Swap Bacon With Sausage In Your Jalapeño Poppers For A Whole New Vibe

Among the ample list of savory snacks and hors d'oeuvres you can choose from, if you're in the mood for a warm and spicy snack, nothing satisfies your tastebuds quite like classic jalapeño poppers. Fresh jalapeños are stuffed with a creamy mixture of cheeses and then breaded and fried in hot oil. If you're used to making these flavorful bites, you may have already tried wrapping your freshly stuffed jalapeños in bacon before frying. While bacon gives peppers an extra salty yet textured outer layer, have you ever considered making jalapeño poppers with sausage?

Bacon and sausage are both flavorful in their own right, but they come in different forms. When using bacon, wrapping thin strips of pork around jalapeño poppers may seem like the only viable option. Alternatively, sausage gives you extra room to tap into your creative culinary skills since this tasty meat can be incorporated in a variety of ways. Add ground sausage to your standard jalapeño popper filling, or use sausage to make a fully-fledged jalapeño-and-cheese-inspired meal. To elevate your favorite appetizer, cook the sausage before transforming this tasty meat into a satisfying pepper-filled appetizer. Once you're armed with a fresh batch of cooked sausage, you're ready to make a new variety of meaty and flavorful jalapeño poppers. 

Whether you're using a diced portion of super pork sausage or one of the many flavorful varieties of ground sausage, cook your meat and gather the rest of the ingredients to make your cheesy jalapeño popper filling. After mixing cream cheese with another salty cheese like shredded cheddar or grated parmesan, add in the cooked sausage. Then stuff raw jalapeños with your creamy sausage mixture and bake or fry the peppers as usual. Since this upgraded filling is thicker and may be harder to manipulate, you can also slice jalapeños down the middle and spoon the sausage and cheese filling onto each half. Bake the loaded peppers at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 mins. Making open-faced poppers is a great way to add some flavorful extras. Sprinkle the peppers with buttered breadcrumbs before baking or chopped green onions upon serving.

If you're having trouble letting go of bacon-wrapped poppers, there's no reason why you can't use both bacon and sausage to create extra meaty snacks. Wrap fully intact sausage-loaded peppers and fry as usual. If you want to experience the best of both worlds, before baking, add both pre-cooked bacon and crumbled sausage to your cheese filling before scooping the mixture onto raw peppers. Beyond using creamy cheese and sausage to upgrade your favorite appetizer, you can also make a few unique jalapeño popper-inspired dishes with added sausage for an extra kick.

Giving traditional jalapeño poppers a meaty upgrade with sausage is nothing short of delicious, but you can also use this specific flavor profile to make many more creative dishes. If you're looking for a simple and fast breakfast idea, combine pancake mix, sausage, jalapeños, and a combination of cream cheese and cheddar to make jalapeño popper sausage balls. Not only do these convenient snacks come together quickly, but they're a delicious way to infuse that one-of-a-kind jalapeño popper flavor into an easy-to-eat portable snack.

If you're hoping to use similar ingredients to make a well-rounded meal, instead of making your next sausage skillet dinner with apples and potatoes, combine sliced sausage or a combination of bacon and sausage with raw sliced jalapeños and a few more of your favorite vegetables like onions and bell peppers in a frying pan. Add in cream cheese and cook over medium heat until everything has been melded together. Serve this meaty one-pan dish alongside a fresh green salad and a slice or two of homemade bread. To add extra bulk to your skillet meal, add some rice, canned soup, and chicken broth. Adding sausage to jalapeño poppers is one tasty way to elevate your favorite appetizer. Luckily, you can utilize sausage, jalapeños, and cheese to make many more delicious and savory foods.