Grilled Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

Natalie Heflin March 28, 2022

These grilled bacon wrapped jalapeños start with six large jalapeños, halved and filled with cream cheese, extra-sharp cheddar, cumin, cayenne, and lime, then wrapped in bacon and grilled until the bacon is crispy. Some folks call them bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers; either way, the whole cook happens over medium heat on a charcoal or gas grill.

Quick answer

Grill bacon wrapped jalapeños over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the bacon is crispy and the pepper is cooked through. Preheat the grill on high, then turn it down to medium before the peppers go on.

Let them cool at least 5 to 10 minutes before serving. The filling is hot!

Ingredients

6 large jalapeño peppers whole
½ cup cream cheese softened
½ cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese shredded
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lime zest
juice of ½ a lime
12 slices of bacon

Compact but powerful,

this portable griddle will enable you to feed the crowd in no time.

Monumentgrills Griddle Collection

Directions

Preheat a charcoal or gas grill to high, then adjust it to medium heat before adding the peppers.
Prepare the peppers: Wash and drain the peppers well. Cut the stem off each jalapeño; cut in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scrape out seeds and membranes.
In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese, garlic and onion powders, cumin, cayenne pepper, lime zest, and lime juice, until well blended.
Stuff the jalapeño halves by spooning the cream cheese mixture into both halves of each jalapeño slice. Wrap each half pepper with a slice of bacon. Use a wet toothpick to secure the bacon, if needed.
Arrange bacon-wrapped poppers on a grilling tray or directly on the grate, over medium heat. Grill turning occasionally, until the bacon is crispy and the pepper is cooked through about 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes

Don't worry, some of the cheese may come out while cooking. It's fine… We use a metal grilling tray for these. It makes grilling these even easier and corrals some of that oozing cheese from dropping through the grate. Caution: The filling is hot! Cool at least 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

How Long to Grill Bacon Wrapped Jalapeños

Plan on about 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat. Preheating on high and then turning the grill down to medium gives you hot grates without scorching the bacon before the pepper has time to soften. Turn the peppers occasionally so every side of the bacon gets time over the heat.

The clock is a guide, but the bacon tells you when they're done: it should be crispy all the way around, and the jalapeño should be cooked through. Bigger peppers and thicker bacon need more time, so check them at the long end of the window and keep going if the bacon isn't crisp yet.

This recipe is the small-batch, medium-heat version: six peppers, grilled on a tray or right on the grate. For a bigger batch cooked over two-zone indirect heat, plus a lighter variation that skips the bacon wrap, see our guide to classic jalapeño poppers on the grill.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño FAQs

Should you grill bacon wrapped jalapeños on the grate or on a tray?

Either works. A metal grilling tray makes the peppers easier to turn and catches the cheese that oozes out, so it doesn't drop through the grate. That's how we make them. Cooking straight on the grate puts the bacon right on the hot grates, but any filling or bacon fat that drips can flare up, so stay close and keep turning.

Can you make bacon wrapped jalapeños ahead of time?

Yes. Stuff and wrap the peppers ahead, cover them, and keep them in the refrigerator until the grill is preheated. Peppers that go on the grill cold may need a little longer, so judge doneness by the bacon. Grill them just before serving so the bacon is still crispy when they hit the table.

Why isn't my bacon getting crispy?

Usually it just needs more time. Keep the peppers over medium heat and keep turning until the bacon is crisp all the way around. Wrap each half in a single layer, because bacon stays soft where it overlaps, and regular-cut bacon crisps sooner than thick-cut. If the cheese is running out before the bacon is done, move the peppers onto a grilling tray to finish.

How do I make them less spicy, or hotter?

Most of a jalapeño's heat sits in the seeds and membranes, which this recipe scrapes out, and the filling gets a kick from the cayenne. For milder peppers, scrape the insides clean and cut back on the cayenne or leave it out. For more heat, leave a little of the membrane in place.