Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip

This bacon jalapeno popper dip is an easy and satisfying appetizer for your next party.  It takes only minutes to assemble and, when served hot and bubbly in a cast iron skillet, you won’t even care if your team is winning the game or not.  

There are plenty of things that I’ve failed at in my 27 years.

Though my mom will try to tell you otherwise, out of her six children I’m the only one who failed as an athlete (rec soccer and softball were the stuff of my nightmares).

I failed my first driver’s test (by one point, OK), and while I technically passed all 4 years of Spanish, I have retained absolutely zero of the information and the extent of my knowledge is “no hablo espanol” (and I even had to google that to make sure it was right).

But it’s my most recent failing that really is irking me right now, because I’m pretty much the worst food blogger there ever was.

See, while other bloggers spent the past few weeks presenting their cheesiest dips and quickest crock-pot appetizers for your “Big Game” enjoyment, I kept pumping out the chocolate, fairly oblivious to the fact that there was a major football game that maybe I should also be preparing non-sweet recipes for.

Major fail, and as usual I’m late to the party.

I honestly originally had no plans of sharing a dip here at all.

I made this bacon jalapeno popper dip on Sunday to take to my parents’ house where we used the football game as an excuse to get together and gorge ourselves on pizza and chips.  I thought maybe I’d make it again at some point in the future, maybe around New Year or 4th of July, and share it then (you know, instead of before the biggest dip-eating event of the year… fail!).

But, as I stirred everything together and began “sampling” it, I knew that I needed to share this bacon jalapeno popper dip with you ASAP, even if it was after the game, and so out came my camera, and out the window went my plans of getting to my parents’ house early.

Thank goodness Zach still had one good thumb to be my hand model for the pictures.

The dip is made with a cream cheese/sour cream/mayonnaise base (I used olive oil mayo to save a few calories, but I mean really, why even bother at this point. BTW the calorie count in the recipe is just a wild approximation because when I started trying to calculate the calories my computer screen started smoking).  In addition to the cream cheese, there’s also mozzarella and Monterrey jack cheese stirred into the base.

I used fresh jalapenos, and I recommend wearing gloves when slicing and de-seeding them (I shared a link to some after the recipe, I keep a box of these in my kitchen to use when cutting hot peppers or handling garlic).  Despite the jalapenos, this bacon jalapeno popper dip is hardly spicy at all, but if you’re serving it to a crowd of spice-fiends you can stir a few of the seeds in as well.

Because jalapeno poppers are always served breaded, I took the breading to the top of the dip here and it’s crusted with a slightly browned panko/butter/parmesan cheese (because we don’t already have enough cheese, right?) topping.

 I know this will sound like blasphemy to some people, but you can absolutely leave out the bacon (as someone who went 22 years of my life without ever tasting bacon, that doesn’t seem like a huge deal to me, but Zach will flip when he reads this).  There’s still plenty of creamy, cheesy, jalapeno & garlic infused flavor for it to stand deliciously alone.

Even though the big game is behind us, I think you’re still going to enjoy this bacon jalapeno dip.  Make it this weekend and tag me on Instagram!

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Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip

Cheesy Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip!  Easy and delicious, make it with or without the bacon.

4.72 from 7 votes

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 535kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

• ▢ 11-14 strips (75 g) bacon cooked, cooled, and crumbled divided (about 1 cup of bacon crumbles)
• ▢ 16 oz (454 g) cream cheese -- softened
• ▢ ½ cup (125 g) sour cream
• ▢ ½ cup (125 g) mayo (I used olive oil mayo to cut a few calories)
• ▢ 3-5 (120 g) large jalapenos, cut, de-seeded, and finely chopped (about one cup chopped jalapenos)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ½ cups (170 g) mozzarella cheese
• ▢ 1 ½ cups (170 g) Monterrey jack cheese

Topping:

• ▢ ½ cup (35 g) plain panko
• ▢ ¼ cup (30 g) grated Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons (28 g) salted butter melted
• ▢ 3 crumbled strips of bacon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried parsley

Instructions

• Cook 11-14 strips bacon.  Allow to cool and set aside three strips for topping.  Crumble remaining bacon (should be about 1 cup, though a little less or a little more is fine).
  11-14 strips (75 g) bacon cooked, cooled, and crumbled
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• In a separate, large bowl, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo, stir well.
  16 oz (454 g) cream cheese -- softened, ½ cup (125 g) sour cream, ½ cup (125 g) mayo
•  Add jalapenos, crumbled bacon, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and stir.  Stir in cheeses.
  3-5 (120 g) large jalapenos, cut, de-seeded, and finely chopped, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ cups (170 g) mozzarella cheese, 1 ½ cups (170 g) Monterrey jack cheese
• Spread evenly into a 10" cast iron skillet (an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan could also be used) and set aside..
• For the topping, toss together panko and melted butter in a separate bowl.  Stir in parmesan cheese and dried parsley.  Sprinkle evenly over the top of the dip.
  ½ cup (35 g) plain panko, ¼ cup (30 g) grated Parmesan cheese, 2 Tablespoons (28 g) salted butter, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 3 crumbled strips of bacon
• Bake on 350F (177C) for 20-25 minutes, until topping is slightly browned and mixture is hot.  Serve warm, top with additional fresh sliced jalapenos, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 732mg | Potassium: 169mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1386IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 375mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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