Keto Jalapeno Poppers

These Keto Jalapeno Poppers are loaded with two kinds of cheese and wrapped in pepper bacon! This easy low carb appetizer can be made in the oven, on the grill or in the air fryer!

You might have seen jalapeño poppers made a variety of ways, but it almost certainly consisted of a cheesy filling. This recipe features shredded cheddar cheese, cream cheese, spices, Worcestershire sauce and green onions.

This recipe is so simple. You will need to follow three basic steps to make the perfect keto-friendly jalapeño poppers! First, wash and slice your jalapeño peppers. Carefully remove the seeds and membrane from the pepper. Be careful not to use your hands or touch your face as you do this!

Next, combine the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and place a heaping spoonful into each seeded jalapeño half. Make sure to spread the filling down the whole pepper, but do not overfill as the peppers shrink while cooking and the filling expands.
Lastly, wrap a section of bacon around each popper and secure with a toothpick as needed. Bake, grill or air fryer until the bacon is crisp! Be sure to read my tips and tricks below for the best methods!

This is really down to personal preference. I use pepper bacon because I love the extra zip it adds to the poppers, but regular bacon will work just fine. The thing to note about the bacon is thick cut verses thin.

Thin cut bacon is preferable, as it cooks quicker. However, if you have thick cut bacon on hand simply take the slice of bacon and gently stretch it (be careful not to tear), then slice the bacon in half and wrap around each popper.

- Most importantly, be careful when slicing and deseeding the jalapeños! It is best to use gloves and take great care not to touch your eyes or nose when working with jalapeño seeds.

— Do not overstuff the filling, remember it will expand and the peppers will shrink.

— Use thin slice bacon if you have it. If you don’t gently stretch your thick cut bacon before cutting and wrapping around your pepper.

— If you wrap the bacon seam side down you may not need a toothpick, but feel free to use them if you think you need to in order to keep the bacon secure.
Ingredients
— 6 large fresh jalapeño peppers, sliced in half and seeded

— 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

— 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

— 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped

— 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

— 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

— 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

— 6 slices bacon (see notes below)

Instructions
Carefully slice the peppers. Remove the seeds and membranes from the pepper and discard. Be careful not to touch your eyes while working with the peppers.

In a small mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, shredded cheddar, green onions, worcestershire, garlic powder and onion powder.

Place a spoonful of the filling in each pepper slice.

Wrap half a slice of bacon around each popper and secure with toothpicks.
Oven Method: Place on a baking sheet and bake 400 degrees F for 20–25 minutes or until the bacon is crisp.
Air Fryer Method: Place in the basket of an air fryer and cook at 390 degrees F for 8–10 minutes until the bacon is crisp. Depending on the size of the air fryer you may need to do this in batches.
Grill: Heat a grill to medium high heet (about 400 degrees F) Place the poppers on the grill and reduce the heat to medium (between 350–375 degrees F) and cook for 15–20 minutes until the bacon is crisp.

No fruit, unless it’s berries in moderation…

No wheat

No sugar

No grains

No pasta

No potatoes

No rice

No beans

No starches

No milk as it’s loaded with sugar. ( unsweetened almond milk is recommended.)

HWC (Heavy whipping cream) is good in coffee or whatever you would like to use it for.
Meat, cheese, eggs, vegetable, nuts, and healthy fats. It’s simple. Stick to that, and you should be ok!

Vegetables that should be avoided are…

Sweet potatoes

Corn

Peas

Potatoes

Carrots — can be used in moderation, just don’t go over board. They are full of starches and not recommended.

Make sure to drink half your body weight In oz of water as well if you aren’t getting the adequate amount of water it can be bad for your kidneys! This applies for all forms of keto.
Do not forget your electrolytes, they are needed daily.

A good form of electrolytes is:

Powerade zero

Pickle juice

Pink Himalayan salt added to your food

Strict keto — counts all macros, do not eat processed foods.

Lazy keto — doesn’t track all macros, still eats processed foods, as long as they are on plan

Macros are a break down of the calories you intake for the day. Which should be…

5% carbs

20% protein

75% fat

Carb manager is a great app to track macros

Carbs are a limit — try not to go over your carb limit.

Fat is a lever — you don’t have to meet your fat macro, it’s simply there to help you get full.

Protein is a goal- try your best to reach your protein goal, but try not to go over. Excessive amounts of protein can cause you to stall in weight loss.
Anything other than this food group selection would be considered low carb. Also, if you are in ketosis, and eat outside of this food group not only could it take you out of ketosis, but it could spike your blood sugar! Which can make you sick.

Hope this helps.

If you are a keto newbie- This should help

Meats: ZERO CARBS

• Beef- Ground beef, Steak, Ribs, and Roasts

• Pork- Chops, Ribs, BACON, Loins, sausage

• Chicken/Turkey- Thighs w/skin or wings are the best because breasts are high in protein. However, you CAN eat breasts, just have to eat more fat to compensate.

• Fish- Tuna, Salmon, Cod, Haddock, etc.

• Shrimp/Lobster- Go crazy, use lots of butter!

• Pepperoni

Cheese: MOST are no carb, almost all are low carb

• Mozerella & Cheddar- Buy in bulk, they freeze well and are insanely versatile!

• Colby jack, pepper jack, monterrey jack

• Taco style, Mexican style

• Parmesan, Asiago

• Ricotta- Freezes well, very versatile

• Cottage cheese- Good to throw in your lunch with berries, usually around 4–8g of Carbs per serving

• Cream Cheese- Freezes very well, this is one of the things that I always glance at whenever I go to the store, and always buy a bunch of if it’s under 75 cents per 8oz.

Vegetables: No potatoes! Get your carbs from above ground veggies!!!

• Leafy greens- Spinach, Spring mix, Kale, Romaine

• Zucchini- Great for a noodle substitute!

• Avacado- Awesome source of natural fat!

• Eggplant

• Brussels sprouts

• Tomato

• Spaghetti Squash- Versatile, makes a great spaghetti substitute and is even great for making hash browns!!

• Cucumber

• Peppers- Jalepeño, banana, green/red/yellow/ orange bell

• Broccoli- Great with cheese, steamed or just raw!

• Asparagus- Awesome roasted or sautéed with bacon and garlic!

• Cauliflower- AWESOME potato substitute!!

• Celery- Great with cream cheese or all natural peanut butter!

• Cabbage

• Pickles (Read nutrition labels, watch for sugar and carbs)

• Olives

• Green beans- Awesome sautéed in bacon grease with garlic, (watch portion size, though).

• Onions- Red, yellow: use somewhat sparingly, to taste

Fruits: Most are a no-no, especially bananas, oranges and grapes.

• Strawberries

• Blueberries

• Raspberries

• Blackberries

• Lemon/Limes- Adds great flavor!

Nuts (grams of Carbs per 100 grams, or 3.5 oz)

• Pecans/ Brazil (4g)

• Macadamia (5g)

• Hazelnut/Walnut/Peanut (7g)

• Pine (9g)

• Almond (10g)

• Pistachio (18g)

• Cashew (27g)

Oils/Fats

• Coconut Oil

• Butter: Kerry Gold is best but just make sure it’s REAL butter and not a spread or margarine

• Olive Oil

• Vinaigrette

• Hollandaise

• Bacon/sausage grease

• MCT oil- easily ordered online/in specialty stores
Dressings/Condiments/Fats

• Ranch, Blue cheese, Cesar, Thousand Island, Balsamic- Watch carbs/ sugar, but there’s tons of brands, so you can find one you love!

• Mayo- Natural/organic is best, but I use Hellmann’s all the time.

• Aioli

• Heinz “NO SUGAR ADDED” Ketchup or sugar free ketchup

• G. Hughes brand sugar free BBQ sauce

• Yellow/Spicy Brown Mustard

• Soy sauce

• Hot sauce
Liquids: Use as base for sauces/soups

• Heavy Whipping Cream (HWC)

• Broths/Stocks: Stay away from reduced fat. Bone broth is awesome!

Snacks

• Pepperoni

• Slim Jims/jerky (watch carbs)

• Homemade cheese its/ tortilla chips

• Cheese

• Pork rinds (0 carbs, very versatile. Can be used as breading, nacho substitute or even sprinkled with cinnamon & stevia and eaten like cereal with Almond milk and tastes like cinnamon toast crunch!)
Drinks

• WATER- Lots of it!

• Crystal Light- Tons of options and very convenient!

• Tea with stevia

• Coffee- Add a Tablespoon of coconut oil or MCT oil, Stevia, heavy whipping cream and imitation vanilla/ Hazelnut or Cocoa powder & peppermint BOOM Homemade creamer!

Alcoholic Beverages

• Beers (grams of carbs per 12 oz serving)

Bud Select 55 (1.9)

MGD 64 (2.4)

Rolling Rock Green Light (2.4)

Michelob Ultra (2.6)

Bud Select (3.1)

Beck’s Premier Light (3.2)

Natural Light (3.2)

Michelob Ultra Amber (3.7)

Coors Light (5)

Amsterdam Light (5)

Bud Light (6.6)
• Vodka: Whipped Vodka & flavored water or pineapple Pinnacle with crystal light are a couple of my favorites!

• Whiskey shot (0g carbs)

• Brandy shot (0g carbs)

• Dry Martini (0g carbs)

• Tequila shot (0g carbs)

• Champagne (~1g per serving)

• Dry wine (~2g per serving)

Sweeteners

• Stevia drops (0g)

• Erythritol (0g)

• Truvía (0g)

• Monkfruit (0g)

Other common Ingredients I use

• Almond flour

• Spices: Garlic powder, onion powder

Dont forget your electrolytes, they are needed daily.

• A good form of electrolytes is:

• Powerade zero

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