Easy Stuffed Jalapeño Recipe

One recipe I look forward to every summer is stuffed jalapeños.

I love jalapeño poppers, but I don’t love deep frying. Especially in the middle of summer.

And when the garden is in full swing, jalapeños start coming on hot and heavy!

This stuffed jalapeño recipe is a great way to enjoy the freshness of the peppers and makes a great appetizer for a party or a weekend treat.

It comes together fairly quickly once the ingredients are prepped and because they are baked instead of fried, they’re more hands-off, which is perfect if you’re hosting a party.

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Ingredients and Equipment for Stuffed Jalapeños

To make this recipe, you will need these ingredients.

• 6 large jalapeños
• 1/2 cup room temperature cream cheese (about 1/2 of a bar of cream cheese)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 tsp roasted garlic seasoning (I used Kinder’s Organic Woodfired Garlic Rub)
• 1-2 Tbsp bacon crumbles (optional)
• 1/2 cup sourdough breadcrumbs

You’ll also need about 4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to blanch the jalapeños.

Last, you’ll need the following equipment.

• knife
• cutting board
• pot to boil water
• spoon
• shallow mixing bowl
• baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Step One: Prep the Jalapeños

Wash and dry your fresh jalapeños. I used 6 very large jalapeños. If yours are smaller, you probably could use more jalapeños or stuff the same number of peppers with more filling.

Halve jalapenos lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the pith and seeds.

If you want your stuffed jalapeños to be spicy, chop up the pith and add it to the filling mixture.

My jalapeños were super spicy, so I decided not to add any of the pith to the filling. I love spicy food, but my husband can only handle so much!

Step Two: Blanch Jalapeños

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a small pot. Add 2 tablespoons of salt to season the water.

Get your oven preheating to 400°F while you wait for the water to boil.

When the water is boiling, blanch the halved jalapeños for about 30 seconds.

Then take them out and place them on a rack or cutting board upside down to dry out the insides slightly.

They don’t need to be bone dry, but the filling does slide out if the insides of the peppers are too wet.

Step Three: Stuff the Jalapeños

Mix 1/2 cup room temperature cream cheese, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 2 teaspoons of roasted garlic seasoning, and 2 Tablespoons of crumbled bacon together in a bowl.

It kind of helps to mash the cream cheese in the bowl before adding the rest of the ingredients to incorporate the spices and bacon evenly.

Also, the bacon is optional for this recipe, highly recommended, but optional if you are in a hurry!

I really like this Organic Woodfired Garlic Rub from Kinders, but if you don’t have that, you can substitute it with another garlic seasoning you like.

You could also use 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder and 1/2-1 teaspoons of salt.

A sprinkle of smoked paprika would help add that smoky, roasted flavor to the filling.

If you don’t like garlic, try onion powder or omit the seasoning altogether.

Use a spoon to stuff the jalapenos with the cream cheese filling.

Step Four: Top and Bake the Stuffed Jalapeños

Top the stuffed jalapenos with sourdough breadcrumbs.

I bake sourdough bread every week and turn the bread ends and leftover bits into croutons and breadcrumbs so we almost always have this on hand.

You can of course, use regular breadcrumbs or panko crumbs. I have also crushed fried onions and used that as topping and it’s delicious.

A low carb option that I’ve tried and enjoyed is crushed almonds.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the breadcrumb-topped, stuffed jalapeños on top in a single layer.

Bake the stuffed peppers in the oven at 400°F for about 20 minutes or until top is nicely browned.

Final Tips and Tricks to Make Easy Stuffed Jalapeños

The hardest part to making these stuffed peppers for me is remembering to soften the cream cheese and fry up the bacon.

I do like to fry up my own bacon for this recipe rather than buying pre-cooked bacon bits, however you can omit the bacon if you don’t have time, or substitute very finely diced ham.

If your cream cheese is coming straight out of the fridge, you can speed up the softening by spreading it in a thin layer on a glass or ceramic plate or large glass mixing bowl.

Use oven mitts to place the plate on top of the pot of boiling water to warm it up. It really doesn’t take too long! Just be careful, because that plate will be hot.

Do you have red jalapeños in your garden? Try making this red chili garlic sauce recipe next.