Craving a cheesy, spicy snack for football game night or a family gathering? This baked jalapeño popper recipe is a perfect appetizer for any celebration that won't last long around hungry guests.
Serving up a spread with Mexican flavors? Your guests will also love this buffalo chicken dip and cowboy caviar!
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Ingredients
Our easy Baked Jalapeño Poppers recipe take only a few simple ingredients to prepare that are found at most grocery stores in the U.S. Let's talk about the ingredients.
- Spicy: jalapeño peppers, sriracha sauce
- Aromatics: garlic
- Cheese: cream cheese and extra-sharp white cheddar, grated
- Creamy: mayo
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients for the Baked Jalapeno Poppers.
- Rinse and halve the jalapeños, then scrape out the white membranes and seeds with a grapefruit spoon.
- Beat the cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
3. Beat in the cheddar, garlic, and sriracha sauce until smooth.
4. Spread the filling in the jalapeño peppers, making sure not to overstuff.
5. Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, until the filling is lightly browned and gently bubbling.
6. Serve the hot baked jalapeño poppers with sriracha mayo for a dipping sauce and enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
We don't find it necessary to blanch the jalapenos before stuffing them and baking them in the oven. Some recipes suggest boiling jalapenos to remove some of their heat. Much of the heat will be removed with the seeds and membrane when you scrape it out.
No, we don't recommend making this swap. Serrano peppers are much hotter and they are also rather small narrow making them difficult to stuff.
The exact origins of this appetizer are unclear, but it's likely that they came from Texas. The term "jalapeño poppers" was in use as far back as 1972, so this dish has been around for a while!
Our jalapeno poppers are baked rather than fried like other recipes making them a healthier option. Also, jalapenos are full of healthy nutrients thanks to capsaicin, the compound which makes them spicy. Each jalapeno half contains 87 calories, 8g fat, 1g carbs, and 2g protein. You can find more nutritional information in the recipe card.
Store
- Make ahead: These baked jalapeño appetizers work great to make ahead of time. Assemble them the day before, and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to bake them.
- Freeze: If you want to freeze unbaked jalapeño poppers. Here's how to do it. First, flash freeze the poppers on a cookie sheet for 2-3 hours. Then transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to two months.
- Reheat: Place the frozen jalapeño poppers on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbling.
Expert Tips
- Use smooth-skinned jalapeños. Wrinkly-skinned jalapeños will be more spicy.
- If you have sensitive skin, make sure to wear food-safe gloves when your slicing and seeding the jalapeños, as they can irritate your skin.
- Keep the stems on the peppers to make them easier to eat.
- Slice the jalapeños in such a way that both halves lay flat, or the filling will slide off as they bake.
- Be careful not to overfill the jalapeño poppers. The filling puffs and bubbles as it cooks, and extra filling will fall out of the popper and stick to the tray.
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Recipe
Baked Jalapeño Poppers
Ingredients
For the Poppers
- 12 large jalapeño peppers, halved and seeded
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup extra-sharp white cheddar, grated
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce, plus extra for drizzling if desired
For the Sriracha Mayo Dipping Sauce
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
Instructions
Preparing the Peppers & Garlic (25 minutes)
- Peel and mince the garlic cloves.
- Rinse the jalapeños and slice each one in half lengthwise without cutting off the stems. Remove the seeds and membrane from each pepper half with a grapefruit spoon.
- Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy, then beat in the grated cheese, minced garlic, and sriracha sauce until well blended.
Stuffing & Baking the Jalapeno Poppers (10 minutes + 15 minutes cooking)
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
- Spread the filling inside each jalapeño, being careful not to overfill. Place in rows on the prepared cookie sheet. Make sure the peppers are level, or the filling will slide off as they bake.
- Bake the peppers at 400 F for 15-20 minutes, until the filling is lightly browned and gently bubbling.
- Let the peppers cool for 5 minutes, then drizzle with additional sriracha sauce if desired. Serve hot with sriracha mayo.
Making the Sriracha Mayo Dipping Sauce (3 minutes)
- Mix the mayo and sriracha sauce together until fully blended. Serve chilled with the baked jalapeños.
Notes
- Smooth-skinned jalapeños are less spicy than wrinkly-skinned ones.
- Have sensitive skin? Wear food-safe gloves when slicing the jalapeños.
- Leave the stems on the peppers to make the baked jalapenos easier to eat.
- Try to make both halves lay flat, or the filling may slide off in the oven.
- Don't overfill the poppers. The filling puffs and bubbles as it cooks, and extra filling will fall out of the popper and stick to the tray.
Nutrition
This post for Baked Jalapeno Poppers was originally published on January 16, 2018. It was updated with new content and refreshed photos on March 24, 2022.
Beth
These look great! The pictures are very nice and the poppers are such a great idea.
Emma
Thanks, Beth! Jalapeno poppers are one of my favorite appetizers.