Appetizers
Baked Jalapeno Poppers
Description
We all have one party appetizer that causes us to do a mini happy dance. Mine is Baked Jalapeño Poppers with bacon. Inspired by my ardor for these cream-cheese stuffed, spicy little bites, I created an oven-baked version of the beloved classic.
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon cooked*
- 12 jalapeño peppers small/medium-sized, split in half length-wise with seeds and membranes removed
- 6 ounces light cream cheese softened
- ½ cup freshly grated pepper jack cheese
- 2 small green onions finely sliced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- Nonstick cooking spray
Directions
- If necessary, cook the bacon (see notes section for suggested methods). Once cool, dice the bacon into small pieces.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper. Arrange the peppers on the sheet pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, grated cheese, three-quarters of the bacon, green onion, garlic powder, and salt.
- Stir to combine the filling.
- Spoon the filling into each jalapeño cavity. Arrange the peppers on the prepared baking sheet, filling-side up.
- Sprinkle a small amount of panko on top of each jalapeño, then lightly coat the top of the jalapeños with nonstick spray.
- Bake until the jalapeños are tender and the breadcrumbs are golden, about 15 to 18 minutes. If the panko isn't browned to your liking when the peppers are soft, switch the oven to broil and broil for 1 minute. Watch VERY CAREFULLY to make sure the breadcrumbs do not burn (don't walk away!). Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining bacon. Serve hot.
