I have had a craving for jalapeño poppers for weeks! I was going to make some over the Christmas holidays with a posting for New Year’s Eve appetizers. But, frankly, I needed a break over the holidays and ended up spending most of that week on the couch playing video games 😂. Don’t judge! So, I’ve finally gotten around to making them!
Initially, I was considering making some sort of Asian jalapeño popper… and I think I still will down the road. I have a pretty good idea of how I want to pursue an Asian jalapeño popper. But, I didn’t go that route this time. Actually, I was spit balling ideas with my BFF, and we came up with a loaded baked potato popper. Soooo many jalapeño poppers are pretty much stuffed with cream cheese than topped with bread crumbs and baked. OR stuffed with cream cheese, coated in bread crumbs, and then fried.
I really did not want fried poppers. I mean, not that poppers in general are “healthy,” but frying them definitely makes them “unhealthy.” I also didn’t want to do a jalapeño sliced in half, loaded up, and topped with bread crumbs. They’re POPPERS! Which means you’re supposed to be able to POP them in your mouth. Who in god’s name came up with stuffing half a jalapeño and calling it a popper? A man probably, because half a jalapeño is probably a popper to many of them 😂.
So, I wanted to make a REAL popper that I could actually pop in my mouth. So, I cut the jalapeños into about one inch pieces. Some were a bit larger, others a bit smaller… a variety for different mouth sizes! Wearing disposable gloves, I used a paring knife to carefully cut out the seed and pith.
You don’t have to wear gloves, but let me tell you, jalapeño juices can stick around for a few hours, even after washing your hands. You know what I mean if you’ve ever wiped your eye an hour after handling jalapeños and immediately regret your actions. If you DON’T wear gloves, wash your hands thoroughly, maybe even twice, with a thick dish detergent soap. Sometimes, I’ll even take the rough side of a sponge to scrub my hand down. But, because you’re handling the jalapeños A LOT, I do recommend the gloves.
Now, the stuffing. I baked a potato for the loaded baked potato stuffing (duh!). BUT, if you happen to have leftover mashed potatoes sitting around, absolutely feel free to swap the leftovers for the baked potato! Then, I smashed the potato (skin removed) with cheddar cheese, chive cream cheese, bacon (OF COURSE!!), and some melted butter. From there, I just scooped up small chunks with my gloved hands and stuffed it into the jalapeños, wiping each edge flat.
So, I tested this next step three different ways. First, I tried dipping the jalapeños in egg and then immediately into the panko. The panko just didn’t stick quite as well. So, I pulled out some flour and double dipped. First coating the jalapeños in flour then in panko (dipping them in egg before each coating), the panko stuck much better. The last thing I tried on a whim. Before popping the jalapeños into the oven, I did one row of jalapeños just breaded in flour and lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Well, those turned into a mush. So, I highly recommend going with the double dip method. It’s a bit more work, but it’s worth it for a fully coated jalapeño popper!
The smell of the jalapeños baking is divine! And while they were in the oven, I blended the dipping sauce in a small food processor. I let the jalapeños cool for a few minutes before “taste testing” one 😉. These are soooo good! I ended up only eating half my dinner and finishing off with these because they’re so delicious.
Enjoy!
Loaded Baked Potato Jalapeño Poppers
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: ~36 poppers
- Category: Appetizers
Ingredients
Jalapeños
1 medium russet potato (or 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes)
8 bacon slices
2 TB butter, melted
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 TB chive cream cheese, softened
9–10 large jalapeños
~1 cup panko
~1 cup flour
3 tsps paprika
~ 2 eggs
pinch of salt and pepper
Dip
¼ cup chive cream cheese
¼ cup nonfat yogurt
¼ cup feta
2 TB grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and evenly arrange the bacon on top. Place in a cold oven and set to 400°F. Cook for about 25 minutes, or until just crisp.
Poke the potato several times with a fork. When the oven reaches 400°F, place the potato on the rack next to the bacon. Bake for 45 minutes.
When the bacon is finished cooking, remove from the oven and place the bacon on paper towels to drain. Pat the top with a paper towel to soak up as much grease as possible. When cool enough to handle, finely chop up the bacon and place in a medium bowl.
Meanwhile, prepare the jalapeños. Cut the jalapeños into about 1” to 1½” pieces (I recommend wearing gloves during this step). Discard the ends of the jalapeños. With a small paring knife, carefully cut the seeds and pith away from the side of the pepper. Carefully push your finger into the smaller side of the pepper to pop it out. Clean up any siding as needed. Continue with the rest of the jalapeño pieces.
When the potato is finished, let cool until cool enough to handle. Then, slice open and scoop all of the insides into the medium bowl with the bacon. Add the melted butter, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and a pinch of salt and pepper. With a potato masher, mash the mixture until well mixed and a mashed potato consistency.
Raise the oven temperature to 450°F.
Still wearing gloves, scoop up the potato mix with your hands and stuff each jalapeño piece until completely filled, evenly wiping off each side. Continue until all of the jalapeño pieces are stuffed; place on a plate.
Prepare a baking sheet by placing a wire rack on top (you can use the same one as the bacon if you wipe off the excess grease).
Place the panko in a small bowl and mix with the paprika. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, and place the flour in a third bowl. One at a time, dip a stuffed jalapeño in the egg until fully coated, letting any excess egg drip off. Dip in the flour mix until thoroughly coated and return to the plate. Continue until all of the pieces are coated in flour. Now, repeat the same process of dipping the pieces in egg and now coating in panko. After each piece is coated in panko, place gently on the wire rack. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the dip. In a small food processor, blend together the chive cream cheese, yogurt, feta, Parmesan cheese, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Process until smooth.
When the jalapeños are done baking, transfer to a bowl or serving plate. Scoop the dipping sauce into a bowl. Serve immediately!
Note: you can also reheat the bites in the microwave. Microwave for 30 seconds and then continue at 10 second increments until they reach the temperature you desire.
Enjoy!
Keywords: jalapeño poppers, jalapeños, bite size jalapeños, baked jalapeño poppers, loaded baked potato jalapeño poppers, jalapeño popper dip with cream cheese and yogurt
