Jalapeno poppers are a delicious snack or side dish that can be stuffed with various ingredients – pretty much anything you want! However, spicy jalapeno peppers balanced by sweet, soft cream cheese filling are easy enough to make but will only last a few days in your fridge.
For those times when you have made one too many, or you want to stop your jalapeno poppers from going bad too quickly, you could always try freezing them.
To freeze jalapeno poppers, lay them out on a baking tray and freeze solid once cooled. Once frozen, pop them into an airtight container and freeze for around 4 months.
How to Freeze Jalapeno Poppers
You can directly freeze your cooked jalapeno poppers with very little prep work:
- Allow to Cool
If you have just cooked your jalapeno poppers, leave them to cool for 5 minutes. - Prepare a Baking Tray
Jalapeno poppers should not just be packed into a container and frozen. You will first need to grab some parchment paper and a baking tray to fit all the poppers you want to freeze. Do not skip out on lining your baking tray with parchment paper. - Arrange the Poppers
Organize your jalapeno poppers so that there is a gap of around 1/2 an inch between each popper on your baking tray. This will allow the freezer’s cold air to flow better between each popper and make for an even freeze. - Flash Freeze
Try to make room in the middle of your freezer shelf where you can leave the jalapeno popper frozen for at least 12 hours, ideally 24 hours. Avoid putting the tray of jalapeno popper too close to the freezer walls. This will make the poppers closest to the walls freeze too quickly, ruining their texture. - Move to an Airtight Container
Once you are sure that the jalapeno poppers are frozen, you can transfer them to a longer-term storage container. Using an airtight container or a freezer bag to store the poppers will help prevent freezer burn and make them last for around 4 months. - Label And Freeze
All that is left to do is label your jalapeno poppers and store them properly in your freezer. When making a bigger batch of jalapeno popper with a range of flavours, separate those flavours into different containers and label each flavour accordingly.
Defrosting cooked jalapeno poppers is as simple as lining them up on a baking tray and putting them in the oven at a medium heat for between 5-10 minutes (or until they are hot).
Yes, uncooked jalapeno poppers can be frozen. Freeze them on a baking sheet until they’re solid and then portion them out into good-quality freezer bags.
How to Freeze Jalapeno Poppers Successfully
Freezing homemade jalapeno poppers is not overly difficult, but there are some tips you should consider if you want to freeze your jalapeno poppers successfully:
- Try Freezing Raw Jalapeno Poppers – If you are prepping a big batch of jalapeno poppers but don’t want to cook them all right away, you can freeze raw jalapeno poppers in the same way you can cooked jalapeno poppers.
- Allow Extra Cooking Time for Raw Frozen Jalapeno Poppers – The only difference between defrosting cooked and raw jalapeno poppers is that you will need to bake raw jalapeno poppers for 5-10 minutes longer. This will ensure that the poppers are cooked all the way through. You may also want to cook your jalapeno poppers longer if they include meat.
- Don’t Pre-Cook Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers – The great thing about jalapeno poppers is that they can be stuffed and wrapped in whatever you want, a popular wrapping choice being bacon. However, cooked bacon does not defrost as well as other wrapping choices. So, freeze your bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers raw.
- Freeze Straight Away – Cooked jalapeno poppers don’t have to be frozen straight away. They can be kept in your fridge for a few days and then frozen. But the sooner the jalapeno poppers are frozen, the quicker their fresh flavour can be locked in, and the better they taste when reheated.
- Don’t Freeze When Still Warm – When you are freezing cooked jalapeno poppers, you must ensure that they are properly cooled down before freezing. The sudden change from hot to cold can make the peppers mushy and ruin the poppers’ texture altogether.
- Do Not Flash Freeze for Longer Than 24 Hours – Though it is easy to forget to check on your jalapeno popper as they freeze, don’t wait longer than 24 hours to transfer them from a baking tray to an airtight container. The longer the jalapeno poppers are directly exposed to the cold, the more likely they will develop freezer burn.
Do Jalapeno Poppers Freeze Well?
Yes, jalapeno poppers freeze great! With a quick flash freeze, the crisp outer texture and flavourful centre will remain crunchy and delicious no matter what you have used to flavour your poppers.
The great news is that you can cook them directly from frozen!
Freezing Jalapeno Poppers FAQs
Do you still have a few unanswered queries about freezing jalapenos poppers? Then see if these FAQs help you out:
Yes, jalapenos can be stuffed with various fillings and then frozen. There is a risk that cream cheese will become a little grainy when frozen and then defrosted, but this is negligible when used as a filling in jalapenos.
Whole stuffed jalapenos can be frozen. You can either wrap each jalapeno in cling film or freeze them on a baking tray. Once solid, pop them into a freezer bag.
Yes, jalapenos poppers can be frozen before they’re cooked. Lay the uncooked poppers out on a baking tray and freeze solid. After 18 hours or so, they can be transferred to an airtight container or freezer bag.
Acacia may be a freelance writer by day, but they are a food fanatic by night. They are always trying out new recipes or finding different ways to elevate classical dishes. But their biggest culinary aim is to educate others on the basics of the kitchen so that they too can enjoy delicious food.
