These easy vegan jalapeño poppers are packed with homemade vegan cream cheese, topped with breadcrumbs and baked to perfection. Insanely delicious!
So you know the classic version of jalapeño poppers is crumbed, deep fried and stuffed with cheese! Of course our vegan jalapeño poppers are a little different.
We wanted to bake them instead of frying so we can avoid the whole deep frying thing. I mean there’s a time and place for deep fried I’m sure but it’s not something I’ve been keen to do at home (so far anyway).
And honestly I think these baked vegan poppers taste just as good if not better. In fact they are so good that each time we’ve made them, they’ve disappeared within minutes of coming out of the oven. Dipped in a little sweet chili sauce they are just magic.
And they’re super easy too! And if you love some delicious vegan party snacks then you’ll also love our vegan nachos, vegan spinach artichoke dip and vegan shrimp.
What You’ll Need To Make These Poppers:
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan cream cheese – the cashews, lemon juice, coconut cream, vinegar, salt, onion powder and garlic powder are for the homemade vegan cream cheese that we’ll use to stuff the poppers. If you prefer to use a store-bought vegan cream cheese then you can do that too.
- Breadcrumbs – you can use any brand of vegan breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs.
- Vegan butter – this mixes with the breadcrumbs for the topping.
How To Make Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Make a batch of vegan cream cheese. We made a homemade vegan cream cheese for this which is super easy and made in the blender. The only thing you have to remember is to soak the cashews first. Ideally for an hour in hot water, but if you forget, even 15 minutes will do! Place the cashews in a bowl, pour over boiling hot water from the kettle and leave to soak.
- Then add the soaked and drained cashews to your blender along with lemon juice, coconut cream, white vinegar, salt, onion powder and garlic powder and blend until smooth.
- Prepare your jalapeño peppers. Put on some gloves (very nb – more about that below) and then slice the peppers in half lengthways. Leave the stems intact if you can and then hollow the peppers out with a teaspoon.
- When all your peppers are prepared place them onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Stuff the peppers with the cream cheese.
- Top with breadcrumbs. Now add some breadcrumbs to a bowl, add in a little melted vegan butter and toss with the breadcrumbs so that they’re all lightly coated with the butter. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of your poppers.
- Bake in the oven at 400°F for 20-25 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and crispy.
- Your poppers are ready to serve!
Chef’s Tips
Vegan Cream Cheese. We used a homemade version of cream cheese based on our vegan cream cheese recipe. Honestly this homemade cream cheese is SO delicious that it’s worthwhile to make some. But if you’d prefer to save some time on this recipe then you can also use a store-bought plain vegan cream cheese like Tofutti or whatever your favorite brand is.
We just recommend you add a little extra flavoring to it in the form of a little garlic powder and onion powder plus some salt to taste if you do go that route. Instructions for both can be found in the recipe card.
Wear gloves. Handling jalapeño peppers is not for the faint of heart! The oils and residue from the peppers can be very hard to wash off your hands, and then if you rub your eyes hours later you might be in some trouble! So it’s a very good idea to wear some gloves before handling the peppers at all.
How To Serve Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
Serve them topped with some fresh chopped cilantro for some color and extra flavor and some sweet chili sauce for dipping! They are amazing served as a snack or appetizer.
Make Ahead and Storing
Make ahead: You could prepare the poppers up to the point of stuffing them with the cream cheese, and then cover them and refrigerate. When you’re ready to bake them, top them with the breadcrumbs and bake as usual. I wouldn’t do this too far ahead, the day before would be fine.
Storing leftovers: It’s actually unlikely that there will be any leftovers at all! But if you do have some, then place them into an airtight container and store them in the fridge for 3-4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave.
More Delicious Vegan Party Snacks
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
Ingredients
For the Vegan Cream Cheese:
- 1 ½ cups Raw Cashews (225g) soaked in hot water for 1 hour and then drained
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ½ cup Canned Coconut Cream (120ml) Unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
For the Poppers:
- 12 Jalapeño Peppers
- ½ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1 Tablespoon Vegan Butter Melted
For Serving:
- Fresh Chopped Cilantro
- Sweet Chili Sauce
Instructions
- Add the soaked cashews to your blender jug along with the lemon juice, coconut cream, white vinegar, salt, onion powder and garlic powder and blend until smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Put on some gloves (*see notes) and then slice the peppers in half lengthways. Leave the stems intact if you can and then hollow the peppers out with a teaspoon.
- When all your peppers are prepared place them onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Stuff the peppers with the cream cheese.
- Now add the breadcrumbs to a bowl, add the melted vegan butter and toss with the breadcrumbs so that they’re lightly coated with the butter.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of your poppers and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and crispy on top.
- Serve them topped with some fresh chopped cilantro and sweet chili sauce for dipping.
Video
Notes
- Cashews: To soak the cashews place them in a bowl and then pour over boiling hot water from the kettle. Leave them to soak for 1 hour. If you’re in a rush you can get by with soaking them for 15 minutes but an hour is more ideal to make these really easy to blend.
- Coconut Cream: The coconut cream should be canned unsweetened coconut cream. If you can’t get coconut cream then full fat canned unsweetened coconut milk will also work.
- Make it with store-bought vegan cream cheese: If you’d like to make this recipe with a store-bought plain vegan cream cheese, something like Tofutti brand, then you can do so. You will need 14 ounces (400g) of cream cheese and it would be best to flavor it a little by adding the 1 teaspoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon garlic powder from our recipe plus salt to taste to the cream cheese and stirring it in.
- It’s recommended to wear gloves when handling the peppers. Oils and residue from the jalapeño peppers can be very hard to wash off your hands so it’s a very good idea to wear some gloves before handling the peppers.
- Vegan breadcrumbs. You can really use any brand of vegan breadcrumbs for this recipe. Panko breadcrumbs is a good option but use whatever is easiest for you.
- Make ahead: You could prepare the poppers up to the point of stuffing them with the cream cheese, and then cover them and refrigerate. When you’re ready to bake them, top them with the breadcrumbs and bake as usual. I wouldn’t do this too far ahead, the day before would be fine.
- Storing leftovers: Leftovers can be placed into an airtight container and stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave.
- Prep time excludes the time spent soaking the cashews.
- Nutritional information is for poppers only and excludes dipping sauce.
These look fabulous! Could u use Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar instead of the vinegar?
You can use apple cider vinegar, but distilled white vinegar is a little better in terms of flavor.
Yummy, highly recommend!
I had only half the required cashews so used half cashew and half sunflower seeds. So tasty and nutritious!
What blender do you use to get the cashew so creamy? Mine is always gritty.
Thanks
Hi Michele, we use a Vitamix, but even in the Vitamix it can come out gritty if it’s not blended for long enough. It can take a bit of patience to get it really smooth.
Sounds soo good! Will try this recipe for a party on the weekend instead of bought crisps. Sounds like a hit!
Thanks Anna!