Snacks & sides
Jalapeño poppers
Jalapeño poppers are the ultimate party snack: fat jalapeños halved, filled with a creamy cheese mix and baked until golden. Big-podded varieties like Jalapeño Megatron and Jalapeño Mammoth make perfect poppers, with plenty of room for filling.
Most of a jalapeño's heat sits in the white membrane, so scrape it out well for milder poppers, or leave a little in if you like a kick.
- Prep 15 min
- Cook 20 min
- Total 35 min
- Serves 6
Ingredients
- 12 large jalapeños
- 250 g cream cheese, softened
- 100 g tasty cheddar, grated
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 40 g panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Method
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Step 1
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 200°C fan bake and line a tray with baking paper.
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Step 2
Prepare the jalapeños
Wearing gloves, halve the jalapeños lengthways and scrape out the seeds and membrane with a teaspoon.
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Step 3
Mix the filling
Beat together the cream cheese, cheddar, spring onion, garlic and paprika.
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Step 4
Fill
Spoon the filling into the jalapeño halves and set them on the tray.
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Step 5
Top
Toss the panko with the olive oil and sprinkle it over the top.
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Step 6
Bake
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the tops are golden. Cool for 5 minutes before serving, as the filling gets very hot.
Grow your own
The chillies in this recipe are easy to grow from seed in New Zealand.
