The Easiest Smoked Jalapeno Poppers Recipe

These smoked jalapeno poppers are filled with cream cheese, sharp cheddar, bacon, and green onion all stuffed inside a fresh jalapeno and then smoked to perfection on a pellet grill. If you’re looking for a new game-day appetizer or summer snack, this is it!

 

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Jalapenos: Try to find jalapeno peppers that are all about the same size so they cook evenly.
• Cream Cheese: Full-fat cream cheese will give you the best flavor and texture.
• Bacon: You can either cook and crumble the bacon into pieces or dice the slices of bacon before cooking them so you get a really nice uniform square shape.
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese: I like to use shredded sharp cheddar cheese for that classic popper flavor but if you want to switch up the flavors a bit try any other type of melty cheese!
• Green Onion: Green onion adds a fresh flavor that balances the rich, creamy texture of the jalapeno popper. Feel free to sub with chives or omit them.

How to Smoke Jalapeño Poppers

Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise.

Use a spoon to remove the ribs and seeds and discard.

To a medium bowl, add cream cheese, bacon (reserve a few tablespoons for garnish), ½ of the shredded cheese, a 1/4 cup green onion, and a large pinch of Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Mix until well combined.

Use a small spoon to divide the filling evenly between the cavities of the jalapenos.

Smoke for 10 minutes. Then cook at 250 degrees for another 30 minutes. Divide the remaining cheddar cheese evenly between the poppers.

Smoke for another 5-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted, the filling is warmed through, and the jalapeño peppers are slightly roasted.

Garnish with reserved crumbled bacon and sliced green onion and enjoy!

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Tips

• If you don’t have a pizza pan with holes in it you can just place the jalapeno poppers directly on the grates instead. Just sure you place them perpendicular to the grill grate so that they don’t fall through.
• Remove as much of the pepper’s membranes and seeds as possible. The seeds and ribs hold the most heat so if you don’t want the poppers to be spicy, remove as much as you can. The easiest way to do this is to slice the jalapeños in half and then use a spoon to gently scrape the ribs and seeds out.
• Wear gloves when you’re removing the ribs and seeds from the jalapenos. If you’re a fellow contact wearer like myself, I’d recommend wearing food-grade disposable gloves while you’re handling the jalapenos and removing the ribs and seeds. This is the easiest way to ensure that you don’t end up with any leftover oil from the jalapeno on your fingers. If you don’t have gloves, just make sure that you wash your hands very very well.
• Spice it up with your favorite pantry spices! Feel free to stir some garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, or red pepper flakes into the jalapeno popper stuffing. I’d recommend starting with 1/4 of a teaspoon and adding more to taste.

Best Wood Chips or Wood Pellets to Use

• I prefer to use a combination of hickory and apple or cherry wood. It’s got a robust flavor and it pairs really well with the bacon and cheese. Mesquite would also be a delicious option.
• If you’re looking for a light smoky flavor, try using only apple, cherry, maple, or pecan instead.
• If you need more help deciding what type of wood to use, check out this article.

You’re Going to Love These Smoked Jalapeno Poppers

• They’re so much easier to make than other jalapeno poppers! Some recipes call for wrapping the bacon around the jalapeno with the filling and securing it with toothpicks. I find this to be super tedious and time-consuming and the worst part is that the bacon never cooks up crispy because it’s cooking while pressed against the pepper itself. The best way to get all those same flavors in less time is to use this recipe! You’ll get a bit of (crispy!) bacon in each bite and save tons of time in the kitchen.
• You can throw these on while you’re smoking something else! This smoked jalapeno poppers recipe is pretty forgiving so you can smoke it anywhere between 200-300 degrees. I love to throw a batch together and smoke them while I’m smoking some of our other family favorites like smoked pork butt, smoked chuck roast, smoked sausage, smoked meatloaf, or smoked salmon.

Oven Baked Instructions

• If you don’t have a smoker, first of all, I highly recommend checking out the Z Grill! It’s super easy to use and adds so much flavor to everyday foods like this jalapeño poppers recipe. Secondly, you can use the oven to bake your jalapeno poppers instead!
• If you’re looking for an oven-baked jalapenos poppers recipe check this one out!

What temperature do you smoke jalapeno poppers at?

I like to smoke my jalapeno poppers at 250 degrees for about 45-50 minutes. I find that this temp roasts them beautifully while adding just the right amount of that delicious smoky flavor.

Are jalapeno poppers good for you?

Jalapeno peppers themselves are a vegetable so that’s a plus right?! However, they are filled with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and bacon so they’re definitely going to be a deliciously filling appetizer that’s a fun treat to have once in a while. While I don’t recommend indulging in them every day, the great part about this recipe is that it’s homemade so you know exactly what’s going into it and can feel good about feeding to your family.

Are jalapeno poppers spicy?

Yes! And no. Jalapeno peppers can be fairly spicy, but they are in a mid-range of spices and lose some of their potency when cooked and served with other ingredients. Removing the ribs and seeds also removes pretty much all of their heat as well so these jalapeno poppers will not be super spicy – unless you want them to be; in which case I recommend leaving in a bit of the ribs and seeds!

Can you smoke jalapeno poppers?

Yes! Jalapeno poppers are a great dish to smoke. The melted cheese and cream cheese mixture take on that delicious smoky flavor while the jalapeno popper itself roasts nice and slow until perfectly cooked.

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: Prep these jalapeno poppers 3-4 days in advance and just pop them in the fridge! About an hour before you want to smoke them pull them out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter to come to from temperature. Then smoke according to recipe instructions and enjoy! You can also smoke them ahead of time and then reheat them in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through. Reheating them on the smoker is not ideal because it cooks low and slow so it’s not best for warming foods up quickly.
• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• Reheating: Reheat jalapeno poppers in a 350-degree oven on a sheet pan for 10 minutes or until warmed through and the cheese is melted.

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