just the right amount of spice and it will leave you longing for more!
Besides being unfried and unbreaded these poppers are also:
- Low Carb
- Diabetic Friendly
- Keto Friendly
- Gluten-Free
But even if they are all those things, above all they’re AMAZING.
Which Jalapeños Are Mild??
Obviously, you can’t tell the heat of a pepper until you bite into it. But I have my method for picking milder peppers to enjoy as poppers and I’ll share it with you.
I have found in all my years of making Baked Jalapeño Poppers (or try them grilled!!) that bigger jalapeños are often milder than their smaller counterparts. So if you have a choice when shopping for peppers go for the big ones!
My kids will swear on their lives that peppers that are straight are hotter than curved peppers. This has proven to be an unreliable method for me but THEY stand by it so I thought I would share it.
And if you’re growing jalapeños at home, you can try letting them get slightly stressed for a HOTTER pepper. By that I mean withholding watering for a day or two, apparently, this can make hotter peppers. I have not done this but a friend of mine did and they blew her doors off!
What do I need to Make Bacon Jalapeño Poppers
- jalapeños
- cream cheese
- shredded cheese, use cheddar OR a mix of shredded cheeses
- milk
- sriracha
- *optional if not using sriracha* 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, taste and adjust
What kind of bacon should I use in these poppers?
You can use ANY kind of bacon you like to eat. Thick, thin, pepper bacon, it doesn’t really matter, as long as you like it. I typically use thick bacon. But I ALSO love to use the Costco Real Bacon Bits because it is real bacon.
How come I have leftover filling?
The thing about peppers is that they’re imprecise. A pound of large thick-skinned peppers may not hold all the filling that a pound of small thin-skinned peppers will. This recipe is generally for a pound of peppers, and you may have SOME filling leftover.
If you’re filling peppers and you find that you have too little filling simply don’t fill all the peppers to the very top. You’re going to top them with the extra bacon so no one will notice.
OR you can simply put aside your extra peppers and use them in another dish.
We LOve jalapeño poppers!
Try all my other jalapeño popper recipes:
- Oven-Baked Jalapeño Poppers
- Wendy’s Jalapeño Popper Salad
- Grilled Jalapeño Poppers
- Baked Jalapeño Popper Dip
- Fresh Jalapeño Dip
Bacon Jalapeño Poppers
Ingredients
- 1 pound jalapeños
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, use cheddar or a blend
- 2 TBSP milk
- 2 TBSP sriracha
- 3/4 cup chopped bacon, use real bacon bits!
- *optional if not using sriracha* 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- preheat oven to 400°
- wash and dry peppers
- wear gloves if you need to
- cut peppers in half lengthwise
- use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and pith, leaving the stem end in place, if you cut this off the filling will pour out
- set pepper halves in a baking pan or on a baking sheet
- mix the cream chees, shredded cheese, milk, and some of the sriracha together until well combined
- taste and add more sriracha if needed, you can always add more but you can't take it out
- set aside 1/4 cup of the bacon and mix the rest of the bacon into the filling
- fill the pepper halves
- top with the remaining bacon
- bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until peppers are knife tender, the tip of the knife can pierce the pepper with little resistance
- cool slightly before serving
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