Air Fryer Jalapeño Poppers
Crispy bacon wrapped jalapeño peppers stuffed with a sweet and spicy blend of chorizo and cream cheese.
Servings: 10 Jalapeño Poppers
Calories: 50kcal
Ingredients
- 5 Jalapeño Peppers about 3" long
- 3 oz Lean Chorizo*
- 2 oz Fat Free Cream Cheese room temp or softened**
- 10 slices Center Cut Bacon
- 1/2 Tbsp 11g Honey
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper optional
Instructions
- Cook the chorizo in a skillet before removing from the heat and adding the cream cheese and honey. Stir to fully combine and set aside to briefly cool.
- Cut the jalapeños in half and remove any seeds and membranes with a spoon.
- Fill the pepper halves with the chorizo filling and wrap each with a slice of bacon. Do your best to tightly wrap the bacon and minimize gaps on top of the poppers.
- Spray an air fryer basket with cooking spray before adding the poppers. Cook at 375ºF for 15-20 minutes until the bacon is as crispy as you'd like. (Different air fryer sizes/models may affect cook time so check on your first batch of poppers early to avoid burning the bacon.)
Video
Notes
*I used APCO lean chorizo from HEB, but you can use any Mexican-style ground chorizo. You could also make your own ground chicken chorizo or use seasoned ground beef, turkey, etc.
**If you have trouble finding fat free cream cheese, use reduced fat. Each popper will have 60 calories, 5g of protein, 2g of carbs, and 3g of fat with reduced fat instead of fat free.
For Larger Batches
This recipe is for an 8-quart Instant Pot Duo Crisp air fryer. If you have a larger air fryer, you can double or triple the recipe accordingly. For smaller air fryers, you can air fry in batches.
For Smoked or Baked Jalapeño Poppers
My smoked jalapeño poppers recipe uses the same ingredients with slightly different ratios. You can pack more filling in without any explosions cooking low and slow at 275ºF for 80-90 minutes on a smoker. I would try the filling ratios from that recipe for a baked version and bake at 400ºF for 20-25 minutes.Nutrition
Serving: 1Jalapeño Popper | Calories: 50kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g