Stuffed jalapeños, also known as jalapeño poppers, are an awesome finger food day or night. To really take these to the next level, I wrapped them in bacon rashers. So what you end up getting are delicious, stuffed peppers with a crispy bacon coating. Serve these cheesy, stuffed jalapeños with sour cream, hot sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.
First and foremost, you have to wear gloves. Jalapeños are spicy and unfortunately it is the type of pepper that sticks to everything it touches. So what will happen is even after you wash your hands after touching jalapeños, the spiciness still sticks and will leave burning sensations on your skin. I once had jalapeño burn my eyes even though I had touched them 2 days before. So it is not worth it, in my opinion. Next step is to remove the seeds by using a small, sharp knife. We will be stuffing it with a cheese mixture made of cheddar and cream cheese instead. The seasoning is very basic-just a bit of salt, pepper and parsley. Bacon adds lots of flavor so there’s no need to overdo the seasoning.
Toothpicks are used to hold the stuffed jalapeño poppers in place so they don’t unravel as it bakes. The oven does the hard part for you so this is great for game night or summer barbecues. I like to serve this with sour cream or ranch, but it is totally up to you. Another awesome finger food recipe with jalapeño and bacon is my chicken pot pie spring roll recipe.
Ingredients
5-6 jalapeños, sliced in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4cup block cream cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup cooked ground beef
5-6 uncooked bacon rashers, cut in half'
Toothpicks
Instructions
- Remove the seeds and insides from the insides of each jalapeño half and throw them away.
- Preheat the oven to 400°C/205°C.
- Soften the cream cheese even further for about 30 seconds in the microwave.
- Mix the cream cheese with the black pepper, parsley, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt and ground beef.
- Scoop about a heaped teaspoon of this cheese mixture into the hollowed jalapeños.
- Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with a bacon rasher half and push a toothpick through the sides of the jalapeño to hold the bacon in place.
- Line a large baking tray with foil and place each stuffed jalapeño on it.
- Bake the stuffed jalapeños for 30 minutes until the bacon looks crispy and browned.
- Remove the toothpicks and serve the jalapeños warm with your favorite dipping sauce.