The Best Smoked Jalapeño Poppers Recipe
No summer party or tailgate is complete without a big tray of these crowd-favorite smoked jalapeño poppers! Thick, crisp bacon is wrapped around jalapeño peppers stuffed with the most decadent cream cheese filling to make one irresistible party snack.
How to Make the Best The Best Smoked Jalapeño Poppers
These smoked jalapeño poppers are the ultimate crowd-pleaser for any summer gathering, tailgate, or backyard barbecue. The combination of creamy, cheesy filling and smoky bacon-wrapped peppers creates an irresistible appetizer that your guests will keep coming back for.
The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity and the incredible depth of flavor achieved through smoking. What starts as a simple cream cheese and cheddar filling becomes something extraordinary when wrapped in thick-cut bacon and slow-smoked over charcoal or wood chips. The peppers soften beautifully while the bacon renders and crisps, creating the perfect balance of textures and flavors.
Best of all, these poppers come together in just 20 minutes of prep work, leaving the smoker to do the heavy lifting. Serve them warm, watch them disappear from the platter, and accept the compliments from your fellow barbecue enthusiasts.
The Best Smoked Jalapeño Poppers
No summer party or tailgate is complete without a big tray of these crowd-favorite smoked jalapeño poppers! Thick, crisp bacon is wrapped around jalapeño peppers stuffed with the most decadent cream cheese filling to make one irresistible party snack.
Ingredients
Poppers
Instructions
Preparation
- Heat the smoker to 225 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic cloves and ground cumin using a sturdy wooden spoon or hand mixer until it becomes one cohesive mixture.
- Wearing kitchen gloves, slice off the stems of the jalapeños and cut them in half. Remove the seeds and membrane inside the peppers.
- Use a small spoon to spread the cream cheese mixture into each jalapeño half.
- Wrap the cream cheese-filled jalapeño halves with a strip of uncooked bacon. Secure at both ends with toothpicks.
Smoking and Finishing
- Put the jalapeño poppers on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and place in the smoker with a water pan. Close the lid and smoke until the bacon browns and the peppers soften, about an hour and a half to two hours.
- Heat the broiler and broil the smoked jalapeños until the bacon crisps and browns even more, about 30-60 seconds. Remove from the broiler. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Serving size is approximately 2 poppers.
- Can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated before smoking.