An amazing jalapeño popper is easier to make than you may think. Some think a true popper is breaded and deep-fried. Don’t get me wrong – I love those, too! But a Bacon-Wrapped popper is some kinda magical bite! These Bacon-Wrapped Ranch Jalapeño Poppers made on the smoker is an amazing variation on the classic popper.
The main key to success with this popper is selecting the peppers. If you want them to be really really spicy – pick peppers that have the dark spots or have the “heat marks”. These look like little tan stretchmarks on the outside and indicate a lot of heat in the pepper. You also want to go for bulbous and straight peppers over the heavily curved ones. You want to have nice deep “cups” for the filing and easy to wrap the bacon around.
I’ve included my recipe for homemade ranch seasoning below the main recipe. It’s pretty easy to make and collect the ingredients for – my grocery store’s bulk bin section has it all. You can also just use the packet or bottled variety.
Substitutes and Variations:
Another way to kick up the heat is to use pepper jack instead of cheddar. If you want to go a little bit fancy, you could use a Gouda cheese. If you don’t have a smoker, these can be baked. I would do 400degF for about 30 minutes, then kick it up to 450degF and go in 5 minutes intervals until the bacon is as crispy as you like.
Tools that may make this recipe easier:
To make these how I have listed, you will need some sort of smoker – I adore my Traeger Pro 34. You will also need either a junky baking sheet covered with heavy duty aluminum foil or a disposable foil baking sheet.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Bacon-Wrapped Ranch Jalapeño Poppers
Equipment
- 1 Smoker
Ingredients
- 12 Whole Jalapenos halved and seeded
- 12 strips Bacon, Thick-cut halved
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese finely shredded
- ¼ cup Ranch Seasoning packet or see recipe below
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 180degF.
- In a small bowl, add cream cheese, shredded cheese, and ranch seasoning. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Spoon mixture into each of the halved jalapenos. Then wrap each with a half of bacon strip. Secure with a toothpick, if needed.
- Add prepped poppers to an aluminum baking sheet. Place in smoker for two hours.
- Increase temperature of smoker to 375degF.
- Let poppers cook another 30 minutes (or until bacon is to desired crispiness).
- Remove toothpicks (if used) and serve.
Notes
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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