Jalapeño Poppers

World's Best Jalapeño Poppers.

There are certain foods that, once put out at a party, are certain to quickly disappear. Guacamole is a forever favorite, but a close second has to be these homemade jalapeño poppers. They disappear within minutes of being served, which spurs frenzied requests for more. The combination of spicy, roasted jalapeño peppers, rich cream cheese, salty parmesan, and crunchy bacon hits all right the spots, every time.

How To Make Jalapeño Poppers In The Oven:

You’ll find lots of variations of homemade jalapeño poppers recipes online, but we think we’ve struck gold with our recipe. We’ve added bacon to our baked jalapeño poppers (because...duh!), but instead of that tricky bacon-wrapped jalapeño popper stuff here, we just pre-cook it and mix it right in with the cream cheese filling. We top these loaded poppers with a buttery panko crumble for added crunch. Here’s how to make these ultra-addictive homemade jalapeño poppers:

• Mix the cream cheese, parmesan cheese, cooked bacon, garlic, chives, and spices.

• Halve the jalapeños and scoop out the seeds and membranes. The seeds are where the heat lives, so this helps keep the finished poppers mildly spicy (rather than super hot). Fill evenly with the cheese mixture.

• Toss the panko with melted butter and spoon over the filled jalapeños.

• How long to cook jalapeño poppers varies on how tender you prefer them, but aim for about 30 minutes at 350°F. When the bread crumbs are golden and that creamy filling is bubbling, they’re done. (Want to try grilled jalapeño poppers? Carefully foil wrap them and place on the grill until cheese is melted and the peppers are softened).

How To Cook Crispy Bacon:

Our easy jalapeño poppers recipe calls for roughly chopped pre-cooked bacon. We love the contrast of smoky bacon, creamy cheese and spicy peppers. To make lots of perfectly cooked bacon at the same time, just bake it in the oven! Here’s how to cook bacon so that it’s perfectly crisp:

• Preheat your oven to 400°F.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.
• Set a wire baking rack on top of the baking sheet. This allows for more airflow while the bacon is cooking, which means lots of crisping.
• Line bacon up on the baking sheet without overlapping.
• Put the bacon in the oven and bake 20 minutes.
• Carefully drain the bacon fat into a can or jar.
• Allow the bacon to cool and then chop it up (or gobble it up). Store in the fridge for up to five days.

Tools You’ll Need To Make This Easy Jalapeño Recipe:

• We highly recommend some plastic gloves to make removing the seeds from your peppers safe and easy.

• A good paring knife makes jobs like cutting the jalapeños in half lengthwise a breeze.

What To Eat With Homemade Jalapeño Poppers:

Whether it’s a viewing party, game day, or just your average Tuesday accompanied by a late night craving, there are certain occasions that call for excellent finger foods. These jalapeño poppers with cream cheese and bacon are always at the top of our list, but why stop there? Here are some other appetizers we love:

• This white cheddar beer cheese dip is perfect for dipping soft pretzels, apples, and chucks of sausage into. Pair it with your favorite beer!
• Our Mediterranean style zucchini fritters with tzatziki sauce are crispy and delicious.
• A big plate of this green bean tempura with curry mayo is a fun departure from the usual party snacks, and is always a crowd-pleaser.

Jalapeño Popper-ific?

We’re confident that these jalapeño poppers are the best you’ve ever had. We want to see how they turned out! Snap a picture of your handiwork and post it to Instagram tagging @themodernproper and #themodernproper. As always, happy eating (and even happier snacking)!