Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers! Fiery jalapeno halves stuffed with zesty cream cheese wrapped in delicious bacon, then crisped in the air fryer -the perfect keto appetizer for game day everyone will enjoy.

Bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers are a mainstay on game day menus, and I’m here for it. What’s not to love about spicy jalapenos, filled with soft and savory cream cheese bundled up in crispy bacon?

With these easy-to-follow instructions, you can make this classic sports bar finger food yourself and cook them to perfection in your air fryer or Ninja Food in 20 minutes or less!

This recipe makes a dozen air fryer bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, so you’ll have plenty to share. You can prep them in advance and then pop them in your air fryer as needed. They only take 15 minutes to cook, so I prep a bunch the night before to have a few batches ready to go on game day.

🥰 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Quick and easy keto appetizer everyone will love!
• Perfect gluten-free game-day snack.
• Easy to adjust the heat level & customize the flavors.
• Cooking jalapeno poppers in the air fryer is much quicker than in the oven.
• Budget-friendly. Jalapenos are usually inexpensive.

🥓 Ingredients You’ll Need

• Jalapenos – Most of the heat in jalapenos is from the inner membrane and seeds. Remove as much or as little depending on how spicy you like your poppers.
• Cream cheese – Room temperature, full-fat cream cheese for the filling OR just use whipped cream cheese.
• Thin Bacon – Thinly sliced bacon is best. Thick-cut bacon will not crisp up as nicely.
• Sharp cheddar cheese – Freshly shredded melts better than packaged shredded cheese, but you can use either.
• Spices & seasonings – I used garlic powder, salt, and pepper, but you can always taste the cream cheese filling and add more flavor as you see fit.

🥣 How To Make Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers with Bacon

1️⃣ Let cream cheese come to room temperature. Before getting started, set your cream cheese out and let it come to room temperature while you prep the jalapenos.

2️⃣ Prep jalapenos. Meanwhile, wash & dry your jalapenos. Then, cut off the end with the stem with a sharp knife. Slice each one in half lengthwise to create 2 “boats” from each jalapeno. Scoop the ribs and seeds out with a spoon to eliminate a lot of the heat.

3️⃣ Make the filling. Moving along, add your room temperature cream cheese to a mixing bowl along with the shredded cheddar and seasonings. Fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula until incorporated.

4️⃣ Assemble bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers. Now, spoon the cream cheese mixture into each jalapeno boat, distribute evenly, and wrap each one securely in a slice of bacon, so the seam is underneath.

5️⃣ Cook bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers in air fryer. Place the assembled poppers in your 375F preheated air fryer basket in a single layer, leaving room in between each, and cook for 15 minutes or until the jalapenos are tender and the bacon is crispy.

6️⃣ Crisp bacon and serve. For EXTRA crispy bacon, turn the heat up to 400F and let the poppers cook for a couple more minutes. Remove with tongs and serve hot.

💭 Recipe Tips

• Wear gloves. Absentmindedly rubbing an eyeball after slicing a jalapeno is not fun.
• Spicy poppers. Leave the membrane and seeds intact or scoop them out and stir as much or as little of the seeds and membrane into the cream cheese mixture.
• Mild poppers. Instead of jalapenos, use mini sweet peppers for a variation that isn’t spicy at all.
• Whipped cream cheese. It’s much easier to stir even when chilled.
• Preheat your air fryer. So the bacon starts to crisp up immediately.
• They may need to cook for more or less time -depending on your air fryer and the size of your poppers.

🧂 Variations

Dairy-free? Paleo? Whole30? There are air fryer bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers for you too! Replace the dairy cream cheese with almond cream cheese and omit the cheddar (or use nutritional yeast)).

Instead of bacon, use your favorite turkey bacon or nice prosciutto.

You can also swap the sharp cheddar for Colby jack, pepper jack, gouda, white cheddar, mozzarella, etc.

You can even customize the cream cheese filling with different seasonings blends like ranch seasoning, everything bagel, seasoning salt, garlic & herb, etc.

🧊 Storing & Freezing

Storing: After cooling, place your bacon-wrapped jalapenos in a single layer in a shallow airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days.

Freezing: not recommended (homemade bacon-wrapped jalapenos do not freeze well because of the cream cheese).

Reheating: Leftovers can be reheated in your air fryer at 325F-350F for about 5-10 minutes or until the jalapenos and cream cheese are hot, and the bacon is re-crisped.

❔FAQ

More Air Fryer Appetizer Recipes

Air Fryer Frozen Calamari
Air Fryer Frozen Potstickers
Air Fryer Frozen Jalapeno Poppers
Air Fryer Frozen Coconut Shrimp
Air Fryer Frozen Egg Rolls
Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms