What is better than cheese stuffed jalapeño poppers? Bacon wrapped jalapeños that are stuffed with taco filling! These Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers with Taco Filling take a normal jalapeño popper and give them a delicious Tex-Mex twist.
We love appetizers and we love Tex-Mex! After you’ve tried these Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers with Taco Filling, check out this Corn Dip Recipe with Green Chiles or these Southwest Egg Rolls. You really can’t go wrong with any appetizer recipe!
I grew up in New Mexico, and have loved heat from the time I was a kid. Chiles, salsas, hot sauces – they were all the norm. But then I grew up, and I moved away from home. And somewhere along the line, I lost my tolerance for hot foods. I still enjoyed them, but couldn’t really tolerate the kind of heat I could when I was a kid. I mostly blame this on the fact that my husband always claimed to dislike jalapeños. So I just didn’t eat them for the longest time because I didn’t want to make anything with them in it.
But then one day, my husband changed his tune. And all of a sudden, he was not only eating jalapeños, but enjoying them. So I have been all about the jalapeños lately!
Since I always love a good appetizer, I just had to Tex-Mex-ify a favorite. Everyone love jalapeño poppers, right? Well, these are even better. Instead of stuffing the jalapeños with just cheese, I stuffed them with taco meat and cheese, and then wrapped them in bacon.
This is seriously an addictively delicious appetizer. And these totally got the husband’s seal of approval. In fact, he will usually eat majority of them!
How to Make Jalapeno Poppers
Prep the peppers – cut them in half and remove the seeds and the ribs.
Make the filling – cook the ground beef with the taco seasoning, then combine that with cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese.
Stuff the peppers – take that filling and fill each jalapeno half with the mixture.
Wrap the bacon – take a half slice of bacon and wrap it around a filled jalapeno half. Use a toothpick to secure the bacon.
Bake the popper – bake until the bacon is cooked through and the jalapeno is crisp tender.
Tips and Tricks
- I always like to have a few extra jalapenos, just in case I have extra filling. The size of the jalapenos will determine how much filling goes in each, so if you only have small jalapenos, you’ll need more of them. You also may need a little bit more bacon if you have more peppers to wrap. (Or if they are small, you may be able to wrap them with 1/3 slice of bacon each.)
- If you like your bacon extra crispy, turn the broiler on at the end to crisp it up. Just keep an eye out so that they don’t burn.
- You can make these several hours in advance. Just prep them up until the point where you bake them, but don’t bake them until right before you are ready to serve them.
- Jalapenos too spicy for you? This would also work for a less assertive pepper, like a mini sweet pepper.
More Favorite Jalapeno Recipes:
Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos
Candied Jalapenos
Jalapeno Stuffed Taco Soft Pretzel Sticks
Jalapeno Popper Wontons
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Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers with Taco Filling
Ingredients
- 15-16 fresh jalapenos
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 1 oz package Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix
- 2/3 cup water
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese (softened)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 lb bacon (the amount you need will depend on the size of your peppers. You will need approximately 1/2 slice of bacon per pepper)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
- Cut the jalapeños in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and the ribs and discard.
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Drain any grease if necessary. Add the taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Place the cream cheese in a large bowl, then add the cooked taco meat. Stir until combined. Stir in the shredded cheese.
- Fill each of the halved jalapeños with the taco meat, dividing evenly.
- Cut the bacon in half. Wrap one of the half slices of bacon around each of the jalapeños. Secure with a toothpick and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked through. Crisp up under the broiler for a minute or two, if desired. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information
This post was sponsored by Old El Paso, but all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting me and the companies I partner with.
greta says
This sounds SO GOOD! I am going to try these this week, thanks!
Sandra Tobias says
Under the title the cooktime is 40 min, but in the directions, cooktime is 30 min. ?????????
Deborah says
The first 10 minutes is time that it takes to cook the filling, then the 30 minutes is the time it takes to bake them. Hope this helps!