Jazz up your low carb appetizer tray with these delicious spicy jalapeño poppers. Stuffed with chorizo and sharp cheddar, it’s a party in your mouth!
You have to wonder who invented the first jalapeño popper. It is pretty genius, when you think about it. Stuffing spicy peppers with creamy cheese or other delicious fillings and baking or frying them to crispy goodness. That poor person really should have patented their invention. They would have made a killing, what with all the chefs and home cooks out there riffing on the original with fun flavours and twists. And how about that incredibly bright individual who thought to forego the crispy filling and wrap the whole darn thing in bacon instead? We, the low carb community, owe that person a debt of the deepest gratitude. They created what is surely the most lasting icon of a low carb appetizer that everyone can enjoy. If only we knew their name, they would go down in history.
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I say all this and yet jalapeño poppers have never been a big thing with me. I liked them well enough but I didn’t go out of my way to make them or order them at restaurants. To be honest, they looked fussy to make and I found I’d rather fuss over my dessert recipes rather than an appetizer. So I never really jumped on the jalapeño popper bandwagon until just recently.
Here’s what happened: I was standing in the prepared foods section at Whole Foods some months ago, wondering what the heck to make for dinner. It was soon after we’d moved and I am not sure all of our household belongings had even arrived. If they had, the vast majority were still crated up in boxes, so I didn’t have much of a functioning kitchen to work with. I spied many tasty things and I was hungry, which is always a bad combination at a grocery store. I may or may not have purchased far more than we actually needed for dinner, including a package of ready-to-cook jalapeño poppers from the deli counter.
But these weren’t just any jalapeño poppers. They were not stuffed with the ubiquitous cream cheese filling. No, no, they were far more appealing to me than that because they were stuffed with two of my great loves: chorizo and cheddar. And they were insanely good, just as I suspected they would be. Hot and spicy and so flavourful, I could easily have made my whole meal out of them. As I ate them, I realized just how easy they would be too make myself. So you know I had to try it. And they were easy and possibly even MORE delicious than the pre-made version from Whole Foods, because I could use my favorite Cabot cheddar and some local chorizo.
You can officially call me a jalapeño popper devotee now. I bow before the brilliance of stuffed jalapeños wrapped in bacon!
- 12 fresh jalapeño peppers
- 1 lb chorizo (casings removed if present)
- 2 cups grated sharp Cheddar such as Cabot Seriously Sharp
- 12 slices bacon (not thick-cut, cut in half)
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Preheat oven to 350F and set a wire rack over a cookie sheet or use a broiling pan.
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Cut peppers in half lengthwise and remove ribs and seeds.
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In a large bowl, mix together chorizo and cheddar until well combined.
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Fill each half of the jalapeños with about one tbsp of the chorizo/cheddar mixture.
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Take one half piece of bacon and stretch it out slightly. Wrap it tightly around a jalapeño half, starting at the top and working your way toward the bottom. You should not have to secure it with a toothpick if you pull it tight enough.
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Bake 25 to 35 minutes, until bacon is crisp to your liking and peppers are tender.
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If you find you have too much filling for your poppers, no worries! Make little patties and fry it up, it's delicious that way!
Serves 12. Each serving has 2.28 g of carbs and .39 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 1.89 g
Food energy: 273kcal
Saturated fatty acids: 10.03g
Total fat: 21.90g
Calories from fat: 197
Cholesterol: 55mg
Carbohydrate: 2.28g
Total dietary fiber: 0.39g
Protein: 12.93g
Sodium: 599mg
Regan @ Cabot Creamery says
I’m with you… never was big on making poppers in the past, because the cream cheese mixture and batter seemed a bit much for what you get. But THESE? Oh my…. so much better looking & sounding. A must try 🙂
Jan says
These are right up my alley! I’m going to have to buy some jalapenos to make these this weekend. Thanks!
jerald says
Thank you for this recipe. So simple, yet so flavorful, but then again considering each of the ingredients, how could one go wrong!
janet says
My jalapeno plants are only 2 inches tall, and I can”t put them out until end of May for fear of damage, even here in the south. However these things sound Yummy!. I will have to come back to it in July for sure.
Isn’t any room for pepper plants yet anyway, what with all that lettuce in the garden.
Sarah G says
Yum!!
Don’t forget the jalapeño seeds can totally burn your fingers. Did you need to wear gloves? I saw Amazon has some jalapeño coring tools that I definitely want to try.
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says
I want all of these. I am a huge popper fan and have been missing them. This is such a great idea!
Lisa says
Carolyn, is this fresh chorizo or pre-cooked? They look awesome!
Carolyn says
Fresh!
Jacki w. says
Just made these. They were so good. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Emily says
I recently started Keto because my blood sugars are creeping up (I had gestational diabetes too), and these are truly delicious and amazing. Don’t even miss the breaded ones!
Anne says
Made these today using long sweet chili peppers, “draping” rather than wrapping the bacon and had them as part of dinner
They were a huge hit – thank you!
Jessica says
So young cook the chorizo ahead of time or does it fully cook in the oven?
Carolyn says
Fully cooked in the oven.
Jean says
Holy smokes! I made these last night for a late dinner. Used jalapenos out of my husband’s garden. I didn’t have chorizo so I used regular loose sausage mixed with cheddar. They are spectacular! My husband loved them too. We used a dollop of sour cream on the side. Will make these all the time!!! Thank you…