Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.My easy vegan jalapeño poppers are the perfect appetizer for meat and plant-based eaters alike – they are sure to be a total crowd pleaser! Filled with creamy queso and coated with a topping of crispy golden breadcrumbs, these vegan stuffed jalapeños are baked or grilled to perfection. I highly recommend serving these at your next celebration, game day, or holiday party!
If you love spice, then my vegan jalapeño poppers recipe is for you! They are perfect for anyone looking for a fun snack or wanting an appetizer that will impress friends and family.
I really wanted to make a simple appetizer that required minimal prep work yet still looked fancy and elevated. And these jalapeños check those boxes! Making this recipe is super easy and can be simplified even more if you opt to prep the vegan queso ahead of time or just use a store bought one.
While I personally love to use a homemade vegan queso blanco and level up my breadcrumbs with smoked paprika and fresh lemon juice, this is one of those customizable recipes that can easily accommodate your preferences and needs.
If you love flavorful, easy appetizers with some spice be sure to check out my jalapeno artichoke dip and my vegetarian stuffed poblano peppers! For even more inspiration, utilize my list of 65 vegan party food ideas.
👩🏽🍳 Why I Absolutely Love This Recipe
I love how easy it is to whip up these dairy-free stuffed jalapenos. It is just a matter of slicing, filling, topping with breadcrumbs, and baking! As a busy mom of two, this is really a snack or appetizer I can get behind!
These offer the most amazing blend of flavors with the spiciness of the peppers, the seasonings in the vegan sausage, and the touch of lemon in the breadcrumbs. Plus, you also get incredible texture with every bite thanks to silky smooth queso, chewy “meat,” and that soft crunch of the jalapeno.
And not only do these plant based jalapeno poppers taste great, they look stunning too! I seriously feel like they could be included in a recipe book – they are picture-perfect. I like to dress them up with an additional drizzle of queso and garnishes like cilantro and lemon wedges.
Since these are completely free from any dairy or animal-based products, all my guests are able to enjoy this appetizer and feel included. They can even be made gluten-free with a couple easy swaps. Get ready for the ultimate dish to level up game days, block parties, cookouts, and holiday events!
🥘 Ingredients
My vegetarian stuffed jalapeño take their popper counterparts up like 5 notches. Not only in spice, but the flavor of the mixed ingredients is unreal. Here is what I use in this recipe to achieve the best taste:
Jalapeños: Of course, jalapeño peppers are a must in this recipe! I slice them in half lengthwise and stuff with all the delicious fillings.
Vegan Sausages: I love using the Field Roast brand sausages for these because they use simple ingredients and even have some vegetables in them! The vegetables are mixed with spices, seasonings and vital wheat gluten (so these are not gluten free). The texture and flavor are amazing. I have many non vegan friends that think these sausages are delicious! However, feel free to use whatever vegan sausage brand you love most!
Vegan Queso Blanco: Use whatever vegan queso you prefer! I’ve been using this vegan option made with nutritional yeast, but store bought queso works too. I’ve even made this with other cheesy variations like my vegan cream cheese or vegan cheese sauce.
Breadcrumbs: This vegan stuffed jalapeños recipe isn’t complete with a crispy top coat of golden brown breadcrumbs! I combine my breadcrumbs with fresh lemon juice, smoked paprika, and a touch of sea salt (optional). Regular or whole wheat or even panko breadcrumbs will all work. You can also add other seasonings like garlic powder or onion powder to amp up the flavor of the breadcrumb mixture.
🔪 How To Make Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
All I needed to do for the flavor bomb combo in these amazing dairy free jalapeño poppers is combine the two main ingredients. It goes a little something like this:
Prep All Ingredients
Prepare Jalapeños: To begin, I slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise, to make 16 halves, and take out the seeds and membranes. I always slice a little from the bottom of the peppers if needed to prevent rolling over while baking (see Expert Tips).
Prepare Sausage: Now, I chop the vegan sausages into small pieces and place in a small bowl or later.
Make Breadcrumb Mixture: Then, I mix all the breadcrumb ingredients in a bowl except the lemon juice, until combined. I add lemon juice and mix well to break up clumps.
Combine Filling: Next, I put ½ cup queso blanco into the bowl with the chopped sausage, mixing well.
Fill Jalapeños: I spoon about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of sausage and vegan cheese mixture into the cut jalapeños and top with about 1 ½ teaspoons breadcrumbs.
Cook Stuffed Jalapeños
For this step, I either grill or bake the peppers depending on the day.
Grilling: If grilling, I always spray oil on any surfaces that are not nonstick in case of sticking. They should be ready in about 8-10 minutes on the grill but I like to monitor them and remove them when the jalapeños are browning. The sausage is precooked.
Baking: If baking, I place the prepared peppers on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius) for about 10-15 minutes. I check at the 10 minute mark for brownness.
Serve: I serve my vegan jalapeño poppers with more queso blanco drizzle on top and other savory sides or a dipping sauce! Enjoy!
💭 Expert Tips
My #1 Secret Tip for this recipe is to slice a little piece from the bottom of each pepper so prevent them from rolling sideways when baking.
If you are not placing these stuffed peppers on a grill with a grate and choosing to bake (or grill) on a flat surface, I recommend that you slice a small flat edge on the bottom of the pepper before stuffing it. This way they will not roll sideways and get messy in the oven. On the grill, they may not need this because they will fit in-between the rungs.
Other Tips To Keep In Mind:
- Wear Gloves: The juices of the jalapeños can irritate your skin and are definitely dangerous for your eyes. I suggest that you wear gloves when handling the peppers to avoid getting it on your hands.
- For Extra Crispy Tops: When baking these, I like to broil for the last minute to get the tops nice and crisp. Just be sure to not burn them!
📖 Variations
Gluten-Free Option: Need gluten-free stuffed jalapeños? Be sure to use gluten-free breadcrumbs and gluten-free sausage. Many brands of vegan sausage contain wheat, so read the ingredients before purchasing.
Vegetarian Option: If you do not need these to be vegan, feel free to use regular queso for equally tasty vegetarian jalapeño poppers! Sometimes I make both variations to satisfy everyone.
Different Sausage Flavors: Field Roast sausages come in 3 varieties: Italian, Smoked Apple Sage and Mexican Chipotle. They also have Frankfurters and Apple Maple Breakfast Sausage that we have used as well. For this recipe, I stuffed my jalapeños with the Mexican Chipotle flavor but feel free to try out other flavors (from whatever brand you like) to switch things up!
More Toppings: For even more layers of flavor, feel free to add vegan cheddar cheese shreds and crumbled vegan bacon on top too!
🍽 Serving Suggestions
If you need additional dishes to go along with these vegan stuffed jalapeño peppers, I have the best pairings! Here are my favorites:
As A Meal: I love all things spicy, so it can be fun to bring even more heat to the table. For a filling meal I love to make my spicy black bean burgers, or my vegan carrot hot dogs, serving the vegan jalapeño poppers as a side. To tone down the spice, I like to add some easy frozen french fries to the plate.
Other Party Foods: Loaded veggie nachos, tofu nuggets, and buffalo cauliflower wings are my top picks for a full on vegetarian/vegan spread! I also love keeping things more low key with a big bowl of homemade air fried tortilla chips.
With Dips: When I want to enjoy these peppers as a snack on their own I pair them alongside sauces and dips. My favorites are vegan ranch, vegan garlic aioli, smoky red pepper crema, or some extra queso.
🧊 Storing And ♨️ Reheating
Refrigeration: For uncooked peppers, I stuff and refrigerate these up to 3 days in advance. For cooked leftovers, I store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days.
Reheating: I prefer to reheat leftover vegan stuffed jalapeños (if there are any!) in an air fryer or oven at 350° until heated through. This helps them crisp up a bit again!
❓Recipe FAQs
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Vegan Jalapeño Poppers (Creamy, Spicy, Easy To Make!)
If you enjoy a mix of creamy and crunchy textures, you will love these vegan jalapeno poppers. I stuff them with creamy queso, savory vegan sausage, and top them with crispy seasoned bread crumbs for the ultimate spicy appetizer. They look impressive on a serving platter and take less than an hour to make.
Servings: 16
Calories: 48kcal
Ingredients
For The Jalapenos
- 8 jalapenos
- 2 vegan sausages I use Field Roast, Mexican Chipotle flavor
- ½ cup vegan queso blanco or use store bought queso (see note)
- smoky lemon breadcrumbs see recipe below
For The Smoky Lemon Breadcrumbs
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt optional, omit for less salt since the rest of the recipe has plenty
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Equipment
Instructions
- Slice jalapenos in half length wise, to make 16 halves, and take out the seeds. If you are not placing them on a grill with a grate and baking (or grilling) on a flat surface, you may want to slice a small flat edge on the bottom so they don’t roll sideways. On the grill, they may not need this because they will fit in-between the rungs.
- Chop sausages into small pieces, place in a small bowl.
- Mix all breadcrumb ingredients in a bowl except the lemon juice, until combined. Add lemon juice and mix well to break up clumps.
- Put ½ cup queso blanco into the bowl with the chopped sausage. Mix well.
- Spoon about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons sausage mixture into the cut jalapenos.
- Top with about 1 ½ teaspoons breadcrumbs.
- Grill or bake. If grilling make sure to spray oil on any surfaces that are not nonstick in case of sticking. If on a grill, they should be ready in about 8-10 minutes but check and remove when the jalapenos are browning. The sausage is precooked. If baking, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 F (220 C) for about 10-15 minutes, but check at the 10 minute mark for brownness. You can also broil for the last minute to get the tops nice and crisp.
- Serve with more queso blanco drizzle on top! Be careful, they have a kick!
Notes
- My #1 Secret Tip for this vegan jalapeno popper recipe is to avoid overfilling the peppers. Whenever I add too much filling, it usually spills out while baking and prevents the breadcrumb topping from crisping up properly.
- Wear gloves: I always wear gloves while handling jalapenos to avoid chili burn from the oils in the pepper. I keep them on throughout the preparation and stuffing process. Which is why it is good to get all the other components prepared and ready before working with jalapenos.
- Cover board: Unless you have a dedicated chili board, I suggest covering your chopping board in plastic wrap before slicing your jalapenos on it.
- Flatten bottoms: I slice a tiny piece from the bottom to help the peppers stay stable on the baking tray.
- Broil briefly: I broil the pepper for the final minute when I want an extra golden breadcrumb layer.
- Chop finely: Smaller sausage pieces mix and distribute into the queso better, and make the filling easier to spoon.
- Watch peppers: I remove the poppers once the jalapenos start browning and soften slightly, but still keep their shape and texture.
Nutrition
Calories: 48kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 111mg | Potassium: 28mg
