These BBQ Bacon Jalapeno Poppers are SO GOOD! They’re filled with BBQ sauce, gooey cheese, and bacon. Throw them on the grill for your next party!
As we all know, bacon makes everything better.
These flavorful grilled jalapeño poppers are stuffed with an addictive mix of barbecue sauce, cheddar and cream cheese, and glazed bacon before being grilled hot and bubbly.
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BBQ Bacon Jalapeno Poppers
The best jalapenos for this recipe
When buying your jalapeno peppers, look for medium to large sized ones that are firm to the touch and show no signs of wrinkling. Also, here are some great tips on how to measure the hotness of your peppers!
Depending on the size of your peppers and how much you stuff them, you may have some filling left over. This is a great spread for crackers or sandwiches!
Prepare poppers filled with bacon
I chose bacon filled poppers over bacon wrapped poppers for several reasons. For one, cooking the bacon itself gives you a chance to glaze the strips with BBQ sauce, and this gives the bacon an extra great grilled flavor.
Tips for grilling stuffed jalapeno poppers
The only challenging part of this recipe — aside from not shelling the entire batch before your guests arrive — is making sure the poppers don’t fall through the cooking grates. Be sure to place them across the grates and not parallel to avoid this unwanted fate.
Another word for the wise: be careful not to overcook them. You want the filling to get hot and melty, but don’t cook so long that the peppers soften and lose their texture. Cook until the tops are hot to the touch and the bottoms show grill marks.
…Or bake!
If it’s not grilling season or you don’t have a grill, you can also bake these poppers in the oven. Simply arrange the poppers on a foil-lined baking sheet and toast at 225F for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese filling is hot and bubbly and the jalapeños are tender.
Serve with sour cream
Feel free to serve your jalapeño poppers with a sour cream dipping bowl on the side — the coolness of the cream helps balance the heat of the jalapeños. An ice-cold beer is also highly recommended.
These jalapeño poppers are the perfect one-bite snack for your next party. You might even want to think about doubling or tripling this recipe – it’s very hard to stop at just one!
Make tips ahead
- Prepare the filling a day in advance and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before stuffing the peppers.
- Cut and hollow out the peppers the day before. Cover tightly and refrigerate.
- Prepare all poppers a day ahead, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before grilling.
- Assemble the poppers to freeze. Place them uncovered in a single layer on a baking sheet and lay the baking sheet flat in the freezer. Wrap the frozen peppers tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe bag or zip-lock container. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge.
Even more party snacks and appetizers!
- Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos
- Pressure Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings
- 7 layer bean dip
- Baked Chicken Taquitos
- Buffalo chicken dip
From the editors of Simply Recipes
BBQ Bacon Jalapeno Poppers
Make sure you let your cream cheese soften at room temperature for about half an hour before assembling your poppers. This makes it easier to mix with the other ingredients.
Depending on the size of your peppers and how much you stuff them, you may have some filling left over. This is a great spread for crackers or as a filling for sandwiches!
Oven instructions: Arrange the poppers on a baking sheet and roast at 225°F for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese filling is hot and bubbly and the jalapeños are tender.
ingredients
For the bacon:
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12 ounces (8 to 12 slices) thickly cut smoked bacon
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1 1/2 tablespoon barbecue sauce
For the filling:
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8th ounces cream cheesesoftened to room temperature
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1 Cup (about 3 ounces) coarsely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
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1 1/2 tablespoon freshly chopped chives
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1 large clove garlicchopped
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2 tablespoon barbecue sauce
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12 Middle jalapenos
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Extra chopped fresh chivesfor garnish
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1 Cup sour creamto serve, optional
method
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Prepare the oven and baking sheet:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a few layers of paper towels on a cooling rack and place them near the stove.
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Glaze the bacon and bake it crispy:
Arrange the bacon in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush with 1 1/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce.
Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and caramelized. (Start checking after about 15 minutes; depending on brand and thickness, bacon may take up to 20 minutes to fully crisp).
Remove the bacon from the oven and drain on paper towels for a few minutes, then transfer to a plate to cool. The pieces will stick to the paper towels if left there too long.
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While the bacon is cooking, prepare the filling:
Combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chives, garlic, and barbecue sauce in a small mixing bowl.
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Preparing the jalapeño peppers:
Wear gloves for this step if you are sensitive to pepper heat. Halve the jalapeños lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. You can leave the stems on (they make nice eating handles!) or cut them off.
Arrange all of the jalapeños, cut-side up, on a platter or baking sheet.
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Fill peppers:
Cut or crumble the bacon into small pieces, then fold into the cream cheese mixture. Using a spoon, fill each of the jalapeño halves with a large dollop of the cream cheese mixture, heaping lightly.
At this point, the poppers can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours until ready to grill.
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Prepare your grill:
For gas grills, heat the grill on high and preheat for 10 minutes. When you are ready to grill, reduce the burners to medium.
For charcoal grills, fill a barbecue chimney with charcoal and light it. When the coals are hot (they should be covered with a layer of fine gray ash), empty the coals into the grill and shift them to one side of the grill to create higher and lower heat cooking zones. Insert the grate and cover the grill. Preheat the grid for 5 minutes.
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Grill the poppers:
Brush cooking grates with oil to prevent sticking. When using a charcoal grill, cook over the low-temperature cooking zone.
Using tongs, place the poppers on the grill so they lie over the grates and don’t fall through. If one of the poppers is leaning to the side, lean it against a neighbor so the cheese filling doesn’t start to melt while the poppers are cooking.
Grill until the poppers are seared on the bottom and the cheese filling is hot and bubbling around the edges, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or the peppers will become too soft.
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Serve poppers right away:
Pick up the poppers with tongs and a spatula, remove from the grill and place on a plate. Serve immediately with sour cream, if desired. Discard the stalks when eating.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 365 | calories |
| 28g | Fat |
| 8g | carbohydrates |
| 19g | protein |
