Jalapeno Popper Dip

Ah the Superbowl. I couldn’t care less about the game, but I love the party food. I always feel like a house wife from the 50’s when I present this chip covered mini-casserole. This jalapeno popper dip is a hit every single time I make it. I have never ended up with leftovers! It’s a little more work to make this than it is to make poppers, but it’s totally worth it. I promise you will not be thinking about the time spent when you taste it.

I got my inspiration for this Jalapeno popper dip from this A Beautiful Mess post. No offense to that recipe, but I knew I could do better than canned peppers. I’ve been accused of making cooking harder because I see a short cut and think “how could I break that down and make it from the beginning”. I regret nothing. It has never made something taste worse to start from scratch instead of from a can.

Unlike a traditional popper, there is no bacon in this dip. Never thought I would write these words, but this honestly has enough going on it doesn’t need bacon. I’ve made it both ways, people seemed to like it more without bacon. Pretty much all the taste in this dip comes from the jalapenos. If you haven’t roasted peppers before, it can seem intimidating. It is actually really easy since you want to burn them! I’m going to make this dip spicy in the below tutorial. If you don’t want it spicy, omit or reduce the crushed red peppers and roast all the jalapenos instead of leaving some raw.

JALAPENO POPPER DIP

10 jalapenos

1/2 cup green onions

1/4 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1 8oz package of cream

1 ½ cups extra sharp Cheddar cheese, not packed

Jalapeno cheddar potato chips, 1 handful crushed

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1. Set the broiler to HI.

2. Remove the stems and seeds and half 8 jalapenos. Arrange them cut side down on a baking sheet.

3. Broil the peppers until the skins bubble and blackens. Once done, immediately put the hot peppers in a container with a tight fitting lid to steam.

4. Soften a package of cream cheese and blend with mayo and sour cream.

5. Grate cheddar cheese on a medium to fine grate.

6. Dice the 2 uncooked jalapenos and the the green onions.

7. When the peppers are cooled peel the skins off and discard them. Dice the peppers. Fold the roasted and raw jalapenos, cheese, crushed red pepper and onions into the blended cream cheese mixture. Smooth into a shallow oven safe dish.

8. In a quart bag crush a handful of cheddar jalapeno chips finely and sprinkle on top.

9. Bake uncovered at 325° for 15 minutes to warm, blast with the broiler if you want to crisp the top. Or microwave OR just leave at room temp!

Set your oven to broil on high. Wash and dry all of the jalapenos.

You’re going to be cutting a lot of spicy peppers. If you wear contacts like I do, I recommend some creepy-yet effective-latex gloves.

Slice all the peppers in half.

Use a spoon or your fingers to remove the seeds. 

Throw them in the compost or trash, not down the garbage disposal. They will go airborne in the disposal, even with water.

On a cookie sheet lined with foil, lay out 16-18 halves, reserving 2-4. Spray the halves with a little olive oil and pop them in the oven. You will want these to blacken and blister, but don’t forget to check on them every few minutes while they are cooking. Make sure you have a container with a tight fitting lid standing by big enough to fit all the jalapenos.

Meanwhile, (with gloves still on!) chop up the reserved fresh jalapenos. The amount of raw jalapenos you choose to use will affect the spiciness. 2 whole raw jalapenos will be more spicy vs 1 or none.Once diced, set these aside. You can finally shed your gloves at this stage. 

Cube and soften the cream cheese in the microwave.

Stir in the mayonnaise and sour cream. This forms the base of the dip.

Chop the green onions into small pieces.

Add the raw jalapenos and green onions to the dip base.

Finely shred the cheddar cheese. Don’t pack it down when you measure it or you will end up using too much! Stir the cheese into the dip.

The peppers should be finished around now. Mine probably could have been even blacker, but this is enough to loosen the skins. 

When you take the peppers out of the oven, immediately put them all into the sealed container to steam. Let them hang out until they are cool to the touch.

Now the tedious part! Peel the skins from the jalapenos. If you have cooked them long enough the skins will come off easily. Discard the skins.

Dice the roasted jalapenos into small pieces.

Stir them into the dip base. It will look like it’s too much, but it’s not! Roasting the jalapenos pretty much removes their spice while retaining a roasty pepper flavor.

Add red pepper flakes if you would like to restore some heat.

Scoop the dip into a shallow dish and smooth it out. Use an oven safe dish if you wish to bake it, or microwave safe if you’d like to heat it that way.

Last step is to crush some chips for the topping. Use any kettle style jalapeno cheddar chip you like.

Put a large handful into a baggy and use a rolling pin to crush them. You don’t want dust, but they should be small.

If you are making this for later, reserve the chips for right before you heat the dip. The dip will last for a while in the fridge, so this is easy to make ahead! When you are ready to serve, evenly sprinkle the crushed chips over the top. Heat the dip in the oven at 350°F for 15 minutes, or heat in the microwave until hot and bubbly.