Baked Jalapeño Poppers Adventure

Gardening in California is ridiculous. One moment the jalapeños and habaneros were seeds, the next moment we were giving away a dozen peppers at a time to anyone willing to take them.

Several jalapeños turned red before we could harvest them. And they were hotter than hell in an experimental Greek yogurt dip. The green ones tended toward bell pepper mild with occasional surprises.

Our rapidly proliferating peppers required a big-batch recipe.

In Colorado, I’d marvel at any plants that survived from seed. Okay, some of that was inexperience, but growing conditions were truly intense in a south-facing yard that got cold at night. Over Labor Day weekend in 2020, the temperature rapidly dropped from 90s to 30s Fahrenheit and snowed overnight. I could feel the sudden shift while lugging potted plants to the garage for protection.

Here in the South Bay, I learned to give each plant room to grow — surprisingly large room in separate pots. My dear friend Laurel, an experienced horticulturalist, warned me about crowding the little sprouting peppers. “Just one of these will need a container three times the size of this one,” she advised. Discarding any was hard, but the survivors flourished.

With so many large and productive plants, I thought about doing jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwiches, but with chèvre instead of cream cheese for a lighter, tastier result. Even that wouldn’t use enough peppers, though.

Typically jalapeño poppers are large peppers stuffed with cream cheese, cheddar, and seasonings that get breaded and deep-fried. In the eateries that offered them, they weren’t my top appetizer choice. Chile rellenos tend to be more my speed, but we weren’t growing poblanos. We had a few cool nights between heat waves so I researched baked jalapeño popper recipes online. Hat tips to Kevin Is Cooking and Kate of Cookie + Kate for inspiration.

Most recipes specify jalapeño quantities, not weight, which is fine if you’re relying on grocery store peppers that don’t vary much in size. Our peppers got smaller as the days grew shorter so I weighed the total amount each time before starting prep.

Despite some early goofs, the baked poppers were finger-licking good. Each batch felt like roulette since inevitably one or two peppers surprised us with their heat level. We agreed that the plain goat cheese produced better flavor than full-fat cream cheese. The recipe below is enough for two hungry people as a first course — and a seasonal salad as the main course — but can be scaled up.

Of all my appetizers over the years, the cheesy little jalapeño poppers came out near the top. Now, what to do with all these bright red habaneros?

Baked Jalapeño Poppers

Approx. 3.5 – 4 oz. fresh jalapeño peppers (around 6 – 12, depending on size)
3 oz. plain goat cheese at room temperature
2 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
½ tsp. dried chives
⅛ tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. panko bread crumbs
¼ tsp. paprika

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wearing food-safe gloves, slice the clean, dry jalapeños in half lengthwise, preserving the stem if possible. Carefully remove veins and seeds. Place each pepper half on the baking sheet cut side up.

In a small glass mixing bowl, combine the softened goat cheese, garlic powder, and chives and mix until uniform. Now fold in the shredded cheddar cheese.

Fill each pepper half with the cheese mixture. It’s okay to redistribute the filling as needed. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top of each filled pepper half. Finally, sprinkle a little paprika over them.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the peppers are tender and the top is golden brown. Smaller peppers need less baking time. Cool 5 minutes before eating. Tip: If you have leftover spiced baked bread crumbs on the parchment, they add nice flavor to a salad.