Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos

This delicious, Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno recipe will please any crowd with its filling of cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, garlic and green onion and topped with tomatoes, red onions and cilantro.

We are just days away from the Super Bowl Football game and you may need a great dish to make and serve during the game.  These grilled stuffed jalapeno peppers are great for parties and we have found that they don’t last long, so remember to grab couple for yourself before they are all gone!

Deep fried jalapeno poppers are delicious but loaded with fat. Other popper recipes use an entire slice of bacon wrapped around the jalapeno and grilled, these too are delicious, but not so healthy.

While those are nice, my Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno poppers are much healthier, and they taste so good. I prefer them over the deep-fried ones and the bacon wrapped ones, and I think you will too. Even my husband who loves salty, greasy foods prefers this cheese stuffed jalapeno popper recipe over all the others.

These are made with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onions, garlic and lime juice, with tomatoes, red onions and cilantro as garnishes.

For a vegetarian jalapeno popper recipe, you can remove the bacon or replace it with chopped, smoked almonds or a vegetarian bacon like this one from Amazon: Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon, Hickory and Sage Plant Based Protein.

You can make these any time of the year, even when it’s too cold to grill outside with a grill pan you can use on your stovetop.

I love this one from Lodge that includes a glass top, which works really well with these poppers as they get heated throughout without overcooking the jalapeno.

Okay, so here are the details on how to make these delicious grilled jalapenos.

Cook the bacon to be crispy, but not burnt, so that they give a little texture to the cheese mixture.  Remove the bacon and let it cool and drain onto a paper towel lined plate.

Cut the jalapenos, leave the stem on half of them because they look great.

Remove the seeds and the interior membranes.

If you like your poppers spicy, you should still remove the seeds, then you can mix them into the cheese mixture so that you get a consistent level of heat.

If the jalapenos feel hot on your fingers when you are cutting them, you might want to use plastic gloves.

Next, chop the garnishes. Seed and chop the tomato, chop the red onion and cilantro.

The bacon should be cooled, so chop the bacon into tiny bits so that the bacon flavor gets mixed throughout the cheese mixture.

Now, let’s make the cheese mixture.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cream cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, minced green onions, bacon, minced garlic, salt and lime juice until it is well mixed.

Next, fill the jalapenos with the cheese mixture, packing it in tight, but no higher than the sides of the jalapenos.

Coat the grill or grill pan with cooking spray.

Place the jalapeno peppers with the cheese sides up, on the grill rack or grill pan.

Cover and grill the jalapeno peppers 8 minutes or until bottoms of peppers are blistered and the cheese mixture is lightly browned.

When they are cooked, the cheddar cheese will have a little more golden, toasted color. These stuffed jalapenos on the grill pan just look fabulous!

Remove the jalapeno peppers from the grill or grill pan and place them on a serving platter.

I have turned one over so you can see the nice blistering of the jalapeno on the bottom, here is a close up of that deliciousness.

Garnish the grilled stuffed jalapeno peppers with red onion, tomato and cilantro.

These are sooo good!  Here is a zoomed in look, which is a feast for the eyes! Look at those beauties all in a row! Is your mouth watering?  It should be!

Oh, I almost forgot a couple of notes.  If you make these on a grill, then the cooking time in the recipe is good to cook all of them.  If you make them in a grill pan, you will have to grill a few at a time, so will take you a little longer, depending on how many will fit in your pan.

Also, if you have any of the cream cheese mixture left over, or if you just want to make a batch of it, it makes a great savory schmear for bagels, just look at this tasty bagel!

Enjoy!

Here’s the Recipe!

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos Recipe

This delicious, grilled stuffed jalapeno recipe will please any crowd with its filling of cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, garlic and green onion and topped with tomatoes, red onions and cilantro.

4.6 from 22 votes

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Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: North American

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 16 servings (2 jalapeño halves per serving)

Calories: 55kcal

Author: Linda

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RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS

• ▢
  Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Cookware Set - Square Grill Pan with Square Tempered Glass Lid (10.5 Inch)
• ▢
  Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon, Hickory and Sage Plant Based Protein, 0.34375 lb

Ingredients

• ▢ 16 jalapeno peppers - halved lengthwise and seeded
• ▢ 8 ounces ⅓ less fat cream cheese - softened
• ▢ 4 center-cut bacon slices
• ▢ 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
• ▢ 1/4 cup minced green onions
• ▢ 1 small garlic clove - minced
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• ▢ Cooking spray
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped seeded tomato
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

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Instructions

• Cut the jalapeno peppers in half and remove the seeds.
• Seed and chop the tomato into garnish sized pieces.
• Chop the red onion and cilantro into small pieces for garnish.
• Cook bacon in a pan or skillet over medium heat until crispy, but not burnt. Remove bacon from the pan and let them cool on paper towels.
• When bacon has cooled, chop the bacon into tiny pieces.
• In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, green onions, garlic, salt and lime juice. Stir it well so that it is evenly combined.
• Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
• Use a butter knife or small spatula to evenly fill the jalapeno pepper halves with the cheese mixture. Press the mixture down into the jalapeno so it is nice and tight. Don’t over fill the jalapeno halves, at most you want the cheese mixture to be even with the sides of the jalapeno.
• Place the jalapeno peppers with the cheese sides up, on the grill rack or grill pan coated with cooking spray.
• Cover and grill the jalapeno peppers 8 minutes or until bottoms of peppers are blistered and the cheese mixture is lightly browned.
• Remove the jalapeno peppers from the grill or grill pan and place them on a serving platter.
• Garnish the jalapeno peppers with red onion, tomato and cilantro.
  

NOTES

If you are making these grilled stuffed jalapeno poppers for a party, then you can stuff the peppers, cover, and chill them in the refrigerator, and then grill them just before your guests arrive, or grill them at the start of the party.  My husband has a rule, that he doesn’t grill alone, so he always insists that a few guests join him for some guy time out by the grill.

You can half the recipe if you aren't making them for a large party.

These are so good, that you might find your family and friends eating 4 jalapeno halves each and need to adjust the number you make accordingly!

Also, the cheese mixture makes a great, savory bagel schmear!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 55kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 134mg | Sugar: 1g

Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.