This easy Traeger smoked jalapeño poppers recipe is always a hit. They are incredibly enticing when right out of the pellet grill thanks to oozing, melted brie cheese and smoked bacon. It’s a really fast smoked appetizer dish for a game day party. Let’s smoke jalapenos…
Why my Traeger smoked jalapeño poppers are the best
- The best part? How the creamy cheese melts into the crevices of the ham and pepper filling mixture while the jalapeño poppers cook in the smoker.
- Get them prepped and on the smoker in 15-30 minutes.
- Fun finger food for a tailgate party or outdoor bbq.
- Bring a trayful of these along to the Holiday party and impress all your relations.
- Includes a video for smoking food beginners (scroll to bottom of page).
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make jalapeño poppers in the smoker.
- jalapeño peppers
- Brie cheese (see other options below)
- Bacon (turkey bacon or pork)
- BBQ sauce
Filling suggestion
Totally optional, here’s my filling mixture I add in addition to cheese. It really takes the flavor up a notch.
- Roasted red pepper (the marinated kind in the jar)
- A slice of ham
- Pepper, black
- Smoked paprika
- Garlic powder
What type of cheese goes in smoked poppers?
Use whatever cheese you’d like, as long as it’s easy to melt. In this demonstration, you see a beautiful brie smoked inside jalapeños with a turkey bacon wrap. But you can use:
- A mixture of cream cheese and cheddar cheese
- Gruyere
- Fontina
- Feta
- Or any type of melting cheese you’d like including my favorite ATM – brie.
Check out this recipe for smoked ham.
How to smoke jalapeño poppers
If you’re looking for an easy appetizer or a smoked dish perfect for a crowd, this is it! Let’s smoke jalapeños wrapped in bacon!
- Preheat Traeger smoker to 250 degrees F.
- Prep jalapeños. Slice jalapeño peppers in half lengthwise, leaving the stem intact. Use a spoon / paring knife to remove the white pith. Scrape out and remove the seeds. Set insides-facing up on a plate or board to be filled.
- Mix filling. In a small bowl, mix together diced roasted red pepper, diced ham, pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder.
- Add smoked jalapeño popper filling. Spoon enough of the red pepper and ham filling into each jalapeño half, to fill it completely without overflowing.
- Add cheese. Add about half an oz of brie cheese on top. (The cheese will melt into the crevices of the ham and pepper mixture while it cooks… so good).
- Wrap jalapeño peppers. Wrap a slice of bacon around each jalapeño half and secure with toothpicks if desired.
- Smoke jalapeño poppers. Place bacon wrapped jalapeños directly on grill grates for 90 minutes. Do not flip halfway through. During the last 10-15 minutes of smoking time, brush BBQ sauce on top of each strip of bacon.
Note 1: Exactly how long to smoke jalapeño poppers may vary depending on if you opened the grill during the smoke time, etc. Poppers are done when bacon is cooked and starting to crisp. The jalapeño peppers will be easy to pierce with a fork.
Note 2: If desired, broil jalapeño poppers for a few minutes on high in the oven to get them super crisp, though I don’t find that necessary. - Serve smoked jalapeño poppers with toothpicks removed and a side of your favorite dipping sauce. Try the jalapeño ranch dressing from Sip Bite Go for a cool, delicious, slightly spicy bite.
I’ve served this smoker app with everything from a kale pear salad to a strawberry feta salad. For a delicious date night at home, consider serving these alongside sous vide porterhouse steak and a simple tomato cucumber salad.
Love bacon? Check out these recipes for air fryer bacon wrapped hot dogs and bacon wrapped onion rings.
FAQs
Yes! Although melty brie cheese is my all time favorite in this recipe, you can substitute cream cheese, goat cheese, or even feta.
If you’re not a fan of turkey bacon, feel free to use any alternatives in this recipe. One caveat: thick-sliced bacon is not ideal; it is difficult to wrap with and has a tendency to unwrap during baking.
While green jalapeños and red chipotle sauce may not look—or taste—the same, it turns out they are the same pepper, just harvested at different stages in maturity. Jalapeños are harvested first, when the peppers are green on the vine. Over time, the peppers left on the plant turn red, and these are harvested, smoked, and dried as chipotle.
These smoked jalapeño poppers make a delicious game day appetizer, just as they are—but my family also loves them served as a side for an outdoor BBQ lunch, dinner, or even brunch.
Favorite smoker recipes with bacon
These are great dishes with smoked bacon IN them, or ON them…
- Smoked mac and cheese with bacon topping
- Onion rings wrapped in bacon on the smoker
- Smoked bacon wrapped meatloaf
- Smoked bacon wrapped pork tenderloin
- Jalapeno poppers smoked wrapped with bacon
- Smoked mashed potatoes
- Smoked baked potatoes
- Smoked burger
- “Juicy Lucy” smoked bacon wrapped burgers
- Smoked bacon
- Traeger smoked pork belly burnt ends
YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE
Pro tip: One of my go-to tricks for perfectly cooked food every time is using the right BBQ meat thermometers.
Why we love this smoked appetizer
My particular recipe for bacon wrapped smoked jalapeño poppers are stuffed with gooey brie cheese and packed with flavor from inspired ingredients like roasted red pepper and black forest ham. I healthied them up a bit with turkey bacon, but you can use any pork bacon you’d like.
We love them as a game day smoker recipe that’s fast and easy to make for party food. Long before having a pellet smoker, we made these with an indoor electric smoker. You can even adapt the recipe for the oven.
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about making smoker bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers for the first time.
If you’re looking for something else you can wrap in bacon, check back soon for my smoked bacon wrapped onion rings recipe.
See how to get more smoke flavor from your favorite Traeger dishes and check out these game day smoker recipes including this smoked cream cheese appetizer. It’s so good!
Connect…
- Instagram / TikTok / YouTube
- Browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection
Traeger Smoked Jalapeño Poppers With Bacon and Brie Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Video
Equipment
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 6 jalapeño peppers
- 1 tbsp red pepper roasted and marinated (the kind in the jar), diced
- 1 slice ham deli-style black forest ham, diced
- ¼ tsp pepper black
- ⅛ tsp paprika smoked
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- 6 oz cheese brie, cream cheese or another easily melted cheese
- 12 slices bacon turkey or pork
- ¼ cup bbq sauce
Instructions
- Preheat Traeger smoker to 250 degrees F.
- Prep jalapeños. Slice jalapeño peppers in half lengthwise, leaving the stem intact. Use a spoon / paring knife to remove the white pith. Scrape out and remove the seeds. Set insides-facing up on a plate or board to be filled.
- Mix filling. In a small bowl, mix together diced roasted red pepper, diced ham, pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder.
- Add smoked jalapeño popper filling. Spoon enough of the red pepper and ham filling into each jalapeño half, to fill it completely without overflowing.
- Add cheese. Add about half an oz of brie cheese on top. (The cheese will melt into the crevices of the ham and pepper mixture while it cooks… so good).
- Wrap jalapeño peppers. Wrap a slice of bacon around each jalapeño half and secure with toothpicks if desired.
- Smoke jalapeño poppers. Place bacon wrapped jalapeños directly on grill grates for 90 minutes. Do not flip halfway through. During the last 10-15 minutes of smoking time, brush BBQ sauce on top of each strip of bacon.Note 1: Exactly how long to smoke jalapeño poppers may vary depending on if you opened the grill during the smoke time, etc. Poppers are done when bacon is cooked and starting to crisp. The jalapeño peppers will be easy to pierce with a fork.Note 2: If desired, broil jalapeño poppers for a few minutes on high in the oven to get them super crisp, though I don’t find that necessary.
- Serve smoked jalapeño poppers with toothpicks removed and a side of your favorite dipping sauce. Try the jalapeño ranch dressing from Sip Bite Go for a cool, delicious, slightly spicy bite.
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