Vegan Bacon and Two Cheese Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers

Jump to Recipe

I haven’t made stuffed jalapeños since becoming vegan, and I realized I had all the ingredients in the fridge to try it out. I went back and forth on if I should batter them like you would get in a sports bar or Sonic drive in. In the end I decided to take a note from some of the recipes I found and add something crunchy to them as a garnish. Some did breadcrumbs, and Minimalist Baker used crushed tortilla chips. I decided to make this a twofer by topping these with Trader Joe’s Crushed Fried Jalapeños. 😊 For the bacon, I went back and forth on using rice paper bacon for this and I decided they wouldn’t be thick enough. I decided to use an accidentally vegan cheat instead. Good ole fashioned McCormick Bac'n Pieces Bacon Flavored Bits are actually vegan did you know that? Mixed in with the cream cheese and cooked in the oven helped soften the Bac’n bits a bit and make it taste more like bacon. I did top these with extra Bac’n pieces because I like the extra crunch on top.

I was tempted to add Hatch green chile to the cream cheese, but with the fried jalapeños on top and pepper jack cheese shreds, I decided to leave them out this time. The Violife cheddar shreds I had in the fridge were apparently moldy, so I had to make a quick trip to the nearest grocery store. Ended up finding Vevan pepper jack shreds from Sprouts because I had heard it was great. What I heard was accurate and this cheese is delish. I already have another great recipe using the green chile in these instead. I’ll share those when I have the other ingredients I need to make that one.

These are another great potluck or party appetizer and would be a great thing to take to a party along with the summer dessert tacos I shared yesterday. These could either be cooked and wrapped up right before you leave the house, or you can prep them in a baking dish and bring them to the party ready to be cooked. These can be made a day in advance too which makes things easy.

The cream cheese mixture is perfectly seasoned and makes the creamiest filling when baked. I did mine for about 20 minutes, just to give everything a couple extra minutes to bake through. The cheese shreds don’t fully melt on top, but it still tastes great with the filling.

How do you like your stuffed jalapeños? Do you usually add meat/”meat” or do you stick with cheese? Let me know what recipes you like to use in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Jessica

Vegan Bacon and Two Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños Poppers

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Yield: 20-24 poppers

Author: Jessica Morton

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 50 Min

Ingredients

• 10-12 jalapeños halved, destemmed, and deveined depending on size
• 1-8 ounce container vegan cream cheese (I use Trader Joe’s, but I know some people aren’t a fan. Almost any name brand I’ve tried has been good)
• 1 cup Vevan shredded pepper jack cheese (You can use vegan shredded cheddar for less spice. Use more for garnish)
• ½ cup McCormick Bac'n Pieces Bacon Flavored Bits (more for garnish)
• 4 TBSP Trader Joe’s Fried Jalapeño pieces, smashed
• 1 ½ -2 TSP TJ’s onion salt
• 1 ½ -2 TSP Garlic powder
• 2 TSP Nutritional yeast
• ½-1 TSP TJ’s Vegan Chicken-less seasoning (this item was discontinued, but you can find a hack recipe here)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: Follow Your Heart ranch for dipping.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
2. Prep the jalapeños, splitting in half, removing the tops seeds and veins and lay out on the mat.
3. Take fried jalapeños and place in a stasher sandwich bag (or plastic sandwich bag if that is all you have) and seal the bag. Gently squeeze the jalapeños in the bag to make them smaller pieces without making them crumbs. You want them to be small enough to fit on the top of the cooked jalapeños. Set aside in a bowl.
4. Mix the cream cheese, shredded cheese, spices, and Bac’n bits in a bowl and adjust seasoning to taste.
5. Gently scoop the filling into each of the jalapeños, making sure to evenly fill them all.
6. Top each jalapeño with extra shredded cheese, Bac’n bits, and fried jalapeños. Some people spray the filled peppers with oil to get them extra crispy, but I forgot. They still turned out great. Feel free to do it either way.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the peppers are soft, and the fried jalapeños are golden brown.
8. Serve immediately with Follow Your Heart ranch for dipping if you want. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 2-3 days, reheating in the microwave or a 350-degree F (176 C) oven until warmed through (though best when fresh). I haven’t air fried these, but I will try that next time and report back.