Make jalapeño poppers by stuffing halved peppers with cream cheese and cheddar, wrapping in bacon, and baking in the oven until crisp and charred — each bite is an explosion of flavor and contrasting textures. Great for keto and low carb diets, this 5-ingredient recipe is healthier and easier than the traditional method of breading and frying.
Serve this crowd-pleasing dish alongside other great low carb appetizers like crab stuffed mushrooms, spinach artichoke dip, or Instant Pot chicken wings.
WHAT DO YOU STUFF JALAPEÑOS WITH?
These jalapeños are stuffed with a simple mixture of cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and garlic powder. If you don’t have cheddar cheese but have some other kind of cheese handy, you can use that instead. Other cheeses that work well include pepper jack or Mexican blend cheeses.
When you’re stuffing the jalapeños, don’t over-stuff, or the cheese stuffing will slide out when baking. I usually stuff just enough to fill the pepper. If you’re using toothpicks to secure the bacon, there’s no need to wrap the bacon very tightly around each pepper. Otherwise, your baked jalapeños will look like they’ve had the cheese choked out of them.
Halved jalapeño peppers 
Stuffed with cheddar and cream cheese 
Wrapped in bacon and secured with toothpicks
How do you adjust the spiciness?
You can make these jalapeño poppers less spicy by removing all of the seeds and membranes, which contain the majority of the capsaicin (that’s what makes chili peppers hot). For a hotter version, keep some or all of the seeds and membranes.
If you or your guests can’t tolerate chili peppers at all but you still want to try these out, I recommend using mini sweet bell peppers instead of jalapeños. You might have seen them in the produce section of your grocery store — each is about the same size as a jalapeño and they’re packaged in multiple colors.
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to learn how to make these stuffed jalapeños, or scroll down to the printable recipe box for the full instructions. Enjoy!
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers (5 Ingredients)
Bacon wrapped jalapeño peppers stuffed with cream cheese and shredded cheddar. A keto and low carb version of jalapeño poppers that are baked in the oven.
Ingredients
- 6 jalapeño peppers (about 8 ounces total)
- 6 slices bacon, cut widthwise in half (kitchen shears can be useful for this)
- 4 ounces cream cheese (this is a half brick; I use Philadelphia regular cream cheese)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
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Slice each pepper lengthwise in half, and discard seeds and membranes (use a spoon to scrape them out). Wearing gloves is recommended to protect your hands from capsaicin, which is mainly in the seeds and membranes.
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In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, add cream cheese. Microwave until softened, 15 to 30 seconds. The cream cheese should be very soft to the touch so that it can be easily stirred with other ingredients. Add cheddar cheese and garlic powder, stirring with the cream cheese until well-mixed.
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Stuff each pepper half with the cream cheese mixture. Wrap a halved bacon slice around each pepper. Secure with a toothpick, as needed. Place the stuffed pepper halves in a single layer on a baking tray, optionally lined with foil for easier cleanup.
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Bake at 400 F until the cheese is starting to brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Optionally, turn on the broiler and broil for a few minutes to crisp up the bacon. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Don’t wait too long before eating because they are fantastic when hot and they can cool rapidly.
Nutrition Info
| Makes 4 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving (3 stuffed jalapeño halves): |
| Calories 210 | |
| Total Fat 17g | 26% |
| Saturated Fat 10g | 48% |
| Cholesterol 53mg | 18% |
| Sodium 370mg | 15% |
| Net Carb 2g | |
| Total Carb 2.5g | 1% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.5g | 3% |
| Sugars 1g | |
| Protein 9g |
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Can these be made ahead of time and then reheated? Trying to meal prep for long weekend.
I made these on Memorial day Monday and since I had some left over brisket and pulled pork from BBQ’ing Saturday, I chopped it up and mixed it in with my cream cheese for 2 different batches of peno poppers. I used whole penos and wrapped the entire thing head to toe in bacon and then in a sheet of sharp cheddar. OMG delish! My new go to popper!
These are amazing!!! I’ve taken them to multiple parties and never given a recipe out so many times. Delicious!!!! I prep them the night before and keep them in the fridge…that way all I have to do is pop them in the oven the day of. This will be a forever recipe for me 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Best poppers I have ever had! This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Easy and yummy!
Can I leave the jalapeños ready for the oven since a day before a party?
So delicious – huge party hit – can’t wait to make them for this Thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing!!
Made these today and they were amazing! Only change is that I used 1/2 herb & garlic cream cheese mixed with regular cream cheese. So good!
Mmm herb and garlic cream cheese sounds really good!
I made these today and my husband and I LOVED them. Thank you
You’re very welcome, Dawn! Hope you get a chance to make them again soon.
I made these last summer and we’re perfect. So made them again and had no room in fridge to hold till the party and put outside, two trays,,,,,, dog LOVED them too 🙀🤦♀️
Haha that’s amazing! Next time you’ll need to clear out more room in the fridge for more trays 😉
Made as appetizer for taco night. They were a hit !
That’s great to hear! I never have any leftovers with this recipe 😉
I used pepper jack and cheddar cheese mixed in with the cream cheese! Make sure you cook them on 425 until they look done! They are Yummmm
Just made these today! I wanted to play in the kitchen a little after pulling off the Thanksgiving feast and this was perfect! They are SOOO good!!! Thanks!
Glad to hear you loved these, Debbie!! 🙂
Can these be frozen prior to cooking?
I haven’t tried that, but I don’t think you would get good results that way.
I really want to make these but I think I will add crabmeat into it.
That would be an excellent idea. 🙂
Made these a year ago for a football watching party. They were a hit! A year later, someone who attended the party requested that I make them for their party. You know they are good when a year later you are still getting requests for them! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Hi Jeannie, thanks for your comment! I’m so happy to hear that they were a hit. I often make these just for myself so that I can eat them all for dinner without sharing with anyone else 😉
Fantastic the cheese absorbs some of the heat and the bacon adds that delicious combination of sweet, salty and hot!
Glad you like it, Gary!
Made these tonight for a small gathering & they were great! I doubled the recipe bc I had 12 peppers, so I froze 1/2 of thrm, hoping they will be just as good out of the freezer at the next function.
Hi Kelly! I’m glad they turned out great. I haven’t tried freezing these before, but I have frozen whole jalapenos in the past and they defrost well 🙂
I made a ton of these poppers using both jalapenos and those small sweet peppers for those who did not like heat. I also added a little of my homemade taco spice to the filling. They were an absolute hit at our father’s day, birthday party, and got rave reviews from the hot and non-hot crowd. This recipe is a winner!!
Wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that!! I love how you added homemade taco spice — yum 🙂
OMG! These look absolutely divine! I really love the combination of bacon and cheese. Love it!