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5 from 7 votes

Stuffed Jalapeños

Stuffed Jalapeños are so easy to make, also easily customized for whatever level of heat you'd like (see notes for how to make them mild or hot). The mixture of cheddar and cream cheese is delightful and creamy. The toasted saltine topping gives just the right amount of mellow crunch.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: appetizers, party food, vegetarian,
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 173kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Baking sheet
  • Parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 10 Saltine crackers, gently crushed, to about the size of peas
  • 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (fresh or dried parsley may be used as well)
  • 1 tbsp Butter, melted
  • 12 Jalapeno chiles, medium-sized, preferably with stems
  • 1 ½ cups Medium cheddar cheese, shredded (6 ounces) Sharp or mild also works
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened, not low-fat
  • 3 green onions, chopped fine
  • 2 tsps lime juice
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp fresh black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° with oven rack on middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • Toss 10 crushed saltines with 1 Tablespoon melted butter and toast in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
  • Cut each jalapeño in half lengthwise through the stem. Keeping some stem on each half helps when holding the stuffed jalapeños and looks good too. Remove ribs and seeds (see notes for how much to add heat after everything is mixed).
  • Combine 1 ½ cups cheddar, 4 ounces cream cheese, 3 chopped green onions, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a bowl. If you want the stuffed jalapeños to have heat, chop some of the removed ribs and seeds and add into the cheese spread mix (see guide in notes for how much to add). Spoon the cheese mixture evenly into jalapeños and transfer to the prepared sheet. Top with toasted saltines.
  • Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until hot. They're a little flimsy when first out of the oven but firm up quickly. Sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro and serve immediately.

Notes

How to make the stuffed jalapeños mild, medium, or hot-
  • Mild (no heat)- If you want the stuffed jalapeños to be very mild, you can stuff the peppers without adding any of the seeds or ribs back into the cheese. The scallions and chili pepper add enough zing, that they're still delicious.
  • Medium heat- For a nice bit of heat that is "there" but won't have anyone running for a glass of milk or a cracker to calm down the heat, finely mince two tablespoons of the seeds and ribs back into the cheese mixture.
  • Spicy heat- If you really love heat, adding three or four tablespoons of minced seeds and especially minced ribs back into the cheese mixture will give you daring capsicum-lovers a good hit to your mouth. Even with this amount, the cheese helps to mellow things out (a bit), and time in the oven also turns down the heat a little. Any more than this and you're actually compromising the other flavors and just plain showing off. ;)
  • How to please everyone- If you want a combination of mild and hot stuffed jalapeños, stuff half the peppers with cheese that has no extra peppers mixed back in and then add minced peppers to the other half and place a nice slice of jalapeno on top of each one in this group. Then you can warn anyone who can't take the heat.

Nutrition

Serving: 3jalapeno halves | Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 380mg | Potassium: 113mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 799IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 0.4mg