Maple Sausage and Cream Cheese Jalapeno Poppers

Now that’s hot. Jalapeño peppers stuffed and baked with maple sausage, cream cheese, sharp cheddar, and crispy bacon. Bring the heat to your next get-together. These delicious Maple Sausage and Cream Cheese Jalapeno Poppers are sure to turn your guests into fans!

Spice up your Super Bowl party by serving up these babies, and your guests will be huddled around your platter of delicious cream cheese Jalapeno Poppers until they’re gone (But don’t expect them to last through the first quarter; they’re that good!).

I got this amazing recipe from my brother-in-law, who apparently got tired of me requesting that he bring these to all our family barbecues. He finally just told me how he makes them, and now we can all thank him for that!

Follow these simple steps, and you’ll be the MVP of this par-tay. Just ask a few friends in advance to make it rain on you so you can experience the full effect of your newfound stardom.

Maple Sausage and Cream Cheese Jalapeno Poppers

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Next, brown the maple sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage) in a skillet over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Break up the sausage into smaller pieces as you go. Drain any excess grease and transfer to a large bowl.

Then add the cream cheese and shredded cheddar to the bowl with the sausage. No need to soften the cream cheese in this recipe. Straight from the fridge is fine.

Mix it all together by stirring or kneading with your hands. I prefer to just use my hands and knead the cream cheese, shredded cheese, and maple sausage together. It’s the perfect texture for jalepeno-stuffing, which you’ll be doing soon! Set the mixture aside while you prep your peppers.

Now please heed my warning: Wear disposable gloves when prepping jalapenos! You don’t want to be handling the insides of these peppers and then later touching your eyes (or other prized, very sensitive body parts). Ya got it?

Slice off the jalapeno stems. You can leave the stems on for visual appeal if you’re all fancy, but how exactly does one bisect those tiny stems so perfectly? I just don’t think my knife skills would. . . cut it.

Slice your jalapenos in half lengthwise. Wearing gloves, scrape out the seeds and pith (the white part) with a teaspoon and discard. Leave some of the white stuff if you like it spicy. I removed all of the pith in this batch, and the jalapeno poppers were very mild. So if you’re looking for spice, it’s all in the pith and seeds. Don’t scrape it all out, and you’ll get your heat.

Now you can start stuffing those cream cheese jalapeno poppers!

Fill each jalapeno half with the sausage and cheese mixture using a spoon or your hands. This will be 1 or 2 teaspoons of the mixture, depending on the size of your jalapenos.

Place the stuffed jalapenos on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about a half-inch apart.

For the bacon, you can use uncooked or pre-cooked. I used a box of Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Bacon. Just microwave the pre-cooked bacon slices for 45 seconds between two paper towels. Break the bacon slices into thirds and top each popper with a piece of bacon.

If you’re using uncooked bacon, just wrap each jalapeno with half a slice of bacon, and secure it with a toothpick. This method yields very flavorful poppers, but the bacon won’t crisp up quite as much as the pre-cooked method. But bacon is bacon, so it’s bacon-good either way.

Pop those poppers into the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or throw them on the grill. Cook them until your jalapenos are tender but still have enough crispness to cradle the stuffing.

Let them cool for a few minutes; the cheesy stuffing will be piping hot. I know the temptation is urging you to take a big bite, but it really isn’t worth scorching the roof of your mouth (am I right?). Just one more minute you can do this. . .

Now let yourself get hoisted up by these Maple Sausage and Cream Cheese Jalapeno Poppers that will forever be your claim to fame (at least 15 minutes of it, guaranteed).

Here’s the full, printable recipe:

Print

Maple Sausage and Cream Cheese Jalapeno Poppers

Bring the heat to your next get-together! These delicious Maple Sausage and Cream Cheese Jalapeño Poppers are sure to turn your guests into fans!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 30 poppers

Ingredients

• 15 jalapenos large
• 16 oz maple pork sausage ground
• 8 oz cream cheese unsoftened
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 package bacon (Recommend Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Bacon)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Brown the maple sausage in a skillet over medium heat, about 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to large bowl.
3. Mix the cream cheese and shredded cheddar with the sausage. Knead with your hands if needed. Set aside.

4. Wear disposable gloves when prepping the jalapenos: Cut off jalapeno stems (optional). Slice jalapenos in half lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and pith (the white part) with a teaspoon and discard (leave some pith and seeds if you like it spicy!).

5. Fill each jalapeno with sausage and cheese mixture using a spoon or your hands. This will be 1 or 2 teaspoons of the mixture, depending on the size of your jalapenos. Place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about a half-inch apart.
6. Microwave the pre-cooked bacon slices for 45 seconds between two paper towels. Top each jalapeno with 1/3 of a bacon slice.
7. (You can use uncooked bacon if you prefer. Just wrap the jalapenos with uncooked bacon, and secure it with a toothpick. The bacon will end up less crisp this way—but who doesn’t like a little extra bacon grease?)
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until jalapenos are crisp-tender and bacon is crisp. Or grill them on the barbie for about 20 minutes.
9. Allow to cool slightly, then indulge!

This recipe is linked up with other saucy bloggers at Weekend Potluck, Home Maid Simple, Rattlebridge Farm, The SITS Girls, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Rosemary Lane, Our Three Peas, Ilkasblog, Pat and Candy, Ginger Snap Crafts, Pint Sized Baker, Colors and Craft, Jembellish, Flour Me With Love, Mad in Crafts, My Pinterventures, and Over the Moon Link Up.