Jalapeño Popper Dip
This Creamy Jalapeño Popper Dip is the perfect snack for your Super Bowl appetizer table!
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I’m having a hard time shutting my freezer door lately. Seriously. It’s always been like a game of Tetris whenever I go into the freezer to pull something out, but it’s been worse lately. Why is that, you ask? Jalapeños. I’m having a hard time closing the freezer door thanks to a massive bag of jalapeños that I’ve got stuffed in there right now.
Jalapeños grow extremely well here in New York, and we always plant 2-3 jalapeño plants in our garden each year. Well this past year was a great jalapeño year apparently because we ended up with 45+ jalapeños from our 2 plants. Right before the first frost, I went out and picked all of those jalapeños. I wish I had taken a picture of the bowl…jalapeños were literally pouring over the top and onto the counter.
I had no idea what to do with ’em all, so one night I stood there and sliced all of these Texas pickles (my Dad’s term) in half. I removed the ribs and seeds and then stuffed ’em into a gallon-sized freezer bag. And now we have enough jalapeños to last a lifetime…and I’m having a hard time closing the freezer door!
We always dice up a jalapeño for our pizzas (they’re seriously amazing on pizza!), but we still have a ton of jalapeños. So in an effort to use more of those jalapeños, I decided to whip up a batch of this Jalapeño Popper Dip. This dip is creamy and delicious…and it’s the perfect snack for watching football games. Trust me, I speak from experience here. And the best part? This Jalapeño Popper Dip doesn’t take long to make at all!
I feel like jalapeños get a bad rap. Folks either love ’em or hate ’em. I get it, though. Jalapeños are spicy. But here’s the thing…once you remove the seeds and ribs, jalapeños lose a lot of their kick. Take this Jalapeño Popper Dip for instance. There’s 4 jalapeños in there. You might think that it’d burn your face off, but nope. The flavor of the jalapeños is noticeable, but I didn’t find this dip to be too spicy at all. Of course, it helps that I removed all of the ribs and seeds from our jalapeños before freezing them. On a side note, don’t rub your eyes after cutting 45+ jalapeños. I washed my hands 3 times first, and my eyes still stung for a good hour. Oops.
Did you know that jalapeños turn red as they grow? Yup! We’re all used to seeing green jalapeños, and I didn’t realize they turn red until we started growing ’em in our backyard. Red jalapeños can actually be spicier than green ones, but they also bring a bit more sweetness as most peppers get sweeter the longer they stay on the plant. I still like to use my jalapeños when they’re green, but don’t afraid of a red jalapeño. It’s just the older, more mature (and theoretically wiser) sibling of the green jalapeño.
If you’re looking for a tasty dip for your Super Bowl snack table, give this creamy Jalapeño Popper Dip recipe a try! And if you need any jalapeños, let me know. I have a freezer bag full of ’em, and I’d love to be able to close my freezer door again. Enjoy this Jalapeño Popper Dip, my friends!
Looking for more Super Bowl appetizer ideas? Check out these favorites!
Jalapeño Popper Dip
Ingredients
- ½ pound thick-cut bacon diced
- 16 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1½ cups mild cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese shredded
- 1 tsp garlic diced
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk
- ½ tsp cumin
- 4 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced (see note)
- ⅓ cup Panko-style bread crumbs
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- {For serving} tortilla chips carrots, celery, sliced bell peppers, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place a medium cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add diced bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and pat dry with paper towels. Discard grease in pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, garlic, sour cream, milk, cumin diced jalapeno peppers and cooked bacon. Stir until well combined.
- Transfer mixture back into cast iron skillet. Top with bread crumbs. Cut butter into ¼” pieces and sprinkle over top of bread crumbs.
- Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes, and then broil for 3-5 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Jalapeno popper dip sounds yummy. I agree it sounds like the perfect snack while watching the game. I am sure that you will find ways to use up the rest of those jalapenos that you have in your freezer.
Haha…I wish you could see how many jalapenos we have in the freezer, Dawn! I mean I’ll get through ’em, but it’s going to be a slow and steady kinda race. 🙂 This dip is really, really delicious, though, so I’m thinking another batch of this needs to be on the menu for the Super Bowl this year! Thanks so much for the comment!
I’m coming over for the Super Bowl–you’ll be serving this right? And I’ll take a few jalapeños off your hands when I’m there; you’re right about how amazing they are on pizza! Your bounty of produce inspires me to try gardening again. It’s not my talent but I aspire to grow my own food someday. Have a great weekend, David!
Um, of course! The Super Bowl is an excuse to make “football food” and watch sports (and commercials). The only problem is that the Super Bowl is on a Sunday. It really needs to be on Saturday! We usually stay up and watch the whole thing (if it’s a good game), but it would be so much more fun on a Saturday night. Come on over, Kelsie…the more, the merrier! 🙂 (And, yes, you should grow things. It’s not that hard. I wouldn’t lie to you!!)
I’m in the love jalepenos camp – so cool that you grew so many yourself! And this dip is absolutely drool worthy – perfect game day fare!
I’m amazed at how well jalapenos grow here in upstate New York! I mean we have a short growing season, but we get tons of jalapenos…enough to fill our freezer until the next growing season comes around. 🙂 Thanks so much, Marissa!!
I totally know what you mean about your fridge being a constant game of tetris! lol! 45 jalapenos? That’s a lot of peppers! I hope you wore gloves because the last time I cut up a bunch my fingers were on fire for hours! This dip looks like the perfect way to use up some of your bounty and would be a delicious addition to the game day party!
Oh man…I totally forgot that we didn’t have any gloves when I sliced up those jalapenos. So then I rubbed my eye like 3 hours later…and it still stung. Umph! But I gotta say the chopping of the jalapenos was worth it as now they’re all ready to go for easy recipes like this dip. Mmmm…dip! Hope you had a great weekend, Rachelle! 🙂
I found out about the jalapenos when I never got around to using one up and it actually turned partially red. Had no idea about how the flavor changes though.
On the topic of your recipe though, that looks amazing! Love how every delicious bit of a jalapeno popper is in this (including the breading realized through your bread crumb topping!). Not to mention the addition of bacon, which is almost always amazing in dips.
I’m sure anytime you need to bring an appetizer just bring this and you’ll be able to shut your freezer in not time!
Same here, Matt! I was surprised to learn that jalapenos actually turn red. That and they continue to ripen even after being picked. We’re just so used to seeing green jalapenos that it’s a little strange seeing a red one! And now I’m thinking I need to make another batch of this for the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks? Hey, it’ll help me get one step closer to shutting the freezer…until I fill that space with something else (probably dessert related)! 🙂 Hope you guys had a great weekend!
I love Jalapeño poppers, they were all the rage in the 90s and I was head over heels for them. Jalapeños grow great in California but I didn’t Know they also grew in New York, I wonder if the climate effects them. I want some of your jalapeños, I like to oven fry them, making them into little spicy chips. This looks like a great recipe for my Annual Super Bowl Party.
I totally agree with you about jalapeno poppers! Heck, I still love ’em! I know we were surprised to find that jalapenos grow so well up here in New York. I mean we have a shorter growing season, but it’s plenty long enough to get a bunch of jalapenos every year! This would indeed be a great recipe for the Super Bowl party. I remember you talking about that party in previous years…sounds like an epic good time! 🙂
Holy deliciousness. I’m pretty sure I’m just going to make this for dinner tonight and I’m not even going to feel guilt about that, lol.
Haha! I could totally get behind making this dip for dinner. In fact, that sounds like a great idea. Monday night dinner = jalapeno popper dip! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by, Chrissy!
If I recall correctly, jalapeno is almost the only one thing your rabbits don’t touch. If it’s so, there are only two ways – try developing your rabbits’ taste for other plants (like lavender) or…get used to eating lots of it. I wish I could help you here, but I don’t need so many jalapenos, so you’ve got to handle them all by yourself. However, you can always ship me some of this yummy cheesy dip if you need any help 😉
Yes! You have a great memory, Ben. The rabbits leave our jalapenos alone…and that’s probably why we get so many of them. As much of a pain as it was to chop all of those jalapenos for the freezer, I love that I have them all ready to go now. I’m thinking another batch of this dip needs to happen soon…and if it does, then I’ll send you any leftovers! (If there are any…haha!)
David, your post is making me miss my yard today! I used to grow jalapenos every year, myself, they always seemed to do well, here too – and, I remember them turning red and being a tad bit sweeter if I didn’t pick them when they were green. I also remember you were the one who posted about chipotles being smoked jalapenos -correct? Dude – maybe you could smoke a batch? Or – do I need to send my drone to help you in getting that freezer door shut? 🙂 Btw – you might as well attach a container of this delicious dip to my drone as well!
Yes! You have a great memory as chipotles are indeed smoked jalapenos. I’d be tempted to make a batch…but I recall it taking like 2-3 days (days!) of smoking. Uh…yeah. So just send your drone on up, and I’ll load it down with jalapenos. And maybe some dip if I don’t eat it all first. Haha! Thanks, Shashi!
This sounds delicious! What a great idea, this would be great for an at-home movie night.
Yes! I am all about an at-home movie night. For some reason, nights like that sound amazing to me lately. A nice, quiet night watching a movie with a bowl of this dip in my lap. Now that’s what I call perfection! Haha! Thanks, Caroline!