The Best Stuffed Jalapenos With Cream Cheese & Bacon

I Love these stuffed Jalapenos with cream cheese and bacon! These are a family favorite tradition every Christmas or New Year’s Eve, if I don’t make them my Dad or sisters do! Everyone devours them!

Only 3 simple ingredients and flavors come together like magic for the perfection of flavor, texture, and satisfaction!

Jalapenos

The base of this appetizer is halved and scooped out jalapenos. They bake to a soft and perfectly spicy treat to hold the cream cheese and bacon!

Although I do grow jalapenos in my garden, by the time of year that I’m making these beauties, my are run out and I need to buy them at the grocery store.

I like to look for the biggest ones that are not too curved so that when I cut them they will sit flat on the baking dish.

To prepare your jalapenos, you need to slice them in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and cut out the membranes that hold the seeds in place along the inside of the peppers.

If you leave some of the seeds or membranes that hold them in place you will have a much hotter, spicier, finished product.

TIP or RIP

I learned this one the hard way! It’s no fun…

Wear protective gloves when prepping your jalapenos so that you don’t get the spicy hot juices on your hands. The spice on your hands can last for quite a while even after washing several times.

If you touch your eyes with this spice on your hands (even after washing) your eyes can start burning.

Cream Cheese

The second ingredient is cream cheese… I like to use the Neufchâtel cream cheese for the reduced fat, but the full cream cheese has a texture and fat content that is perfect with jalapenos!

The fat in the cream cheese curbs the spice of the jalapenos, and creates a texture that almost melts in your mouth!

Either way, you choose to go, it is deliciously creamy and perfectly spiced!

I like to stuff my jalapenos with plenty of cream cheese so I always buy 2 packages of it to make sure I have enough.

Bacon

There are two different ways to make these. One is by cooking my own bacon and chopping it before adding it to the tops of the stuffed peppers. Or precooking and wrapping each stuffed jalapeno.

I’ve made this recipe so many times now, and I’ve used both the low-fat bacon bits by Hormel, and homemade bacon that I pre-cook and then chop into bits.

The only thing I don’t like about the Hormel bacon buts is that you often get a bit of fat that is soft, not crunchy, however, it does become more crunchy after you bake these.

The other way to make this recipe is to use precooked bacon and wrap entire strips (or strips cut in half horizontally) around the cream-chees stuffed jalapenos. This is also very yummy but uses much more bacon.

If you are making these the first way with chopped bacon on top, a 1-pound package will be enough. If you want to wrap your stuffed jalapenos with slices of bacon you will need 1- 2 packages to make sure you have enough slices.

How To Bake Stuffed Jalapenos

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. You will want to bake your stuffed jalapenos at a bit higher heat so that they don’t get too soggy.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

Line up your stuffed and topped jalapenos on the baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. You should be able to fit all 24 on 1 regular-sized cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Let them cool down a bit and Enjoy!

Optional Topping Panko Bread Crumbs

If you want to kick these up a notch, get some Italian-seasoned Panko bread crumbs.

Use 1 cup of these with 1/4 cup melted butter mixed in, and sprinkle these on top of your stuffed peppers after topping them with bacon.

This adds a nice extra flavor and crunch to your appetizers!

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