Vegan Jalapeño Poppers

🥗 Why We Love This Recipe

• Go-to appetizer: what's not to like about jalapeño poppers? They're spicy (but not too spicy) with a creamy, cheesy filling and crispy breadcrumb topping. Served straight from the oven, they're one of the best appetizers out there, especially for game day or whenever you need to serve a large crowd.
• Vegan and gluten free: these vegan jalapeño poppers rival any regular version. The filling is tangy, creamy and cheesy, with just the right amount of flavor, thanks to vegan cream cheese, shredded cheddar and nutritional yeast. We also use gluten free breadcrumbs to keep this recipe allergy-friendly, but you can easily use regular breadcrumbs if preferred!
• Quick and easy: These vegan jalapeño poppers come together quickly and easily. Once the jalapeños are prepped, it only takes a few minutes to whip up the filling and topping. You can even assemble them ahead of time and bake just before serving.

🌶 Ingredients

Here are the key ingredients you'll need to make these vegan jalapeño poppers:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Jalapeños: for even baking, look for jalapeños that are all roughly the same size.
• Nondairy cheddar cheese: A lot of nondairy shredded cheeses come in super long strands. To make sure that all your cheese can fit inside a jalapeño, it's best to chop it up a bit smaller before mixing your filling. This also helps to speed up the melting process.
• Nondairy cream cheese: any brand will do, but make sure to soften to room temperature, otherwise you'll have a hard time mixing in the other ingredients.
• Garlic: if you don't have any fresh garlic, feel free to sub with 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
• Nutritional yeast: This is a must-have ingredient for cheese-loving vegans. It's full of umami flavor and really reminds me of parmesan. Plus, it's full of B vitamins, which many vegans and vegetarians can lack in their diets. You should be able to find this in your supermarket, typically in the baking section.
• Breadcrumbs: We recommend regular bread crumbs for these vegan jalapeño poppers. And if you're gluten free, we recommend Ian's Natural Foods breadcrumbs – they're super crispy!
• Parsley: technically optional, but it adds a nice fresh flavor that cuts through the spice and cheese.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

Prep: Preheat oven to 425°F / 215˚C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

(1) In a mixing bowl, stir together the cream cheese, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, parsley, half of the cheddar cheese, half of the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.

(2) Prep your peppers: start by slicing each jalapeño in half lengthwise. You can leave the stem attached, as it provides a nice handle for the poppers. Then, remove the seeds and the white membrane inside the peppers.

(3) Fill each pepper with cream cheese filling. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs. For extra crispness, you can spray the filled peppers with cooking spray (or drizzle with olive oil) before baking.

(4) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the peppers are soft and the top is golden brown.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• Use a grapefruit spoon to deseed the jalapeños. The sharp, serrated edge of a grapefruit spoon is perfect for easily removing the seeds and membrane of a jalapeño in one go. If you don't have one, a regular spoon will work too, but we've found the serrated edge makes things much easier!
• Storage: You can store these vegan jalapeño poppers in an airtight container in the freezer for a few months. For shorter term storage, keep in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days. You can microwave them, but reheating them in the oven is the best option, as it will help to crisp up the breadcrumbs, which may become soggy during storage.
• Make ahead: You can store the uncooked, filled peppers in the fridge for several days before baking. Leave the cheddar and breadcrumbs off the top until just before putting them in the oven to prevent sogginess. Then, simply bake as directed in the recipe.
• Be sure to reserve half of bread crumbs and cheese when you're making the filling so that you have enough to sprinkle over the top before baking.

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