Jalapeno Poppers have to be one of my favorite snacks. They are the perfect party appetizer, one thing is for certain when you bring these out, the good times are going to roll. Best of all you can stuff them with cheese, bacon, shrimp, or just about anything else and they are going to disappear.
I think the first time I tried a jalapeno popper was when I was working in a restaurant, or you might just call it a place that served food. I thought these hot poppers were the best thing we had on the menu.
Crispy, creamy, and just a bit spicy, Jalapeno Poppers are a hard-to-beat party snack or tailgate food everyone will love. The next time you get a craving for these classic restaurant apps, forget about going out. You can make the best poppers at home! I know you are going to love this jalapeño poppers recipe.
Table of Contents
What’s a Jalapeno Popper?
Anyone who hasn’t tried a Jalapeno Poppers is in for a real treat with this recipe. It all starts with stuffing a hollowed-out jalapeno pepper full of your choice of cheese and other ingredients. The best part of making these is you get to customize the cheese filling any way you want. Just think of all of the fun ways you can make these your stuffed pepper.
The stuffed peppers are then breaded and fried until golden brown. What is not to love about that?
Whatever way you like to eat your stuffed jalapeno peppers, after you realize how easy they are to make at home, this recipe will become your go-to crowd-pleaser.
Are Jalapeno peppers spicy?
Some jalapeno peppers are spicy, and some are mild. it is a wives tale that if you look at a jalapeno pepper and see brown streaks on it, they are hotter, than those without the brown streaks on them. If you do not like super spicy flavors I would remove the seeds and the white inner membranes in them when you cut them open.
Before You Begin – Some Words of Caution for Jalapeno Recipes
Making Jalapeno Poppers isn’t tricky, but there are a few basics safety tips anyone who does often cook with jalapeno peppers needs to know. Jalapenos peppers are not exceeding hot, but they can pack quite a wallop with a Scoville rating of between 2,500 and 8000. Before preparing the recipe, remember to:
- Wear gloves when working with jalapenos. The peppers can cause slight skin irritation for people who are highly susceptible to capsaicin oil, but the real risk is forgetting you handled peppers and then touching your eyes, nose or other sensitive areas of your body. That is sure to give you a rather nasty surprise. Remember to always wash your hands with soap immediately after preparing the peppers.
- Test your peppers before stuffing them. Some jalapenos are mild, and some are wild. Do yourself a favor and find out which type you have before starting. The tip of the pepper is the mildest part of the pepper and up by the stem is where the heat-level tops out. Slice off the tiny bit of the tip of the pepper, taste the pepper, and this should give you an idea of how hot they are.
- Reduce the heat by cleaning out the pepper thoroughly. The pepper’s seeds and the very top layer of flesh on the inside of the pepper called the pith contain the most capsaicin oil. Use a small spoon to scrape out the seeds and remove the pith. You can rinse out the peppers to get rid of even more heat. Make sure the peppers are bone dry before starting to stuff.
Jalapeno Popper Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Fresh jalapenos
- Cream cheese
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
- Milk
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Paprika
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Seasoned bread crumbs
- Vegetable oil for frying
How to Make Jalapeno Poppers
- Slice jalapenos in half lengthwise.
- Use a spoon to scrape out the pith and seeds from the peppers.
- Place cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a small bowl and stir until well blended.
- Use a small spoon to fill each pepper half with the cream cheese mixture.
- Place flour, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder in a bowl and whisk to combine thoroughly.
- Place milk into a separate shallow bowl.
- Dip stuffed jalapeno into the seasoned flour.
- Place the floured jalapeno in the milk and turn it over to coat all sides with milk.
- Place the jalapeno back into the seasoned flour and turn it over to coat all sides with flour.
- Place the floured pepper on a rack on a baking sheet and let the peppers sit for about 10 minutes.
- Pour breadcrumbs into a separate bowl.
- Dip floured jalapeno pepper into the milk again.
- Dip the jalapeno into the bread crumbs.
- Place the jalapeno back on the rack.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees.
- Dip the jalapeno into the milk and the bread crumbs for a second time.
- Let the breaded jalapenos set for about 5 minutes.
- Fry the jalapeno poppers one or two at a time until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Drain fried jalapeno poppers before serving.
What should I dip my jalapeno poppers in?
There are so many possibilities when enjoying this game day snack. Here are a few suggestions for you.
- White queso
- Ranch dressing
- Thai sweet chili sauce
- Raspberry chipotle dip
- Pineapple chutney
- Cilantro lime dip
- Blue cheese dressing
Storing and reheating leftover jalapeno poppers
It’s a rare occasion when you have any leftovers, but should store leftovers! Here are a few tips for you.
- Refrigerate – after they have cooled off to room temperature place in an airtight container, they will last 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze – after they have cooled off to room temperature store in an airtight container and freeze for 3 months.
What to serve with jalapeno poppers?
If you are serving these as part of a party menu, I recommend going with a Mexican theme. Here would be some suggestions to help round out this theme.
- Homemade margaritas
- Cheesy queso
- Corn tortilla chips
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Nachos
- Salsa
- Tacos
- Quesadillas
Make More jalapeño poppers Than You Need
The recipe below makes 30 poppers, but you can easily make two or three times that amount at one time. Then you can freeze the poppers and reheat them when you are ready to enjoy.
Can you freeze Jalapeno Poppers and reheat them later?
Cook them as directed, let cool, place them spaced apart on a baking sheet, and then freeze solid. When frozen, place them in freezer bags. Reheat frozen jalapeno poppers in a 350-degree oven until hot, around 20 minutes.
Love jalapeno peppers? Try these recipes!
- Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers
- Candied Jalapenos
- Cheddar Cheese Jalapeno Poppers
- Jalapeno Cornbread
- Jalapeno Cream Cheese Wontons
- Jalapeno Ranch Dip
Great Game Day Recipes
- 7 Layer Dip
- Bacon Wrapped Smokies
- Fried Cheese Curds
- Jarlsberg Cheese Dip
- Taco Ring
- Vegetable Dip
- White Queso Dip
Check out more of my easy appetizer recipes and the best game day food here on CopyKat!
Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients
- 30 jalapeno peppers
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 12 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Slice jalapenos in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the pith and the seeds inside of the peppers. The seeds and the pith are where the intense heat is, so you want to remove the heat.
- Prepare the cheesy filling by combining the cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese in a small mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Use a ssmall poon to fill each pepper half with the cheese mixture.
- Prepare seasoned flour by placing the flour into a small shallow bowl. Add salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder to the flour. Whisk or stir spices into the flour until it has a uniform appearance.
- Place milk into a separate shallow bowl.
- Dip stuffed jalapeno into the seasoned flour, the milk, and then back into the seasoned flour.
- Place floured pepper on a baking sheet with a rack. Let the peppers "dry" for about 10 minutes. This step is crucial for the peppers. The flour layer will help the stuffing remain inside the pepper, and give the breadcrumbs something to hold onto.
- Pour breadcrumbs into a separate bowl.
- Dip floured jalapeno pepper into the milk and then into the bread crumbs. Place pepper back on the rack.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees.
- Dip pepper into the milk and the bread crumbs for the second time. Go ahead and dip all, this should be enough drying time for the coating. The bread crumb coating needs about five minutes for its drying time.
- Fry peppers one or two at a time until golden brown. This will only take a minute or two.
- Remove poppers from the oil and drain on a wire rack resting on a baking sheet. Draining them on paper towels can leave the bottoms a bit sogy.
brenda
Think pepper should be cook alittle. Little too hard to eat.
stephaniemanley
I appreciate you input. How long did it take you to great the peppers prepped and ready to go before you started to cook them? It takes me about 10 minutes, but I am pretty familiar with the recipe.
stephaniemanley
Thanks Brenda, how large were your peppers? Were they a small, medium, or a large size?
brenda
They r good but takes a long time to get ready. Its longer than 10 min.
Kelly @ Mostly Homemade Mom
Oh my word, these bring me back to my hometown Philly days as a teenager! Yum!
stephaniemanley
There are just some dishes that make us yearn for home.
Lauren @ HealthyDelish
jalapeno poppers are my guilty pleasure. These look perfect!
stephaniemanley
I know what you mean about guilty pleasures. Thank you for dropping by!
Amanda ( The Kitcheneer)
These jalapeno poppers look so good! I know what to make when the jalepenos in my garden are ripe!
stephaniemanley
I can imagine these would be incredible with fresh produce out of your garden.
Jaren
These sound so yummy!
coolstorybuddy!
I made these twice! Great general recipe. I especially appreciated your breading technique. The only substitution I made was panko crumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs. The poppers were super crunchy and super tasty. Oh, I highly recommend blanching the jalapeños for about a minute or so (before stuffing) to make sure the pepper would be cooked through without worrying about burning the breading.
stephaniemanley
I bet these were wonderful with the panko bread crumbs! Great idea.
venusnbleugenes
Just wonderful! I am glad that I found you and your recipe. Thank You!!
stephaniemanley
I hope you gave them a try.
Tim Bates
great recipe! I’m going to make it right now!!!
stephaniemanley
How did they turn out?
Jay
You get SO many sparkle points for putting captioning on your video. Thank you–no one else does that, and it is much appreciated by us deaf folks 🙂
stephaniemanley
Thank you. I was getting some of them done. Many are, I will start it up again. Thanks!
Stephanie
nana303
I like the heat. I don’t see the reasoning for removing the tastiest part of the pepper.
stephaniemanley
Well then you wouldn’t see why I would remove it at all ;). I personally think sometimes they can be too hot, so I feel it is ok to remove the inside.
Victoria Anne Egan
do they lose the flavor at all if you make them, then put them in the freezer for a little?
stephaniemanley
I haven’t done long term storage, so my answer would be no.
Carol
I /made these tonight and they were awesome! This recipe is a keeper.Th
anks for sharing.
stephaniemanley
I am glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
Brandon
Looks great, we will try them today!
stephaniemanley
I hope you enjoyed them.
John A Trumpower
If you freeze them before frying them, how do you cook them from frozen?
stephaniemanley
You simply deep fry them from their frozen state. They are done when they float.
kristiandior
thanks. i cannot wait to try this..
Dixi
My father plants banana peppers every year in his garden. We make hot mustard with them, but we have plenty in the cupboard now. I’m looking for something new to try with them. I’m gonna give your recipe a whirl and hope they turn out o.k. even though they are the banana and not jalapeno.
sarah
the banana ones are hot to though right? So hopefully it will taste just as good.. just not sure what you can dip them in to cool them down.. sometimes we dip them in ranch dressing or just eat them the way they are… pizza hut used to have them they don’t anymore.. we loved those!
stephaniemanley
Maybe they would be ok if you remove the seeds.
Dixi
Oh My!!! I made the poppers the same day I found this recipe. The family flipped!!!!! My father took the extra ones to work and they were begging for the recipe. Dad was upset because he gave the rest of the peppers away just hours before I made these. 🙂 The only problem is, I made myself more work for next season.
To answer the question about the hotness. Banana peppers are milder than a Jalapeno. To balance the difference between the two peppers, I simply added some of the seeds to the cream cheese mixture. They were so delicious we didn’t need a dip. PERFECT!!!! Thank You so much for this recipe.
stephaniemanley
So you had extra ones? 🙂
mootma
These came out great! Follow the directions and don’t try to go too fast. If you fry too many at once it doesn’t work…duuhh
stephaniemanley
Frying too many of one thing at once, always leads to failure. I am glad to hear these came out great for you.
Hélène Péloquin
They are my fav! Thanks for the recipe.
stephaniemanley
These are a favorite of mine too!
denise
Can these be baked instead of frying from the freezer ? Having a large family get together and would love to make ahead of time.
Ashely
Thank you for the jalapeño poppers they are so so good sike.????????????????????????☺️.
Stephanie
I am glad you enjoy this.
Kim Beaulieu
My son would totally dig these. He’s out on his own now and really enjoying cooking.