Vegan Jalapeño Poppers

I have been using Kroger pick-up for most of the pandemic because it minimizes interaction. For one of my recent orders, I asked for 1 jalepeño, and instead I received 1 pound of jalepeños. Obviously that meant I needed to find a way to use them with ingredients I already had in my house, and that's how I created Vegan Jalepeño Poppers. 

I start by making the vegan cream cheese. Then I cut and see the jalepeños. If you want your poppers to be less crunchy, then I suggest baking the jalepeños for 10 - 15 minutes to soften them. I like mine crunchy, so I filled the raw jalepeños with the vegan cream cheese. I used a spoon and tried to fit as much as possible so it would be even throughout the jalepeño. 

Next comes breading the jalepeños. I created a breading station where I would take a filled jalepeño and bread in the liquid and then bread crumbs and then put into a clean dish. 

Then I fried the jalepeños with a pot and some vegetable oil. I did 2 at a time, but if you have a bigger pot, you could probably fit more. 

I had leftover vegan cream cheese, so I used the remaining amount and mixed with almond milk and spices to create a dipping sauce for the poppers. However, feel free to skip the sauce making step if you did not have leftovers or if you want to eat it with your own dipping sauce. And of course, my last step is to enjoy them.

Let me know in the comments if you like/try this receipe, and please like, share, and follow for more content!

Vegan Jalepeño Poppers

Yield: 8 - 10

Prep time: 25 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the vegan cream cheese:

Cashews | 1 cup soaked

Almond Milk | 1/2 cup

Nutritional Yeast | 1 tbps

Lemon Juice | 1 tsp

Parsley | To taste

For the breading:

Flax Seed | 1 tbsp

Water | 1 tbsp + 1/8 cup

Whole Wheat Flour | 1 tsp

Bread Crumbs | 1/2 cup

Jalapeños | 8 - 10 seeded/without ends

Vegetable Oil | for frying

For the sauce:

Vegan Cream Cheese | Remaining Amount

Almond Milk | 1 tbsp

Paprika | 1 tsp

Parsley | 1 tsp

Black Pepper | 1 tsp

Garlic Powder | 1 tsp

Directions

1. For the vegan cream cheese, soak the cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes. Then add all vegan cream cheese ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.

2. Wash the jalepeños and cut the ends off each and remove the seeds. Then fill the jalepeños with the vegan cream cheese by using a spoon and pushing it in to make it even throughout.

3. In one bowl, create a flax egg with the flax seed and 1 tbsp water. Then add the flour and the remaining water and stir. Put breadcrumbs into a second bowl.

4. Take the filled peppers and dip into the first bowl until covered and then into the second bowl of bread crumbs until coated. Repeat until all are breaded.

5. Add vegetable oil to a pot to create a 1 - 2 inch layer of oil and heat over low - medium heat. 

6. Once heated, add the jalepeños 2 - 3 at a time flipping after a couple of minutes. Repeat until all are fried.

7. Make the dipping sauce with the remaining vegan cream cheese, milk, and spices by stirring together. Or serve with ranch or your favorite dip. 

8. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Per 1 popper:

Calories: 110 | Fat: 6.5 g | Saturated Fat: .5 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg |

Sodium: 64 mg | Total Carbs: 10 g | Dietary Fiber: 2 g | Sugars: 2 g | Protein: 4 g