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Looking down on a wooden plate with smoked jalapeño poppers on a folded piece of burlap with cilantro on the side.
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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. You can prep these jalapeño poppers in 20 minutes and then let the smoker take care of the rest.
Course Appetizers
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings 8 people
Calories 482kcal

Equipment

  • Kitchen gloves
  • Wire rack and baking sheet
  • Wood chips or pellets depending on type of smoker, hickory or a fruit wood recommended
  • Smoker

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
  • 3 garlic cloves minced or grated
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 8 jalapeños
  • 16 strips thick-cut bacon (see note)

Instructions

  • 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.
  • 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!

Video

Notes

  • If you don't have access to a broiler after smoking, you'll want to use regular-cut bacon. The broiler is necessary for crisping up the thick-cut bacon, but it's well worth it for the extra bacon goodness.
  • To make ahead of time, prepare the poppers and store in an airtight container for a day or two. Let sit in room temperature for 30-60 minutes before smoking.
  • This recipe calls for a 225-degree smoking temperature, but you can go up to 250 degrees without it affecting cooking time too much. If you choose to smoke them at an even higher temperature, monitor them because they should cook faster. 
  • Keep a close eye on the broiler. The broiler is powerful, so check it at 30 seconds and then short intervals if they need more broiling time. 
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 2poppers | Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 624mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 321IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 0.5mg