Smoked Mushroom Jalapeño Poppers

I love jalapeño poppers, but unfortunately, they don’t love me so much. If you suffer from the morning after effects of those little nuggets, then these mushroom jalapeño poppers might be your alternative, too.

Smoked Mushroom Jalapeño Poppers

I’ve taken the humble mushy, stuffed it with two types of cheese, some seasonings, and jalapeños, wrapped the whole thing with bacon, and topped it with smashed seasoned potato chips. They really are a mouthful of deliciousness!  

Ingredients you’ll need

• Mushrooms – button or cremini are the most suitable.
• Cream cheese
• Cheddar cheese
• Cilantro – fresh, and only the stems are required.
• Seasonings – garlic powder and paprika.
• Jalapeños – I used pickled slices, but fresh would work.
• Bacon – thin cut.
• Potato chips – I used salted, but who’s to say a flavored chip wouldn’t work?
• Parmesan cheese
• BBQ seasoning – I used Smoked Kitchen Pitmasters Pick. You don’t use a lot of this seasoning, so if you don’t have any, it’s not a deal breaker.

Equipment you’ll need

• Bowl
• Graters – medium and fine.
• Teaspoon
• Toothpicks
• Grill basket – optional
• Grill/Pellet Grill

How to make mushroom jalapeño poppers

1. Fire up the grill

Fire the grill up to 350°F.

I used my Z Grills pellet grill for this cook.

2. Prep the mushrooms

Give the mushrooms a wipe to get any little bits of dirt off.

Carefully pinch out the stem.

To maximize the stuffing area, trim the excess skin around the edges. I do this with my fingers, or you could use a small pair of scissors. You don’t need to peel the whole mushroom.

3. Prep the filling

Add the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, paprika, garlic powder, cilantro stems, and jalapeño to a medium-sized bowl. Give it a good mix until it’s well combined. You don’t want to see any white streaks of cream cheese.

4. Prep the topping

Place your chips in a bowl and smash them up. Don’t be too aggressive, they’ll end up all over your bench.

You’re not looking for a fine texture here as you still want a bit of crunch; in saying that too big, you won’t fit much on top of your mushroom.

Add the grated parmesan and give it a good mix.

5. Prep the bacon

You want a good mushroom-to-bacon ratio, so you may have to trim your bacon slices to suit.

Mine were a thin, streaky cut. The length was good but too wide, so I cut each strip in half lengthways, which gave me two strips.

6. Put it together

Take your mushroom and spoon some of the cream cheese filling into it. Squish it down to make sure you fill all the space available. 

Wrap a slice of bacon around the mushroom and stick a toothpick through where the end and beginning meet to secure it.

I trimmed off the excess bacon once I’d stuck the toothpick through; this is optional, I like the tidy look.

Place a slice of pickled jalapeño on top of the filling and then pack on some of the crushed potato chip mixture.

Give each mushroom a little sprinkle of BBQ seasoning.

7. Smoke

Put the prepped mushies into a grill basket. You could put them straight on the grill. I found the basket contained them as they could be a bit wobbly, and it was faster getting them on and off.

Place the basket inside the grill and shut the lid.

Cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until the bacon is golden and crispy to your liking.

Leave to cool slightly, hot cream cheese is well-known for searing the roof of your mouth!

Love jalapeños? Give these a try

• Texas Twinkies
• Smoked Jalapeño Poppers
• Jalapeño Popper Shotgun Shells
• The Ultimate Jalapeño Popper Dip
• Grilled Brisket Breakfast Burrito