Baked Jalapeño Poppers
This lightened-up baked jalapeño popper recipe will be a big hit! They’re stuffed with fresh herbed cream cheese and topped w/crushed BBQ chips. Vegetarian!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on May 22, 2024
It’s football season, and it’s about time for a proper jalapeño popper recipe on this food blog! These jalapeño poppers are lighter than most since they’re baked, not fried, and bacon-free (more on that in a minute).
These jalapeño poppers are stuffed with a fresh, herbed cream cheese mixture and topped with just enough cheddar cheese to turn golden. They are beyond delicious, and they’re not greasy at all. If a popper could be gourmet, this one is! I think they’re going to be your new favorite.
The inspiration for these stuffed jalapeños came from my assistant-turned-friend Megan’s birthday party for her husband. The guests all brought party snacks and a few even brought Cookie and Kate recipes, which was a fun surprise.
Someone brought jalapeño poppers wrapped in bacon, and I eyed them enviously. Being a vegetarian and a former bacon lover, I can appreciate the crisp, rich, smoky flavor that bacon must have brought to those poppers.
I came home with the mission to make bacon-free jalapeño poppers that taste just as good. Around that time, Kettle Brand reached out for a sponsorship and sent me the most amazing Organic Country Style Barbecue potato chips. I have a soft spot for potato chips and they made my jalapeño popper dreams come true!
The barbecue potato chips offer a similarly crisp, rich, smoky flavor that I can’t get enough of. Bonus? The chips are gluten free, so that means these poppers are gluten free as well. Poppers for everyone!
Jalapeño Popper Notes & Tips
How to slice your peppers
Most jalapeño popper recipes suggest slicing the jalapeños in half, but there is a better way! If you slice off the top one-third of the pepper lengthwise, you’ll have a stronger pepper shape to stuff. It will retain its shape better in the oven, and you can stuff a little more into each one this way.
Top with cheddar cheese
Instead of mixing cheese into the cream cheese mixture (which makes the mixture bubble up and turns the poppers to the side), I simply topped each popper with a small amount before baking. That way, you get the best of the cheese flavor (the golden part) without the trouble.
Keep an eye on them
Pull the poppers out of the oven just as the cheese is turning golden, around 11 to 12 minutes into baking. If you go much longer, the cheese might turn the poppers to the side. If that happens, though, no worries—just use a spoon to scoop it back inside. You’re going to cover them with a potato chip-and-herb mixture anyway.
How to crush your chips
To crush the chips, you can blend them in a food processor until they’re broken into fine crumbs. If you don’t have one, you can crush them with a rolling pin or smash them around in a sturdy bag!
Watch How to Make Jalapeno Poppers
Please let me know how these jalapeño poppers turn out for you in the comments! Your feedback is so important to me.
Craving more meatless party snacks? Here are a few more to love: Baked Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Chunky Avocado Salsa, Ultra Crispy Baked Potato Wedges, Loaded Veggie Nachos, and the Best Red Salsa.
Baked Jalapeño Poppers
This lightened-up baked jalapeño popper recipe will be a big hit! They’re stuffed with fresh, herbed cream cheese, and topped with a crispy and irresistible barbecue potato chip topping. Plus, they’re vegetarian and gluten free. Recipe yields 12 stuffed peppers.
Ingredients
- 12 large jalapeño peppers
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
- ¼ cup chopped green onion, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese, optional
- 1 big handful Kettle Brand Country Style Barbecue potato chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Cut off one-third of each pepper lengthwise (see photos). Use a small spoon (a serrated grapefruit spoon works great) to scoop out the seeds and membranes from each pepper, and discard those pieces.
- In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, ¼ cup chopped cilantro and green onion, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Stir to combine.
- Stuff the peppers with the cream cheese mixture (you might have a small amount left over). Top each of the peppers with a small mound of cheese lengthwise.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and starting to turn golden.
- Meanwhile, place a big handful of chips in a food processor and process until the chips are broken into tiny pieces (or, you can crush them under a rolling pin). Stir the feta, if using, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of cilantro and green onion into the chips.
- Transfer the jalapeño poppers to a large serving dish and top each pepper with the crushed chip mixture. Serve!
Notes
Storage suggestions: If you have leftovers (which is unlikely!), they keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days. Gently reheat in the microwave or oven before serving.
Prepare in advance: I haven’t tried, this, but I believe you could stuff the peppers in advance and refrigerate for later. When it’s time to bake, top them with cheese and proceed as written.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post was created in partnership with Kettle Brand chips. Check out their Instagram page for more snack inspiration! Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K.
Genius tip for cutting the jalapenos! I’m all over this! Thanks for sharing Ü
You’re welcome, Tracy!
These look fantastic!!! Poppers are my #1 guilty pleasure. I also like that you partner with high quality brands.
Hi Danica! Thanks so much. Kettle is a great brand and I do enjoy their products. Happy to hear you do too!
These look wonderful! Do you think subbing goat cheese for the cream cheese would work well?
I’m a big fan of goat cheese! I like the creaminess and softness of the cream cheese for this. But let me know if you try goat cheese!
These look SO. GOOD. Will be making soon!
Let me know what you think, Gillian!
This looks delicious, can’t wait to try them.
Please report back on what you think, Marie!
Something I’d like to try! Can I substitute the herb powders with fresh onion and garlic? A family member doesn’t like cilantro.. is there anything I can try adding to the mixture? Thank you!
This is the ultimate game day snack!
Agreed!
I love this! We keep the crumbs at the bottom of Kettle & tortilla chips to add to all kinds of things, love them in breakfast scrambles.
Great to hear! Oh, I like that. I will need to think about adding some to breakfast dishes.
Made these the other night and they were amazing! I only used 8 jalapenos because it was just for me and my husband. I still used the full cheese filling recipe and used the leftovers on my morning bagel…. Fabulous!!!! It was an Asiago cheese bagel BTW :)
I loved the recommendation on how to cut the jalapenos. Which allowed for maximum cheesiness! I found that if I looked at how the jalapeno was naturally sitting on the cutting board it made it easier to determine where to cut the top and it avoided any cheese spillage in the oven.
I love your recipes Kate. Keep them coming!!!
That does sound fabulous! Thanks so much for trying it and reporting back, Rachel.
Im going to try this tonight, and yes i like the idea for how to cut the jalapenos, but also like your idea for determining how the jalapenos sit to minimize spillage
I made them last night of a sports party. Everyone loved them! Especially the hostess – she asked for the recipe!
That’s great! Thank you, Annie for the comment and review.
Ohhh my gosh, these were incredibly delicious!!! Everyone was drooling over them! The BBQ chips are genius! This will become my go-to party snack. Thank you!
You’re welcome!! Thanks for sharing. The chips send them over the top!
KATHRYNE: Thank you so much for sharing an amazing recipe. Our family loves poppers. I have also used a similar recipe using cream cheese, cooked spicy ital. sausage and a little monterey jack cheese (combined)… stuffed, topped with seasoned bread crumbs and baked till brown. I love your idea of topping with the potato chip crumbs! I will try that next time! Thank you again!
You’re welcome! Thanks for sharing your family’s variation.
I made these for my husband and I tonight (along with some Spanish rice) and they were SO good!
Oh, I’m liking that combination Jennifer! Thanks for sharing.
Loved the idea of pairing the poppers with Spanish rice. I will be serving this meal plan as soon as I can get to the supermarket!!
I made these twice already. First with jalapeños and the second time with mild mini peppers since the jalapeños were a tad to spicy for me (but my hubby didn’t think so). Really, really good. The kettle chips were a great addition!
Nice substitution, Carrie! Thanks for sharing and for your review.
You had me with this recipe until you mentioned potato chips.I just can’t do potato , I think they are too salty and too greasy with no redeeming calories. Have you tried any other way to crisp these up? I would love another idea.
Hi Anamaria! These are quite delicious even without the potato chips. Otherwise you could try using bread crumbs, which aren’t really any better than potato chips, but I’d just skip the topping.
Some finely grated and blotted dry fresh potato should crisp up nicely as a topping for the “final bake”.
If no bacon then use some chipotle powder for smokiness
crushed cornflakes
Both to me as a lifelong vegetarian, and to my husband who is not vegetarian, this recipe is delicious and perfect as written. I look forward to making these to share at our next family gathering. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Dera! I appreciate the review.
I’m happy to hear you both enjoyed them!
I made these last night then refrigerated them (with the shredded cheese too) to be baked this morning for a lunch potluck. I did take them out of the refrigerator while the oven was preheating, just to take some of the chill off the baking dish. Everyone at the potluck thought they were delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Leslie!
I doubled the recipe and for bacon lovers in the family, I cut the bacon in half and bumped up the temp to 450 and cooked those bad boys about 20 minutes.
Great recipe! They were gone within a half hour…so yummy!
I loved the idea of the potato chips…I used the mesquite kettle bbq chips like suggest in the recipe and kicked it up a notch with hot Cheetos! One happy eater exclaimed “you had me at hot Cheetos”. Mixing the two was delish!
Awesome recipe, girl!
Try flamin hot popcorn
It’s the bomb!
Recipe is on deck for tonight, and thank you…
Get ready mis jalapeñitos!!!!
Thanks, Ali!
Made these as an app for my partner’s parents Christmas dinner. I had never made jalapeno poppers before and they came out really great. I pre made the cream cheese filling and pre cut the jalapenos. Then i assembled them at our host’s home and popped them in the oven. Really yummy! I will be making these again :) thank you
Great appetizer for a holiday gathering! I’m glad they were a hit with everyone, Jo. I appreciate the review!
These are amazing – I’m addicted to these – I’ve made them 4 times in 2weeks.
Can you tell me the calorie count if you figuired out?
Hi Bev! I’m glad you love them. The nutrition information is below the recipe notes.
Oh wow! These are amazing! I made them for a casual wine and cheese night and they blew everyone out of the water!! The chips add such a great added crunch — and I have a friend on keto and if you leave the chips off then they are keto friendly! A great addition to any gathering, can’t wait to make again!
Great to hear, Allison!
Loved the poppers. I made them for our Super Bowl snack. Very delicious without a lot of breading and no frying. Will definitely make these again. Yummy!
These were FABULOUS! I took them to my Bunco group tonight and came home with an empty platter! Everyone really enjoyed them! This will definitely be a recipe that I add to my go to list!
Wonderful, Danielle!
I am going to try these but wondering do they need to be eaten right out of the oven or can they sit for a couple hours after they are cooked?
I covered them when I took them out of the oven and took to Bunco. They were still amazing a couple of hours later!
What do you do with the remaining tops of the peppers? My peppers are huge and there are a lot of leftovers that I don’t want to waste.
I discarded them, but maybe you could save them for another dish!
I took 2 tops, diced up and mixed in with the cream cheese. The rest I used for breakfast omelettes.
May sound weird but I take tell cut off pieces, dice, saute with a bit, bit of oil. Drain on paper toweling and 1. toss with shredded cheese over freshly made popcorn….2. sometimes toss over scrambled eggs or in omlets.
Ariel,
If you like spicy, I’d chop them up and add them to the cream cheese mixture!
That’s what I’m planning on doing when I make them tonight :)
Also, Kate, I’m gonna add some Morningstar Farms bacon to the topping on half and try the other half with the chips.
Can’t wait to try!
Chopped fresh jalapeños mixed with butter to make “spicy butter” are yummy on a toasted cheese bagel or toasted cheese bread!
Hi Kate,
I can’t eat any simple carbs. I make a mix of lintels with cut portobella mushrooms, red flax seed, and spice (chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and a little red pepper) cooked in a crock pot overnight until soft. I stuff the jalapenos with this mix topped with Nutritional yeast and sesame seeds. I use the bottom of the spoon to mash the sesame seeds into a firm topping so the lintel mix stays intact will roasting. I roast these over a hot grill for about 12-14 minutes. Perfect!!!
Thanks for sharing, Lamar!
This was amazing!
I subbed blue cheese for cheddar, and used sour cream and cheddar kettle chips. Probably the best popper I’ve ever had in my life.
Thanks for sharing, Nick!
Love the blue cheese idea with BBQ chips!
Hi Kathryne,
I found your recipe by chance, but it was the best thing that happen. I was really intrigued by suggestion to cut 1/3 of the pepper, rather than traditional half. Skeptical at first, but you made me a believer. I followed your recipe and had the best jalapeño popper I ever had. Total success with the rest of the family!!! Great receipt and easy to follow instructions! Thank you!
Alex C
I’m happy you came to the recipe! thanks or sharing.
Awesome, Very tasty and all the helpful hints made this recipe a breeze❣️
I’m glad you loved them and the tips were helpful, Sharon! I appreciate your review.
These poppers were excellent. I used shredded red onion instead of green onion and colby cheese instead of cheddar. Thanks for this great recipe!
I’m glad you loved it, Anika!
I made these today but cut them in half to make them go farther. Loved the crunchiness of the chips and the flavour of the filling. Great recipe!
Thank you, Megan!
Baked jalapeno poppers are a winner! I’m not keen to eating hot jalapenos, but this was delicious and sweet! You were right, no leftovers! Definitely will make again. We grow jalapenos, so a good fit for Oklahoma tables. My family doesn’t like cilantro and I was out of onion powder. With those omitted, it was still delicious. We loved the two cheeses, cream cheese and sharp cheddar, and the extra was used for snacking. I split my peppers to stretch for more servings, and they did not roll over. I used my cast iron cornbread cake pan; it has 7 slots to make corn shaped cakes, and the jalapenos fit well and cooked well in it. A great recipe!
Hooray! It’s impossible to have leftovers with these. Thanks for sharing, Viviana.
I stumbled across this recipe earlier today, subscribed. I went to visit a friend for the day, he’s a shut in, so I thought I would stuff some jalapeños. I picked up a dozen and a half peppers, cream cheese, grated cheddar and a small bag of the kettle BBQ chips. I grabbed a bag of bocca crumbles from my freezer to mix into the cream cheese to add a meat texture. I loved your idea for slicing the pepper and used a melon baller to remove the seeds and membrane. I didn’t take the recipe with me but I mixed what appeared to be equal parts of cream cheese and crumbles together, I added a tsp each of Cumin and Tumeric to the mixture. I stuffed the peppers and topped with grated cheddar. I also sprinkled the peppers with the crushed chips and baked them in a toaster oven at 350 for 45 minutes. I have to tell you they were excellent! We ate a half dozen peppers each and each pepper was better than the one before. They were so good that my buddy plated the leftovers and hid then away! I look forward to going through more of your recipes for inspiration. 5 starts for our first corraboration! Cheers! Happy 4th!
Thank you for sharing, Bob! I like your mix-in ideas. I appreciate the review!
In lieu of the potato chips I used a little liquid smoke in the cheese mixture. It adds a subtle smokiness with fewer carbs.I also added two tbs of goat cheese to the mixture.
Thank you for the recipe. I too enjoy poppers but try to avoid deep fried and breaded food.
You’re welcome! Thank you for sharing, Tim.
Katie,
Why do you have to start your recipe off with a reference to football?
No one in my family…and a large amount of former football fans…have not watched the NFL for the past 3 years…ever since black racist players decided to desecrate our flag, our veterans, and our anthem by groveling on their knees during the anthem.
Hi Greg, I’m sorry you are offended by the start to this post. It was all light hearted knowing the season at the time and that lots of people enjoy watching the game. I personally don’t what football based on interested. Again, I’m sorry you were offended.
Greg this is a recipe review comment section, a recipe review section for some lovely poppers which I thoroughly enjoyed!!
Did you not make the poppers because of the football reference? Oh my!
Made a batch of these, followed the recipe as written. It was very tasty, but packed a bite! A little went a long way.
Thank you for your feedback and review!
Wow these look lovely and so much healthier and perfect for my weight loss journey, I’ve been putting different things each day alongside my soup at lunchtime and I will making these.
I hope you like them!
I made these for my dad’s reunion as a test to see if I wanted to make them for entertaining myself, It was hard to not just eat them myself. I was a little worried about how the consistency would be without frying it but the chips really did do a good chop of adding a crunch. I’ll be making a second batch in the morning.
Wonderful, Ben! Thanks for your review.
I wonder if the left over filling would be any good in a stuffed mushroom?
I bet it would! Let me know if you try it.
Excellent! Made these this evening. Substituted dry dill for cilantro and omitted chives. Followed the rest of the recipe exactly and turned out delicious! Thank you for kindly sharing
You’re welcome, Cristina! Thanks so much for your review.
How do you define ‘large for the peppers? How long should they be, or better yet, how many grams do they weigh? The way you cut them is genius!!!
Hi Karen! It’s so hard to determine by weight as they can vary. I would say large, like thumb size? Or the largest ones you can find at the store.
Ok, thumb size helps…the large ones I recently bought were 5-6 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter…I will just call those colossal for now.
Good! I’m glad that’s helpful.
This recipe is a keeper! Genius way to cut the peppers for optimal stuffing. The crushed potato chips add nice texture. My husband and I both loved them and are thinking of different stuffing variations, such as pimento cheese, sausage, or even crab. These poppers would be an impressive dish to take to a pot-luck event. Tasty!
I like the idea of pimento cheese! Thanks for sharing, Ruth.
I am making them right now with crab!
Fantastic recipe! Thank you so much!
I love these poppers with a twist!
Since moving to Saudi Arabia where all pork products, including bacon, are prohibited, I’m always looking for substitutes. The crushed BBQ crisps topping is genius!
Danielle, I grew up in KSA and understand the “no pork” rule. I love the potato chip option as a topping.
I’ve actually had veggie burgers that have several slices of these potato chips put in at the last minute, which makes you think you’re eating a bacon cheeseburger, LOL.
Kate, this recipe is awesome. It’s easy and adaptable, based on supplies. We tried them recently with smoked Gouda— yum! Thanks for the post and the ingenious way to cut/stuff the peppers. (I save the cut outs for my guacamole, which is great to serve alongside these poppers!)
Hi, Kate. I finally made these tonight, and I am loving them. Sadly, I didn’t have Kettle chips, or cilantro, but I made mine with cream cheese and cheddar, a small diced red onion, and I added in the rest of the jalapeño diced up into the cream cheese as well, topped with only plain potato chips I had, but still…it is really enjoyable. And, yeah, I would not have cut the jalapeño that way if I was making up the recipe myself, but it’s a very smart technique for filling the peppers. You definitely do an amazing job. Thanks for the inspiration. There was a farmer at the farmers’ market this year that had the best jalapeños I’d ever tasted, so I used both your jalapeño relish and this recipe to eat a lot of them. Both of these recipes are perfectly delicious. You are an excellent chef and baker. I use lots of your recipes to make things at home, and they always turn out so fabulous, even if I don’t have the all of the exact same stuff that you use.
Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been making these for 30 plus years. You using garden or canned ones? I’m going to try my fresh ones from garden.
Hi Dave! I used fresh ones for this recipe.
Thank-you so much for great recipes! Love seeing Cookie! You have several of us in my family following you from Alabama. Best wishes to you and your family.
I made these tonight to take over a friend’s house and they were delicious. I have been making jalapeno poppers for years and never thought to cut the top 1/3 instead of in 1/2. Made it so much easier! Can’t wait to make these again so I can have a few more. Lastly, I had extra cream cheese left over so I brought veggies and people enjoyed the inside stuffing of these as is! Love that no food was wasted.
Great to hear you loved this version, Brittany!
Made these as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. They were amazing!! We all loved them. I didn’t have Kettle BBQ chips, but happened to have some jalapeno-flavored Kettle chips and those worked out beautifully!! I agree that the 1/3 cut on these lengthwise is the best, they held the filling and cooked perfectly. I have tried other jalapeno popper recipes, but this is my favorite!!
Can you make the filling ahead of time for a party ?
That could work, just make sure it softens before you spread it into the peppers!
Love it.. I was looking for simple but tasty appetizers for a dinner and this is perfect.. its healthy but not too healthy that guests roll their eyes ;) ..cheese, a bit of spice and the crispiness from the chips..perfect Will double the recipe.
Thank you for sharing and for your review!