Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese

Name: Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese (softened); ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper; 1 to 2 sliced green onions (green parts (about 3 tablespoons)); 1 teaspoon garlic (or garlic paste, minced ); ½ cup medium cheddar cheese (grated); ½ cup Monterey jack cheese (grated); 10 to 12 medium jalapeño peppers; 20 slices bread (we used cracked wheat sourdough); 8 to 10 tablespoons salted butter (softened to room temperature); 10 slices Monterey Jack cheese; 10 slices medium cheddar cheese; 20 slices cooked bacon (2 per sandwich)

Freshly baked jalapeño poppers are stuffed inside a cheesy sandwich for these ultimate jalapeño grilled cheese sandwiches.

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Table of Contents

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Ingredients
Substitutions And Additions
How To Make This Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Recipe
How To Serve
Storing This Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Take your ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwiches to the next level with this jalapeño popper grilled cheese. Spicy jalapeños are filled with cream cheese and shredded cheese to make jalapeño poppers adding them to a delicious grilled sandwich full of melty cheese and bacon.

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Ingredients

jalapeño popper grilled cheese raw ingredients that are labeled

You’ll need:

For The Jalapeño Poppers:

1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon of coarse black pepper
1 to 2 sliced green onions, green parts (about 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon of minced garlic or garlic paste
½ cup of grated medium cheddar cheese
½ cup of grated Monterey jack cheese
10 to 12 medium jalapeño peppers

For The Sandwiches:

20 bread slices (we used cracked wheat sourdough)
8 to 10 tablespoons of salted butter, softened to room temperature
10 slices of Monterey Jack cheese
10 slices of medium cheddar cheese
20 slices of cooked bacon (2 per sandwich)

PRO TIP:

The cream cheese filling is enough to make about 20 medium/large jalapeño poppers (which could make up to 10 sandwiches).

You can easily halve the filling recipe and make fewer poppers, although you’ll probably want to pop a few in your mouth while assembling the sandwiches or serve extras on the side, so consider making the full batch of poppers even if you’re making fewer sandwiches.

Substitutions And Additions

BACON: You could also add small pieces of chopped bacon to the cream cheese mixture when stuffing the jalapeños.

CHEESE: There are plenty of kinds of cheese you could use for this recipe. Try slices of Colby Jack, sharp cheddar cheese, or pepper jack cheese for three delicious options.

How To Make This Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Recipe

PRO TIP:

This is not spicy at all if you use green, fresh jalapeños. If you want some spice, leave some of the ribbing and/or seeds in the jalapeños or and/or use more mature jalapeños that are turning red.

STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

STEP TWO: Use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix together cream cheese, black pepper, sliced green onions, garlic, and grated cheese.

jalapeño popper grilled cheese process shot of ingredients in a bowl

STEP THREE: Slice each jalapeño in half lengthwise and remove seeds and ribbing (if you want more heat from the poppers, leave some of the ribbing and/or seeds.)

PRO TIP:

Use gloves to slice jalapeños and remove the seeds/ribbing. Otherwise, heat from the oils will be left on your skin and can irritate your skin, not to mention if you touch your face or eyes.

STEP FOUR: Place jalapeños on the prepared baking sheet, open side up.

STEP FIVE: Use a small spoon or a piping bag to fill each halved pepper with the cheese filling mixture.

jalapeño popper grilled cheese process shot of pepper being filled with cream cheese mixture

STEP SIX: Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned on top.

STEP SEVEN: Meanwhile, butter one side of each slice of bread. Place butter side down on a plate or sheet of parchment paper.

STEP EIGHT: For each sandwich, cover one slice of bread (the non-buttered side) with a slice of jack cheese and the other slice of bread with a slice of cheddar cheese.

jalapeño popper grilled cheese process shot of cheese spread on bread

STEP NINE: Top the cheese on one slice of bread with two slices of bacon and the other slice of bread with two cooked jalapeño poppers.

PRO TIP:

Some people like to cut the jalapeño poppers into pieces, but leaving them whole made it easier to keep the sandwich intact both while cooking and eating it.

jalapeño popper grilled cheese process shot of sandwich being assembled

STEP TEN: Flip the two sides of the sandwich together and cook over medium heat in a large skillet.

Cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown and then carefully flip the sandwich over to cook the other side.

Turn the heat down if you notice that the bread is browning too quickly before the cheese has a chance to melt.

jalapeño popper grilled cheese process shot of sandwich being toasted

STEP ELEVEN: Repeat for the remaining slices of bread. Serve hot with a side of extra jalapeño poppers.

How To Serve

Grilled cheese sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food and these jalapeño stuffed ones are full of extra flavor.

Enjoy with a cozy bowl of tomato soup on a chilly day and I guarantee you will be nice and warmed up.

We like to have fun with our grilled cheese sandwiches. Check out our spinach artichoke grilled cheese and steak grilled cheese for more divine grilled cheese recipes.

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Storing This Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich

IN THE FRIDGE: Store extra sandwiches in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

IN THE FREEZER: We don’t recommend freezing this grilled cheese sandwich.

close up shot of jalapeño popper grilled cheese on a baking dish

This jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwich is sooooooo yummy. Full of creaminess and gooey cheese, but also with lots of layers of flavor from the crispy bacon, jalapeños, and even the sourdough bread.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I keep the leftovers of this sandwich until the next day?

You can keep leftover sandwiches in the fridge until the next day. Reheat in a skillet to melt the cheese again.

What is the best bread to use for this grilled cheese sandwich?

Any bread will work for this grilled cheese sandwich. We used sourdough bread but you could try French bread, Italian bread, ciabatta, rye bread, or even sandwich bread.

Can I freeze leftover poppers?

While we haven’t tried freezing them, you could certainly give it a try and see how they turn out.

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