I just googled, “is a jalapeño a vegetable?” and after all the scientists and the culinary experts weigh in, it seems to be both a vegetable and a fruit!! Considering that just the thought of these stuffed jalapeños consume a good portion of my day, it gives me comfort knowing that under the crispy, salty bacon and the creamy, soft cheese center that these stuffed jalapeños can contribute to my nine servings… am I reaching here??
Jalapeños are a little flaky. Sometimes they show up and are like “Yo! I’m here to party! Let’s bring the heat”! And other times they’re like “Meh, I’m just gonna taste like a bland green bell pepper right now, mmmmkay?” And you never know what your gonna get. But you have to love them anyway. So cut the stem off and split lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and membranes and get ready to play jalapeño roulette. 
Stuff with the cheese mixture half full, and wrap with the bacon, make sure the seam is on the bottom.
At this point if you are planning on freezing them, line them up in a freezer ziplock bag on a cookie sheet and freeze for a couple hours. Once frozen solid you can lift the bag upright and they won’t stick together
When you are ready to bake, line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. On top of a wire rack, space out your stuffed jalapeños.
When you pull them out of the oven, the cheese will be bubbly and the bacon just crispy, and all will be right in the world. For my husband, it’s football season, but for me, it’s stuffed jalapeño season, and I never forget to say a little prayer of gratitude that it comes AFTER swimsuit season.
Ok kids, one for you, and two… eleven for me!
I love that I can make these and freeze them until I’m ready to bake. It makes last minute parties (and late night cravings) easy! If you want to blow the roof off of your next football party, make these stuffed jalapeños, along with my favorite mozzarella sticks and these amazing wings, all of which are freezer friendly!
I have included an easy to follow recipe below!
Stuffed Jalapeño's {Freezer Friendly}
Ingredients
- 1 Gallon Freezer Bag
- 12 Med.-Large Jalapenos
- 8 oz brick of Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Shredded Mexican Four Cheese Blend or 1 Cup of your favorite cheeses, shredded
- 12 strips Thinly Cut Bacon
Instructions
- Stem your jalapenos and half them length wise, on the curve, so that your half pieces will lay open side up with out tipping over. Remove seeds and veins. Rinse well and set on a paper towel to dry.
- In a small mixing bowl, with a fork, blend your shredded cheeses and cream cheese together.
- Press 1-1 ½ tsp. of the cheese mixture into each pepper half. Do not over stuff! The cheese will puff up and if they are over stuffed, the cheese will run out and burn. Each pepper should be half full of cheese.
- Cut your 12 strips of bacon in half. To avoid using toothpicks you should make sure to start and end each wrap with the ends of the bacon on the bottom side of your pepper halves. Starting at the top hold one end of the bacon under the pepper then, as you wrap, pull your bacon piece, streching it as much as you can without tearing or breaking it.
- Once each pepper is wrapped, place your freezer bag flat on a cookie sheet, and line up your poppers inside, making sure they do not touch. Seal your bag for at least the first couple hours freeze your poppers flat on the cookie sheet. Once frozen solid, you can move the bag in an upright position, allowing the poppers to touch.
- When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place your stuffed jalapeños on top of a wire rack over the parchment paper.
- Bake both pans at once for 20-25 minutes, just until bacon is crispy/chewy.
- When done transfer to plate lined with paper towel . Now go hide in the bedroom and lock the door, because you are not going to want to share!
How do you keep the bacon on?
You can use toothpicks but I like to do it this way. Make sure to start and end each wrap with the ends of the bacon on the bottom side of your pepper halves. Starting at the top hold one end of the bacon under the pepper then, as you wrap, pull your bacon piece, stretching it as much as you can without tearing or breaking it. Lay the jalapeno on the pan, holding the bacon in place.
Great recipe!
Have you tried cooking them frozen or fresh on the BBQ? ( I want to take them camping)
And if cooked and then frozen-what’s your temp/time suggestion to reheat?
Thanks so much!
Yummy!
I haven’t tried it yet but I am going to! I bet it would be great! I would probably try it around 350 degrees and cook it for 4 minutes, turn and cook for another 4 minutes and then just watch the bacon to make sure it doesn’t burn. You may even try preheating it, turning off the middle burner, and placing the jalapenos on that part so that it is indirect heat for most of the cooking and then move it on the active burners towards the end of the cooking process to crisp up the bacon.
😍Love these. try some minced onion in the cream cheese mixture….will totally change your world!!!😍
Love these. They cook up great in my air fryer!! My air fryer is pretty much just my popper cooker. 🙂
These are a favourite! Thanks!
Thanks so much for this information! I made some (different recipe) and froze in food saver bags quite some time ago -long enough that I couldn’t locate my original recipe. I couldn’t decide to thaw or just cook from frozen state. Followed your directions from frozen – perfect! I’ll try your recipe next time I make them 😉
Do you defrost the jalapeños first before putting them in the oven?
No, they just go in frozen!
I tried them and they turned out perfect and delicious. Thank you ?
Excellent!
Simple ingredients, amazing taste.
Heat from jalapeño, salty/smoky from bacon, smooth/rich cream cheese.
I used this to prep an abundant jalapeño crop from my garden.
This recipe is a keeper.
Rather than freezing, can prepared stuffed peppers be stored in the fridge for a couple of hours before baking? I ask because I’m trying to make them in advance so they are ready when I get home from a school event
Yes, you can make them and keep in the fridge for a few hours ahead, totally!
What if you cooked them left them out overnight?
These are awesome. I had some extra jalapenos that I didn’t want to let go to waste, and was wondering if I could prep them and freeze them for poppers. Not only did this recipe give me something so I wouldn’t lose my peppers, but this recipe is seriously THE BEST jalapeno poppers I’ve had, baking them at this temperature ensures the bacon AND jalapeno is cooked, and the addition of the cheese to the cream cheese is so tasty! Now my husband and I keep a stock of these in the freezer at all times and we usually eat a few every weekend.
I’m assuming you mean breading the poppers so you can fry them later by “prep them and freeze for poppers”? If you want to add breading, I’d suggest rolling in flour, dipping in egg, and then rolling in your coating of choice. I prefer panko! Freezing is the same process as the bacon wrapped poppers. Easy! When you want to cook them, you can do it in the oven, or pan-fry in a little oil to get a nice crisp browned crust!
Thsee look so good! I am definitely going to make a bunch of these for the freezer but was curious if I can cook a few freshly made ones and if so what baking temp and time would you suggest?
Thank you for this great recipe.
Mrothe
How long do these last in the freezer? We are loaded with jalapeños and I cannot bear the pain of pickling anymore!! Great idea!!!
Best whe used within 4-6 months. 🙂
I can almost taste these scrumptious looking stuff jalapeño peppers. Cannot wait to give this receipt a try!
Can they be froze after being cooked?
yes!