Jalapeño popper wonton cups are a fan favorite for game days. Pair up your football watching with this tasty appetizer — they're so easy to make and taste delicious!
★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
These are bangin'!
I don't use that term lightly. These things are. That. Good.
These jalapeño popper wonton cups look appetizing and taste just as good as they look.
They're a nice little bite-sized snack, rich and creamy on the inside with a crunchy shell and a kick of spice. Melted cheddar cheese and salty bacon tops off the perfect bite.
10 Minutes to Prep!
These are simple to prep and only need 15 minutes to cook. So, you'll have a restaurant-quality appetizer ready in under 30 minutes.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
You'll need just 8 ingredients total to pull of this recipe. Simple, yet each ingredient packs some powerful flavor!
Here's everything you'll need:
- Wonton wrappers. They’re available next to the tofu in most grocery stores.
- Avocado oil. You can also use grape, vegetable, or olive oil.
- Cream cheese. The cream cheese blends best if it's room temperature, or you can use whipped cream cheese.
- Cheddar cheese. You can use pre-shredded or shred your own from a block. Sharp or mild, your choice.
- Bacon bits. A big time saver is using packaged bacon bits. Make sure they are made from real bacon. You can certainly make your own bacon bits if you prefer and it's actually a great way to use up leftover bacon.
- Jalapeños. You want to use fresh jalapeños. Remove the stem and seed and then slice. You may want to consider using gloves so avoid the hot oils lingering on your hands the rest of the day.
- Green onions. Also called scallions. You can use chives in a pinch but fresh green onions are best.
- Garlic. You can use fresh, paste, minced or powder. Your preference. You can even leave the garlic out all together if you'd like. I love garlic but sometimes I feel like it can overpower other flavors.
You do not need to add any salt. I find that the bacon adds enough saltiness.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
This jalapeño popper appetizer is pretty simple to make. Here's an overview of whats involved. (For the full recipe scroll down)
- Slice and dice jalapeños and green onions.
- Grease a cupcake pan.
- Brush oil onto wonton wrappers.
- Press wrappers into the pan.
- Bake or air fry the empty cups.
- Mix together filling ingredients.
- Spoon filling into cups.
- Bake again with filling.
- Garish and serve.
That's all there is to it. Very easy to pull off!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Air Frying vs. Baking
If you are baking these instead of air frying, then you may need some additional cook time to ensure the wontons are nice and crispy.
Keep an eye on things and once they turn a deep golden brown, they are ready to come out.
Can't find wonton wrappers?
You can use flour tortillas instead. Just a single layer is all you need since they are thicker than wonton wrappers. Even if you get the smallest size, you will likely need to trim them down to size.
You could also use phyllo dough or puff pastry. Puff pastry is thick so you just need a single layer. Phyllo dough is very thin so you may need 3 or more layers.
Turn the filling into a dip!
You can easily turn this recipe into a dip by simply adding sour cream. Add about 8oz of sour cream (more or less to your liking) to thin out the filling and turn it into a dip.
Try it serving the dip with Ritz crackers, tortilla chips, bagel chips or crusty bread.
★ More Recipes You'll Love ★
Love foods with a little heat?
Browse all my spicy food recipes
Love jalapenos?
I bet you'll also love my Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken! and classic bacon-wrapped Jalapeño Poppers!
Jalapeño Popper Wonton Cups
Ingredients
- 24 wonton wrappers
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil (you can also use grape, vegetable, or olive oil)
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup bacon bits
- 2 jalapenos diced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic or garlic powder
Instructions
- Grease a cupcake pan with avocado oil.
- Brush oil onto just one side of each wonton wrapper.
- Press two wrappers, oil side up, into each cup of the pan.
- Bake or air fry the empty cups at 350˚ for 3-5 minutes, or just until the cups begin to very lightly brown. Do not over bake since these will go back in the oven once they are filled.
- While the cups bake, prepare the filling. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, jalapenos, green onion and garlic.
- Spoon 2 tablespoon of filling into each lightly browned wonton cup. Bake or air fry for an additional 8-10 minutes or until filling is melted and wontons are golden brown. *See Notes if baking.
- Garish with a slice of jalapeno or sliced green onion and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- A double layer of wonton wrappers make the crispy shell that holds the jalapeño popper filling. You can use one wrapper per cup if you prefer but two will give the cups more structure and more crunch.
- Cooking oil helps crisp the wonton wrappers and prevent them from becoming soggy.
- If baking, you may want to add a few extra minutes to get these extra crispy. Keep an eye on them and pull when they are a pretty golden brown.
This jalapeƱo popper wonton cups recipe is delicious and creative. I enjoyed making them!