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Bacon-Wrapped JalapeƱo Poppers

bacon jalapeno peppers on a serving plate.

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5 from 2 reviews

Oven-baked JalapeƱo poppers wrapped in crispy bacon and stuffed with a zingy cilantro-lime cream cheese filling are the perfect party appetizer.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 10 (3 to 4-inch long) jalapeƱo peppers
  • 4 teaspoons lime juice
  • Zest of one lime
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 10 slices of bacon

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400Ā°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and place an oven-safe baking rack on top of the foil.
  2. Prep the peppers by slicing off the stems. Slice each pepper in half lengthwise and clean out the ribs and seeds. Rinse the peppers in water to remove any stubborn seeds.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice with the honey. Add the salt, cream cheese, and cilantro. Using an electric mixer, mix it all together until well combined. You can do this by hand with a spoon, but I find it’s much easier with a mixer.
  4. Slice each piece of bacon in half so you have 20 shorter strips. Fill each pepper with approximately one tablespoon of the filling. Depending on the size of your peppers, you may need a little more or less, so wait to wrap them with the bacon until you’ve filled them. That way, if you need to steal some filling from one to top off another, you can do that.
  5. Once all of the peppers are filled with cheese, wrap each with a piece of bacon. I like to wrap them so the ends of the bacon meet underneath the pepper. That way, the peppers stay wrapped while they bake. If you’re worried, you can always secure the bacon with toothpicks – just remember to remove them when you serve the poppers.
  6. Place the bacon-wrapped peppers on top of the baking rack. While they bake, the bacon fat will drip into the baking sheet, and your poppers won’t get soggy from sitting in the grease.
  7. Bake the poppers for 20 to 25 minutes or until the bacon is cooked through and crispy.Ā 

Notes

  • If you don’t love a lot of heat, look for jalapeƱo peppers with smooth, unblemished skin. JalapeƱo peppers get spicier as they age, so you can tell if they’ve been sitting around for a while if they have white flecks and blemished, wrinkled skin.Ā 
  • Removing the ribs and seeds will also reduce the heat factor.Ā 
  • Be sure to buy peppers that are 3 to 4 inches long. Any bigger than that, and you won’t have enough of the filling, so you’ll need to make extra.
  • Use thin bacon slices and not thick-sliced bacon. Thinner slices will cook faster and end up crispier.
  • You can assemble the poppers a day ahead and refrigerate them in an airtight container until you’re ready to bake them.
  • I don’t recommend freezing them. I’ve tried prepping them ahead and freezing them for later, and they are not as good after you bake them. The cream cheese doesn’t freeze well, and the filling ends up runny.

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