Pork Stuffed Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Ready to up your poppers game? Fire up the smoker and make these incredible Pork Stuffed Smoked Jalapeno Poppers! They’re smoky, spicy, meaty, and oh-so-crazy-good!
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Are you ready for some serious flavor? These Pork Stuffed Smoked Jalapeno Poppers are loaded with tastebud-exploding flavor from the first bite to the last!
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First is the crispy bacon wrapper, then the spicy and juicy jalapeno. Inside, a cheesy pork filling is meaty, savory, and delish! Put it all together, and you’ve got a smoked appetizer that’s going to knock everyone’s socks off!
You can serve these tasty bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers with dipping sauce, but I say forget it! Just pass around a plate of these and watch them get gobbled up – or keep them all to yourself!
What You’ll Love About Pork Stuffed Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
- They’re smoky, salty, meaty, spicy, and crazy good!
- You can prep them ahead of time and just smoke them before serving!
- They’re a great snack, appetizer, game day munchie or main dish!
Ingredients
- Fresh jalapenos – Cut in half, seeds removed. Fresh jalapeños only—jarred jalapeños are too soft and won’t hold the filling. Wear gloves when removing the seeds, or your hands will burn for hours.
- Ground pork – Leaner ground pork (90/10) works better in this recipe. Regular ground pork (80/20) will make the poppers greasy.
- Cream cheese – At room temperature.
- Cilantro – Fresh cilantro only. Dried cilantro has no flavor. If you hate cilantro, use fresh parsley instead.
- Green onions – Also called scallions. Use both white and green parts.
- Onion powder – Not onion salt, or the poppers will be too salty.
- Garlic powder – Not garlic salt, or the poppers will be too salty.
- Chipotle powder – Adds smoky heat. Use less if you’re sensitive to spice.
- Salt – I use kosher salt.
- Bacon – Use regular thin-sliced bacon. Thick-cut bacon won’t crisp up in time and will overpower the filling.
How To Make The Best Pork-Stuffed Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Scroll down for the full recipe card with exact measurements and printable instructions.
Start by preheating your smoker to 180°F according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Wash the jalapeños thoroughly and slice them in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon to remove the seeds and membranes. Wear gloves if you are sensitive to hot peppers.
In a mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, softened cream cheese, cilantro, green onions, onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle powder, and salt. Mix until the filling is evenly blended.
Fill each jalapeño half with about 2 tablespoons of the pork mixture, or enough to mound the filling slightly above the edges of the pepper.
Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with a slice of bacon, covering as much of the filling as possible. Secure with toothpicks if needed.
Arrange the bacon-wrapped poppers directly on the smoker grates, leaving a little space between each one so the smoke can circulate evenly.
Smoke the jalapeño poppers at 180°F for about 30 minutes to build smoky flavor.
Increase the smoker temperature to 250°F and continue cooking for about 1 hour, or until the pork filling is fully cooked.
Raise the temperature to 400°F and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes to crisp the bacon. If preferred, transfer the poppers to the oven and place them under the broiler for a few minutes to finish crisping the bacon.
Remove the poppers from the smoker and let them cool slightly before serving. Serve warm and enjoy.
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- Like your poppers spicier? Add more chipotle powder to the filling.
- Regular-cut bacon works best – thick-cut bacon can get chewy when smoked because it is so thick.
- I like to cook my poppers on a rack over a sheet pan to cut down on grease getting into my smoker.
- You can brush the poppers with a bit of BBQ sauce before serving to make them glisten.
Make It A Meal
These bacon-wrapped smoked jalapeno poppers are hearty enough to be a meal, but I also like to serve them on game day or other gatherings, along with other tasty snacks. If my guests are really lucky, I’ll serve them on a smoked pork boar; otherwise, I’ll put out snacks like Beef Jerky Dip, Pineapple Salsa, and Smoked Chex Mix.
Storage
Store any leftover smoked poppers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Pork Stuffed Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients
- 12 jalapenos sliced lengthwise and deseeded
- 1 pound lean ground pork
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 pound bacon
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 180-F.
- Wash the jalapenos and cut them lengthwise in half; remove the seeds.
- Mix the ground pork, softened cream cheese, cilantro, green onions, onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle powder, and salt in a bowl until combined.
- Stuff each jalapeno half with about 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture or until they are filled and mounded slightly on top.
- Wrap each stuffed jalapeno half with a slice of bacon to fully cover it.
- Put the bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers on the grate of your smoker and smoke for about 30 minutes at 180-F to give them a good smoky flavor.
- Turn the heat up to 250-F and continue to smoke for about an hour.
- Turn the heat up to 400-F and cook the jalapeno poppers for another 10-15 minutes to crisp up the bacon OR transfer the poppers to your oven and broil them to crisp up the bacon.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- Like your poppers spicier? Add more chipotle powder to the filling.
- Regular-cut bacon works best – thick-cut bacon can get chewy when smoked because it is so thick.
- I like to cook my poppers on a rack over a sheet pan to cut down on grease getting into my smoker.
- You can brush the poppers with a bit of BBQ sauce before serving to make them glisten.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
I followed your tip of preparing the poppers ahead of time and smoking them before serving. It worked like a charm.
These are so amazing! They will be added to our gameday list of foods to make for sure!
This recipe takes jalapeño poppers to a whole new level. Love the smokiness and the filling is absolutely delicious!
We loved these! I made half with extra spice for more zing. I will be making these again for sure.
WHOA BABY! The folks we had over this weekend could NOT STOP RAVING about these, sweetheart! (Truth be told, neither could we LOL!) We are TOTALLY making these for the Super Bowl and other upcoming parties, what a freaking HIT these were! Thank you SO much!
Q? I do not own a Smoker what other way would work, these look amazing.
For sure! Bake them in an 400-F oven for about 20-30 minutes or until tender and cooked through (165F on a digital thermometer). I’d put them under the broiler for a minute or 2 to crisp up. Enjoy! ~Jenn
These look amazing! But not much mention of bacon in the ingredients. Are they whole slices or half slices? I try to follow other’s recipes exactly.
My apologies for the shocking oversight! Clearly I should stick to cooking and not editing – the missing bacon info has been included. Use a whole slice of bacon and just wrap that stuffed jalapeno up tight! Enjoy! ~Jenn
The pork sausage is raw when you mix & stuff the peppers?>
Yes, because they cook for so long on the smoker, they all come out perfectly. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the filling is cooked to 165-F.
Try them with Chorizo and Cream Cheese. Just be sure to drain the fat from the Chorizo. You won’t need all the additional spices. They are fantastic! You can do them in the oven, grill or smoker.
Sounds delish!
Followed the recipe but used dried cilantro instead of fresh. Must have cooked too long because the meat was very dry. I’m going to make a hot honey raspberry dipping sauce to help.
Oops, sorry! The size of your jalapenos (and amount of stuff in them) can change how long they need to cook. The hot honey raspberry dipping sauce sounds great, though! Yum!
Would it be possible to make these the day before and then re-heat them? I’m wanting to bring these tailgating, so our smoker is not an option to be brought along. Wondering if I can smoke them the day before and then reheat them in the oven? Thanks!
For sure! I’d reheat them covered so they don’t dry out. Enjoy! ~Jenn