Keto Jalapeno Poppers

Every party or get together needs a good keto finger food. One of my go too snacks are my keto jalapeno poppers. Now these finger foods are not carbohydrate free (1.25 grams per popper) because jalapenos and cream cheese do have a small amount of carbohydrates, so eat them in moderation. I say eat them in moderation, heck even if you pigged out an ate the whole batch, there is only 17.6 grams of carbohydrates, but I digress.

I keep this recipe fairly basic, but you could add any additional herbs or flavorings to your popper filling, just keep in mind that it may change the amount of carbohydrate slightly. I like to make this recipe ahead of time and place them in a one gallon zip lock freezer bag so that I have them ready whenever the occasion arises.

Just in case you are wondering, the TGI Fridays brand of breaded jalapeno cheese poppers that you find at your local supermarket are about 6.3 grams of carbohydrates. So you could eat almost four of these delicious bacon wrapped poppers for each of the breaded TGI Friday's poppers, and you get the added bonus of healthy fat as opposed to the transfats of the Friday's brand. So let's get to the recipe!

The Filling

14 slices bacon, thin

7 large jalapeno's, de-veined and seeded

4 ounces cream cheese

4 ounces cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

Complete Recipe

Calories – 1353, 107.7 grams of fat, 48.9 grams of protein, 17.6 grams of carbohydrates

Per Popper (½ of a jalapeno)

Calories – 96.6, 7.7 grams of fat, 3.49 grams of protein, 1.25 grams of carbohydrates

Take one 4 ounce package of cream cheese out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Once the cream cheese is softened, then in a small bowl add the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and minced garlic and stir until it is mixed completely. Even though the cream cheese is softened, the filling is still pretty stiff, don't worry, this is normal. Set the bowl to the side and start on prepping your jalapeno's.

Slice the jalapeno's in half and remove the seeds and most of the veins (this is where the heat is) and set them on your baking sheet. You can leave the stems on if you wish, but I remove them. If the jalapeno's will not sit flat on the baking sheet and you are a little anal retentive, you can slice a thin piece off the bottom of the pepper so it will not roll from side to side, but I do not do this either.

Once all of your jalapenos are ready, then take a spoon or stiff spatula and fill each half with your cream cheese mixture. When all of the jalapeno's are stuffed, take one slice of your thin bacon and completely wrap each jalapeno half. You may or may not need to secure the bacon with tooth picks. Just remember if you do use tooth picks, please let everyone know before they eat the poppers just in case they cannot see them sticking out of the poppers.

To cook, place your poppers on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 – 18 minutes at 425 degrees, or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is brown at the edges and bubbly. Remove from the over and allow the to cool for a few minutes because melted cheese is like molten lava, and no one deserves a burned mouth!


Conclusion

So there you have it guys, my quick and easy jalapeno pepper recipe. I hope you and your family enjoy them as much as mine do. Even my wife who loathes any food that has any heat loves these. Why? Because all of the heat in the pepper is contained in the seeds and the veins of the fruit. By eliminating both of these you get the mild flavor of the pepper with the cream and cheddar cheese and bacon. And let's face it, everything cooked with bacon is better right? So give these keto poppers a try, I sure that you and your family will lover them as much as mine does. As always, if you have found this article informative and enjoyable please share it with your friends on social media. Don't forget to check out of Facebook page CulinaryyoU or add us to your circle on Google+, or check our recipes on Pinterest.