These easy air fryer bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers are a simple and delicious air fryer appetizer. Jalapenos are halved, seeded, and filled with the most delicious cream cheese and bacon filling. The creamy filling uses AE Dairy Party Sour Cream Dip making it super flavorful and rich! Wrapped in more bacon and air fried until crispy and bubbly, these will be a crowd favorite.
Filled with cream cheese, sour cream dip, chopped bacon, shredded cheese, and seasonings. These jalapenos are filled to the brim with the rich, creamy filing and wrapped in slices of bacon. Stick them in the air fryer and cook until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with extra sour cream dip for dipping and enjoy warm!
Highlights of the bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers and why you will love them..
- Air fryer recipe: making these in the air fryer means easy clean up and quick cook time. Plus the peppers get perfectly tender and the bacon nice and crispy! The bacon does produce a lot of grease while in the air fryer so make sure you have a way to catch the grease.
- Perfect savory and spicy combo: the rich filling goes great with the saltiness from the bacon and the spicy jalapenos. This is a great recipe to make when you have an abundance of fresh summer peppers!
- Simple ingredients: cream cheese, shredded cheese, AE Dairy sour cream dip, bacon, and jalapenos – that’s just about all you need for this recipe and it can easily be customized.
- Crowd favorite: everyone loves a good jalapeno popper, they are a great finger food for parties, game days, or as part of a weeknight meal.
Ingredient List & Ingredient Notes:
The ingredients for these poppers can be easily customized, add different seasonings, use whatever kind of cheese you’d like, or try any kind of AE sour cream dip.
- Fresh jalapenos: fresh jalapenos are a must here, try and find uniform sized peppers for even cooking! Leave the seeds in if yo prefer more spice.
- Cheese: any type of shredded cheese will work, I use shredded cheddar cheese. Shredded mozzarella cheese, shredded pepper jack cheese, or shredded Monterrey jack cheese will work.
- Cream cheese: regular or low fat cream cheese will work, it helps if it is softened prior to mixing.
- Bacon: you will need chopped bacon and sliced bacon, store-bought bacon bits will work in a pinch. Bacon slices are cut in half, so each jalapeno popped gets half a slice of bacon.
- AE Dairy Party Sour Cream Dip: any flavor or type of sour cream dip will work, this adds extra flavor to the rich filling and makes it super creamy. Extra dip can be used for dipping the air fried jalapeno poppers.
How to make the Easy Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers (with step by step instructions):
Let’s talk a little about how to make these jalapenos poppers (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Quick overview:
- Halve and seed fresh jalapenos.
- Combine filling mix in a large mixing bowl.
- Fill jalapeno halves with cream cheese mix and wrap with bacon.
- Air fry until golden brown and enjoy.
- Slice fresh jalapenos in half and remove the seeds. It can help to use gloves when doing this to eliminate getting jalapeno juice all over your hands.
- In a large mixing bowl combine cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon, sour cream dip, salt, and pepper. Mix until evenly combined.
3. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the halved jalapenos, repeat until all filling has been used. Careful not to overfill jalapenos or the filling will spill out.
3. Wrap each filled jalapeno half with half a slice of bacon, press firmly to ensure bacon sticks to the popper or it may come undone during air frying.
4. Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F, layer in a single layer in the air fryer basket (this may need to be done in batches depending on your air fryer size). Air fry for 12-15 minutes until the inside is golden brown and bubbly and the bacon is crispy.
5. Serve jalapeño poppers immediately with extra dipping sauce of choice!
If you like these Easy Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers, you’ll love these other easy recipes…
Easy Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Bites Recipe – an easy shortcut recipe!
Baked Brie Crostini with Prosciutto and Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
Crispy Oven Baked Shrimp & Cream Cheese Rangoons – a fan favorite!
Easy Air Fryer Southwest Chicken Egg Rolls Recipe
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wontons – buffalo chicken filled wontons baked until crispy in the oven!
Whipped Ricotta Crostini with Peaches – sweet, crispy, and spicy all in one.
Tools I used for this air fryer recipe:
- Rubber Spatula – a must have! I like these because they don’t come apart so I don’t have to worry about water getting inside the spatula and causing mold.
- Instant 6 qt. Air Fryer – Sleek and functional, the perfect size for 2-3 people. I like this because it has a tray in the bottom which make cleaning easy and it allows for air to circulate evenly. It has a large tray so you don’t have to do so many batches and a window to see into the air fryer while cooking! Any brand of air fryer will work for this recipe.
Recipe FAQs:
How to make jalapeno poppers ahead of time and how to freeze?
Halve jalapenos, remove seeds, fill with the cream cheese mixture, and wrap in bacon ahead of time. If making these to cook in a day or two, these can be stored in the fridge for for 1-2 days before air frying. If making these to go into the freezer, place on a sheet pan in the freezer until solid. Then transfer to a zip top bag and store in the freezer for a month before cooking. Let poppers thaw a bit before air frying them.
How to store leftover jalapeno poppers?
Cool leftover air fried jalapeno poppers completely and place in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
What temperature should you cook jalapeno poppers in the air fryer?
Jalapeno poppers cook at 400 degrees in the air fryer for 12-15 minutes, this helps get the bacon nice and crispy without getting the jalapenos too soft.
How do you reheat leftover jalapeno poppers?
Leftover cooked jalapeno poppers are best reheated in the air fryer so the bacon gets crispy again and not soggy. Reheat at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until warmed through. These can also be reheat in a 350 degree oven until warm, I don’t recommend using a microwave.
Tips for perfect jalapeno poppers:
- Wear gloves to eliminate spreading the jalapeno juices to your hands and face!
- Use air fryer basket to catch the excess bacon grease and stop poppers from sitting in the grease.
- Don’t overfill the jalapeno halves, or the filling will bubble over!
- Wrap bacon tightly so it does not come unraveled while cooking, it can help to press it into the cream cheese mixture.
More Drool-Worthy Recipes Using AE Dairy Products:
- Delicious Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls in the Air Fryer – another easy delicious air fryer recipe!
- Protein Packed Cottage Cheese Chocolate Pudding – smooth and creamy chocolate pudding + some extra protein!
- Creamy Cottage Cheese Queso Dip – a super easy, high protein dip.
- Protein-Packed Buffalo Chicken Dip with Cottage Cheese – like your classic buffalo chicken dip made a bit healthier!
- Rich Chocolate Espresso Muffins – light and airy chocolate muffins loaded with chocolate chips and espresso flavor.
Easy Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 fresh Jalapenos, halved and seeds removed
- 1 1/2 cups Shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 oz. Cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup Bacon crumbles
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- 4 oz. AE Dairy Party Sour Cream Dip
- 20 slices Bacon, cut in half , to create 40 slices
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, AE Party dip, bacon bits, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine.
- Fill each jalapeno half with a scoop of the cream cheese mixture until full and wrap with half a slice of bacon. Repeat with remaining jalapenos.
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F. Place jalapeno poppers in a single layer in the air fryer basket, this will need to be done in batches. Air fry for 12-15 minutes until the bacon is crispy and the mixture is golden brown and bubbly. Repeat with remaining poppers.
- Enjoy immediately, serve with extra party dip for dipping!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
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