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Home » Appetizers & Small Bites Recipes

Pickled Jalapeños ~ Poppers with Chipotle Raspberry Sauce

Published: May 13, 2020 · Modified: Sep 20, 2022 by Madalaine · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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Pickled jalapeños takes another level of sting out of this spicy pepper while enhancing its earthy flavor.  When you stuff them with herb cream cheese, wrap them in bacon and roast them in the oven, you get an irresistible smokey snack.

plate piled with roasted pickled jalapeño poppers
Roasted pickled jalapeño poppers stuffed with herb cream cheese and wrapped with bacon.

Kick it up a notch by add another layer of flavor with this savory red raspberry sauce.  It's still fruity but the touch of chipotle makes it deep and smokey.

How to Make Pickled Jalapeños for your poppers

I first had these when I worked at the Firefly Grill.  They pickled them in large quantities, stuffed them with herb infused cream cheese, wrapped them in bacon and refrigerated them.  Then they'd oven roast them to order.  Oh yum!

Pickled jalapeño poppers with chipotle raspberry dipping sauce

Each time an order would come up, the kitchen (already filled with wonderful aromas of fresh baked bread, searing scallops, and simmer stock pot) would light up with scents of smoky bacon and tangy peppers.  I knew then, I had to recreate this at home.

Start by prepping your jalapeños

  • Wearing gloves, slice off the stem and ¼ inch of the top of 8 jalapeño peppers
  • Slice the jalapeños in ½ long ways and scrape out the veins and seeds

Important Tips when working with Jalapeños

After reading these tips and words of caution, you may wonder if the risk is worth it.  Personally, I love these little buggers.  So, yes, I'd say it's worth it.

  1. Use gloves.  I'm serious.  First time I deveined jalapeños I didn't wear gloves and my hands were on FIRE for HOURS.
  2. You didn't use gloves and now your hands are on fire, NOW WHAT??? Wash your hands with soap, then soak them in milk, yogurt, sour cream or heavy cream.
  3. Do NOT touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth while deveining these peppers.
  4. Using a large bowl full of water, submerge the pepper while you scrape out the veins and seeds.  This will keep the burning oils from escaping into the air.  Breathing them can cause you to cough and your lungs and throat to burn.
  5. Use a mask or bandana to cover your nose and mouth while deveining.
Pickled poppers wrapped in bacon and stuffed with herb cream cheese! Yum!

Making Pickled Jalapeños

  1. In a sauce pot, combine 2 cups water, 1 cup apple cider (or white) vinegar, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon pepper corns, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon salt.
  2. Heat brine until salt and sugar dissolve.  Transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Let the brine cool to room temperature and submerge jalapenos.  If the brine doesn't completely cover them, add equal parts water and vinegar until it does.
  4. Let jalapeños sit in brine for at least 5 hours and up to 3 days.

Make the Poppers

  1. Take the jalapenos out of the brine, rinse them and let them air dry.
  2. Mix ¼ cup fresh chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano) with 8 ounces soften cream cheese.
  3. Stuff cream cheese mixture into peppers.
  4. Wrap with ½ slice raw bacon and secure with toothpick.
  5. Roast in a 400F oven until bacon is browned, about 15 minutes.

Kick it up with Chipotle Raspberry Dipping Sauce

Below is an affiliate link to Amazon for one of my favorite cookbooks.  If you click on it and buy it, I'll get a very small commission.

I got this idea while cooking out of my favorite chef's cookbooks: Justin Warners The Laws of Cooking and How to Break Them.  He's got this killer recipe for apricot habanero chicken wings.  That got me thinking about his law of Peanut Butter and Jelly... fruity + spicy + fat = Da Bomb!

pickled jalapeño popper dipping into chipotle raspberry sauce
Jalapeno popper with chipotle dipping sauce
  1. Mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 cup cold water.  Set this aside.
  2. Put 1 (12 ounce) bag of frozen raspberries into a sauce pot and stir over medium heat until they have thawed and it becomes juicy.
  3. Whisk in the cornstarch and water mixture.  Increase the temperature to medium/high.
  4. Continue to stir until the sauce starts to boil and thickens, about 3 minutes.
  5. Then lower the heat and add ⅓ cup sugar, the juice of 2 limes, and ½ teaspoon of Chipotle sauce.  I use a little of the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
  6. Stir until the sugar as completely dissolved.
  7. Pour the raspberry sauce into a strainer over a mixing bowl and press the juice through with a spatula.

Warner's recipe also made me think of Chef Niall's elk steaks with wild blueberry reduction.  I had the fat (bacon and cream cheese) and the spicy (jalapeno).  All I needed was the fruit... Yes, raspberry!

This created a delicious balance of salty, fruity, smokey, crisp and creamy.  Heaven!

pickled jalapeños popper dipped in chipotle raspberry sauce
4 from 6 votes
Print

Pickled Jalapeños Poppers with Chipotle Raspberry Sauce

This sauce creates a delicious balance of salty, fruity, smokey, crisp and creamy.  Heaven!

Course Appetizer, Sauce
Cuisine American
Keyword chipotle, fruit, raspberry, spicy
Prep Time 30 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 179 kcal
Author Madalaine

Ingredients

Pickling Brine

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 tablespoon pepper corns
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Jalapeño Poppers

  • 8 pickled jalapeños
  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ¼ cup fresh herbs chopped
  • 4 strips bacon cut in ½

Chipotle Raspberry Sauce

  • 12 ounce frozen raspberries
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 cup cold water
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 2 limes juiced
  • ½ teaspoon chipotle sauce

Instructions

Make brine

  1. Combine everything in a sauce pot and heat over medium stirring until sugar and salt dissolve.

  2. Let cool to room temperature.

Prepare Jalapeños

  1. Using precautions (see notes), devein jalapeños and slice lengthwise in half.

  2. Submerge deveined and halved pepper in brine. If brine does not cover them completely, add equal parts water and vinegar until it does.

  3. Let pepper sit in brine for 5 hours or up to 3 days.

Make Poppers

  1. Take the jalapenos out of the brine, rinse them and let them air dry.

  2. Mix ¼ cup fresh chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano) with 8 ounces soften cream cheese.

  3. Stuff cream cheese mixture into peppers and wrap with ½ slice raw bacon and secure with toothpick.

  4. Roast in a 400F oven until bacon is browned, about 15 minutes.

Chipotle Raspberry Sauce

  1. Mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 cup cold water.  Set this aside.

  2. Put 1 (12 ounce) bag of frozen raspberries into a sauce pot and stir over medium heat until they have thawed and it becomes juicy.

  3. Whisk in the cornstarch and water mixture. 

  4. Increase the temperature to medium/high. Continue to stir until the sauce starts to boil and thickens, about 3 minutes. Then lower the heat and add ⅓ cup sugar, the juice of 2 limes, and ½ teaspoon of Chipotle sauce.  I use a little of the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

  5. Stir until the sugar as completely dissolved.

  6. Pour the raspberry sauce into a strainer over a mixing bowl and press the juice through with a spatula.

Nutrition Facts
Pickled Jalapeños Poppers with Chipotle Raspberry Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 179 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 38mg13%
Sodium 1041mg45%
Potassium 187mg5%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 712IU14%
Vitamin C 35mg42%
Calcium 50mg5%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Perfect appetizer for the holidays or game day.   Roasted pickled jalapeño poppers stuffed with herb cream cheese and wrapped with bacon.

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Comments

  1. Surya says

    June 19, 2020 at 4:27 am

    5 stars
    Yummy! This is an awesome take on jalapeno poppers love this recipe!

  2. Carol says

    August 31, 2020 at 11:57 am

    5 stars
    So glad I found this recipe I have family that would love these poppers. I have a ton of jalapenos from my daughters garden. Thank you for this great recipe.

  3. Angie says

    January 14, 2022 at 3:36 pm

    1 star
    I made this and it was absolutely horrible. It tasted so bad we couldn’t use it.

    • Madalaine says

      January 20, 2022 at 11:19 am

      Hi Angie, Ugh!!! What a bummer! I'm really sorry you didn't like it. But I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. I hope you found other recipes you liked.

  4. Cindy says

    May 23, 2023 at 7:45 pm

    This recipe looks and sounds amazing. Do you stuff 1/2 of the jalapeño and wrap with bacon or put the 1/2 pieces together? My experience when cutting off the stem is that the cheese melts and runs out.

  5. Lean says

    October 03, 2023 at 12:01 pm

    Easy recipe and it turned out spectacular! I added a few extra seasonings to my taste and this was such a hit. Super yummy!

  6. Amia says

    December 30, 2024 at 2:52 pm

    5 stars
    So tasty!

    • Madalaine says

      February 23, 2025 at 10:02 pm

      yes, full of taste!

4 from 6 votes (2 ratings without comment)
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