Homemade Air Fryer Jalapeño Poppers
These Homemade Air Fryer Jalapeño Poppers are a quick and easy appetizer or snack that has all the flavor but none of the oil or extra calories since there's no frying!
Servings: 16 poppers (approximately; amount will depend on the size of your jalapeños)
Estimated Calories: 49
Ingredients
- 8 jalapeño peppers, each about 3 inches long and weighing about ¾ to 1 ounce
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, yellow or white
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste (if using regular table salt, you might want to use less)
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste, preferably freshly-ground
- ¼ cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs
- 1½ teaspoons melted butter
Special Equipment
- air fryer (I use a 6-quart basket-style air fryer)
Instructions
- Slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise.You can remove the stems or leave them on (leaving the stems on is a prettier presentation, but you probably don't want to eat them).
- Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and membranes.Jalapeños can vary in their heat level with some being super-hot and some not hot at all. If yours aren't hot and you want more heat, you can leave in some of the membranes and seeds (that's where most of the heat is in a pepper).
- In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper until well-combined.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly among the jalapeño halves (each half should be completely filled).
- In a small bowl, mix the the panko breadcrumbs and the melted butter until well-combined and all of the breadcrumbs are coated in butter.
- Divide the breadcrumb mixture evenly among the filled jalapeño halves, pressing them down gently so they adhere to the filling.
- Preheat the air fryer to 390°F.
- Once the air fryer is preheated, carefully add the poppers to the air fryer in a single layer, leaving a little bit of space between each one if you can (but it's okay if they touch a little).I can fit all 16 poppers in the basket of my 6-quart air fryer. If your air fryer is smaller or if they won't all fit at once, cook them in 2 batches.
- Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, just until the breadcrumbs are lightly golden brown and the jalapeños are crisp-tender.
- Serve immediately.I like to remove the basket from my air fryer and let the poppers sit in there for a minute or two before I remove them just so that they're not super-hot, but this is optional.
Recipe Notes
- I recommend wearing plastic gloves when prepping the jalapeños, and don't touch your eyes or any other sensitive areas.
- These are fantastic as is or served with some sour cream or ranch dressing for dipping!
- Regular seasoned breadcrumbs can be used instead of panko, but they probably won't be quite as crispy.
- Like bacon in your poppers? Cook up a few slices, crumble it up, and mix it in with the filling.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days (if you made them ahead of time, be sure to take that time into account).
- Reheat leftovers in the air fryer at 325°F just until heated through (keep an eye on them so the tops don't get too brown).
- Estimated calories shown are for one popper.
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