This grilled cheese sandwich is loaded with bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers and FOUR different cheeses!
I know, you can always rely on this blog to take things too far 😂 A lot of jalapeño popper grilled cheese recipes use a jalapeño popper style filling, but here I throw in actual jalapeño poppers. Because, well, why the heck not?! Okay don’t answer that, just follow me…
Cream Cheese Filling
All good jalapeño poppers start with a tasty cream cheese filling. Sure, you could just use plain cream cheese, but I like to throw in a few tasty extras. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cream Cheese
- Green Onion
- Mexican Cheese Blend
- Smoked Paprika
In terms of subs, you can trade out the onion for chives, you can sub the Mexican cheese for cheddar.
Can I make this part ahead of time?
Absolutely! Just combine and tightly seal in the fridge until needed.
Process shots: add ingredients to medium sized mixing bowl (photo 1), stir to combine (photo 2).
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
There’s a few different ways to make jalapeño poppers, but here we’re simply going to wrap them in bacon and bake them.
How spicy are these?
Jalapeños do vary in spice, but one thing we’re going to do straight off the bat to take away the intense spice is remove the seeds. If you want to take it one step further you can also soak the jalapeños in cold water to reduce the heat further, but this is completely optional.
Thin Cut Bacon
Really important to use thin cut bacon. This will be much easier to wrap around the jalapeños. Thick cut bacon will simply unravel in the oven, whether they’re secured with a toothpick or not.
Can I make these ahead of time?
Yep! You can either prep them ahead of time or completely bake them ahead of time. More on this in the recipe card notes.
Process shots: place jalapeño on chopping board (photo 1), slice in half lengthways and remove seeds with teaspoon (photo 2), stuff with cream cheese mixture (photo 3), wrap in bacon (photo 4), bake in the oven (photo 5).
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese
Alrighty, jalapeño poppers done and dusted, let’s talk grilled cheese.
What Cheese to use?
I like to use a 50/50 mix of Cheddar and Monterey Jack/Pepper Jack. Square slices work perfect here.
What Bread to use?
You want something nice and sturdy like a Sourdough, just to keep all that cheese under control.
Process shots: add bread butter side down to pan with heat off (photo 1), add cheddar (photo 2), add jalapeño poppers (photo 3), and Monterey Jack (photo 4), add buttered bread (photo 5) fry both sides (photo 6).
Serving Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese
This sandwich is awesome with some Individual Foil Packet Nachos, or even some Spicy Wedges to crank up the heat! I’ve also served it with Roasted Tomato Soup before which worked amazingly. I typically whip these up for footy matches or as weekend comfort food.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe shall we?!
How to make a Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese (Full Recipe & Video)
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese
Equipment
- Medium Sized Mixing Bowl & Spatula
- Large Baking Tray
- Large Frying Pan & Turner/Spatula
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Tooth Picks/Cocktail Sticks
- Gloves (optional)
Ingredients
Jalapeño Poppers
- 8 Fresh Jalapeños, length of jalapeño preferably similar size to width of bread
- 8 slices of Thin Cut Streaky Bacon (if you want to wrap the whole jalapeño you can use 16 slices)
- 7oz / 200g Cream Cheese,
- 1 cup / 100g Mexican Cheese Blend (can sub Cheddar)
- 1 Spring/Green Onion, finely diced
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Grilled Cheese
- 8 medium slices of Sourdough Bread
- 4 square slices of Cheddar
- 4 square slices of Monterey Jack/Pepper Jack Cheese
- Butter, as needed
Instructions
- In a medium sized mixing bowl combine cream cheese, cheddar or Mexican cheese, green onion, smoked paprika and seasoning to taste. Place to one side.
- Slice jalapeños in half length ways and remove the seeds with a teaspoon. Slices off stalk. Scoop in cream cheese mixture, then wrap in bacon (secure with toothpick or tuck the end if you have enough). Bake in the oven for 20mins at 200C/390F or until the bacon is crispy with the filling nice and bubbly.
- In a pan with the heat OFF add two slices of bread (4 if you have room). Butter the top then flip the bread over so it's butter-side-down. Add a slice of cheddar, top with 4 jalapeño poppers, followed by Monterey Jack, finished with another slice of bread. Butter the tops then turn on heat to medium.
- Fry both sides until golden brown and the filling just starting to leak out. Serve up and enjoy!
Quick Demo
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition:
For another delicious sandwich using cream cheese check out my Cream Cheese Grilled Cheese!
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Spicy Grilled Cheese Recipes
- Chili Cheese Dog Grilled Cheese
- Chicken Fajita Grilled Cheese
- Chipotle Chicken Grilled Cheese
- Chorizo Grilled Cheese
If you loved this Jalapeño Grilled Cheese Recipe be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a burning question? Give me a shout in the comments below!
The jalapeno poppers are already amazingly delicious as is and would be a great option for appetizer or party food. The sandwich is also super good.
Thanks Anita! 🙂
Your pictures are making me drool…love your recipe!
Thanks so much!
The perfect grilled cheese sandwich to start the working from home week!
Absolutely! 🙂
Omg, jalapeno poppers are my favorite thing to make for potlucks. I’m so mad that I never thought to put them on a sandwich! Definitely holding a few back next time to make this!
Love it – hope you enjoy 🙂
Oh wow – this sandwich is absolutely delightful! I mean I would be excited to really try and finish it myself lol!
Thanks Mahy!! 🙂