This recipe for delicious Jalapeno Poppers filled with cream cheese, crispy bacon, and parmesan cheese is crumbed and fried to perfection and is sure to be a hit with all your guests, including the kids.
For more mouth-watering finger food ideas, try our homemade mozzarella sticks or sweet potato tot recipe.
Jalapeño Poppers Recipe
If you’re looking for delicious finger foods to keep your family and friends well-fed, look no further than jalapeno poppers.
Stuffed full of two types of cheese, cream cheese and parmesan, along with everyone’s favorite, bacon! The blend of spicy jalapeño and saltiness from the bacon and cheese make these irresistible.
Don’t listen to those who say baked jalapeno poppers are the best because these are way better! Covered with panko breadcrumbs and fried until golden brown, they’re crispy and remain tender and juicy on the inside. Baked jalapeño poppers don’t have the right crispiness that we come to expect from our favorite finger foods.
Once you get the hang of this recipe, you can change things up by using different cheeses or even other types of meat.
Ingredients for Jalapeno Poppers
- Fresh jalapenos: Pick the largest ones you can find with tight, imperfection-free skin.
- Cream cheese: For our jalapeno poppers, we used Philadelphia original cream cheese; feel free to use your favorite brand.
- Bacon: Feel free to use any bacon that you like. Smoked streaky bacon is a favorite around here!
- Parmesan cheese: Avoid using the grated stuff and opt for a higher quality Italian parmesan.
- Eggs: Fresh cage-free eggs are best.
- Breadcrumbs: We like to use panko breadcrumbs, and they always have great results; you can use homemade or any other type you want.
- All-purpose flour: Nothing fancy is required; your generic all-purpose will be suitable.
- Cooking oil: We tend to stick with extra virgin olive, but you can use what you like; avoid anything where the taste overpowers the flavor of the jalapeno poppers.
How to Make Jalapeno Poppers
- Prepare the jalapenos: Wash and dry them, then slice them in half.
- Remove the spicy parts: Remove the seeds and white parts of the jalapenos.
- Stuffing: Combine the cooked bacon with cream cheese and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the jalapenos: Fill the jalapenos with the stuffing.
- Flour: Dust the stuffed jalapeno with the all-purpose flour.
- Egg: Dip the dusted jalapeno into the egg.
- Crumb: Allow any excess egg to drip off, then coat the jalapeno in bread crumbs.
- Continue crumbing: Have all of the jalapenos crumbed and ready to be fried on a plate.
- Fry: In hot oil, fry the jalapeno poppers, and make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan.
- Drain: Scoop out the poppers and allow excess fat to drain off. Then let them cool slightly before serving.
Tips for making Jalapeno Poppers
Handling jalapenos: Don’t be a hero; wear gloves when handling the jalapeños! They can burn your hands, or even worse; you could accidentally get it in your eyes or other sensitive parts!
Jalapeno stuffing: Ready made 7oz (200g) tub of bacon dip is a good cheat instead of buying a block of cream cheese and bacon strips separately
Checking oil temperature: you can check the oil temperature by sprinkling a little bit of the breadcrumbs into the oil, and if they are steadily foaming and frying straight away, the oil is ready. If the breadcrumbs sink and aren’t frying, it’s not ready yet.
Getting the perfect color: Scoop the jalapeño out of the oil when it turns light golden brown; the breadcrumbs will continue to cook and turn a little darker to a perfect golden brown while resting on the cooling rack.
Picking the perfect jalapeno: you will need to find large jalapenos, the bigger, the better. They should be a vibrant green with firm skin and free of soft spots or too many blemishes.
Soften the cream cheese: don’t try to struggle through having an almost solid block of cream cheese. Take it out of the fridge and let it soften so it’s easier to mix in the bacon and parmesan.
Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz large fresh jalapeños (10 jalapeños)
- 7 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 slices bacon
- 1.7 oz parmesan cheese finely grated
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 5.3 oz All-purpose flour
- 3.5 oz panko breadcrumbs
- 16.9 floz cooking oil
Instructions
Preparing the jalapenos
- Clean thoroughly and then pat dry.
- Cut the jalapeños into halves, lengthwise.
- With a spoon or sharp knife, remove the seeds and the ribs.
Making the jalapeno filling
- Cook the bacon in a pan until crispy, drain off as much fat as you can and then set aside to cool.
- Take the cooled bacon and finely chop.
- In a mixing bowl, add cream cheese, parmesan cheese and bacon bits.
- Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.
- Stir until well combined with a spatula and set aside.
Stuffing the jalapenos
- Fill each jalapeno with the filling using a knife or spoon. Try to keep the filling within the edges. At this point you can save these in the fridge (covered with cling wrap) for a day or two, for when making bulk lots.
Dredging the stuffed jalapeños
- Prepare three separate bowls.
- Fill one with plain flour, another with the eggs and the last with panko breadcrumbs.
- Beat the eggs slightly.
- Dredge each jalapeno by coating with flour, egg and then breadcrumbs.
- Put them in a fridge for 10 minutes to set the breadcrumbs before frying.
Frying the jalapeno poppers
- Turn on a stove at medium heat.
- Pour in cooking oil, enough to submerge the Jalapeno popper completely. Heat the oil to 374°F (190°C).
- Gently place the jalapeno into the pan, away from yourself to avoid hot oil splashes with the filling side up.
- Cook until golden without turning (around 1-2 min) longer than that you will start to see the filling leak out of the coating and it can be very messy.
- Scoop the crispy jalapeño popper out of the oil and rest them on a cooling rack.
Nutrition
Are Jalapeno Poppers spicy?
Jalapeno poppers should have a bit of punch to them, but sometimes you get spicy jalapenos and other times mild, depending on how they were cultivated.
Remove the seeds and the rib portion (all white parts) to make them as mild as possible.
How many Jalapeno Poppers per person?
This is a difficult question, but for argument’s sake, you should allow at least three whole jalapenos per person, which means each person gets six halves.
What to eat with Jalapeno Poppers?
You don’t need to have anything with these beauties, but if you must, then some hot fries as a side will do the trick as a great finger food duo.
For extra flavor, try a peri peri mayo or a creamy garlic aioli to cool things down.
What are some other stuffings to try?
Once you’ve mastered this recipe, you can try some of your own combinations; most things will work, so give it a try. If you’re stuck for ideas, here are some suggestions:
Bacon and smoked gouda: only a slight variation of the current recipe, yet the flavor from the smoked gouda goes so well with the jalapenos and bacon.
Three kinds of cheese: Vintage cheddar, mozzarella, and cream cheese. You get the sharp and bitey flavor from the cheddar, the mozzarella’s stringiness, and the cream cheese’s creaminess.
French onion dip and Parmesan: It sounds like cheating, but it tastes too good to care. Simply combine French onion dip and parmesan cheese for the stuffing, and enjoy!
Caramelized onion and cheddar cheese: Just like cheese and onion-flavored chips, the flavors complement each other perfectly.
As you can see, there are plenty of variations you could attempt, and we have yet to start talking about different meats we could include, such as ground beef, shredded chicken, pepperoni, or even crab.
