Spice up your snacktime with my deliciously simple baked Jalapeño Popper Wontons recipe! Triangles of tender dough are stuffed with a salty, spicy, bacon-y cream cheese mixture and baked to crispy perfection.
Whether you’re planning your Super Bowl menu or are just looking for a fun, freezer-friendly appetizer for your next gathering, these 10-ingredient jalapeno popper wontons are sure to impress. After all, who can resist a golden brown pastry pocket stuffed with cheesy goodness—especially when there’s bacon involved? Nobody in my house, that’s for sure.
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Why You’ll Love These Jalapeno Popper Wontons
- Spectacularly Savory - If you're a fan of jalapeno poppers, you're going to flip for these delicious little bites. Between three types of creamy cheese, crispy bacon bits, fiery chile peppers, and fresh green onions, each bite is packed to the brim with yumminess.
- Meal-Prep Magic - If you’re someone who likes to plan ahead, you’re going to love this baked cream cheese wontons recipe. They freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Plus, there's no need to bust out your deep fryer—this easy party food can be baked on a sheet pan, keeping your kitchen nice and clean!
- Budget-Friendly - Rather than spending $4.99 for a box of just 12 jalapeno cream cheese wontons at Trader Joe’s, you can make a batch of 80 at home for roughly the same price.
Ingredients & Substitutions
As promised, you only need 10 simple ingredients to make these wonton jalapeño poppers:
- Block-Style Cream Cheese - If you’d like to lighten things up, use Neufchatel cheese instead of low-fat or fat-free cream cheese.
- Mayonnaise - This helps to thin out the cream cheese filling a bit while still keeping it nice and rich. I recommend Hellman’s/Best Foods, Duke, or Kewpie mayo for the best results. You can also use sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt for a slightly tangier take.
- Garlic Powder - This adds a bit of cooked garlic sweetness to the mix without any hassle. Feel free to swap in onion powder if you prefer. A pinch of asafoetida works, too!
- Bacon Bits - Feel free to use store-bought bacon bits for convenience. You’ll need about 3-4 strips if you’re making them from scratch.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese & Low-Moisture Mozzarella Cheese - Using two kinds of melty cheese amps up the flavor and creates a stretchy filling. Cheese pulls FTW! Feel free to swap in other varieties of cheese (e.g. pepper jack, mild cheddar, etc.) if you prefer.
- Green Onions - Use both the pale and dark parts for the best flavor and a pop of pretty color.
- Jalapeño Peppers - Fresh jalapenos can vary pretty widely in terms of heat, so feel free to add more or less per your tolerance. You can also swap in serrano peppers for an extra spicy experience.
- Store-Bought Wonton Wrappers - You can usually find them in the produce section of the grocery store. Egg roll wrappers cut into quarters work just as well!
- Avocado Oil - For brushing the wontons before baking, which helps them get nice and crisp. Any neutral oil will work—feel free to swap in canola or grapeseed oil if needed.
How to Make Jalapeño Popper Wontons Like Trader Joe’s
These baked wontons come together in just a few simple steps:
Step 1: Mix cream cheese, mayo or sour cream, and garlic powder in a medium bowl until uniform.
Step 2: Add the garlic powder, cheddar, mozzarella, bacon bits, jalapeños, and scallions to the cream cheese mixture, gently stirring until evenly distributed.
Step 3: Dollop. Place a small (roughly 1 teaspoon) amount of the spicy filling in the middle of a wrapper. (Keep other wrappers under a damp towel as you work to prevent them from drying out.)
Step 4: Seal. Wet the outside edges of the filled wonton wrapper using your forefinger dipped in a bowl of water, then fold into a triangle. Seal by pressing the tines of a fork around the edges of the wonton wrappers, crimping them shut. NOTE: You can freeze the wontons for later after this step.
Step 5: Bake. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place wontons on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly spritz the tops of the wrappers with avocado oil (or use a pastry brush to brush the oil on). Bake in the preheated oven for 12-18 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Serve warm & enjoy! Feel free to offer a dipping sauce on the side if you'd like.
Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations
- Dairy-Free - Use vegan cream cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella to keep things dairy-free.
- Vegan - Go dairy-free with your cheese and use vegan bacon bits to make these snacks totally plant-based and vegan-friendly.
- Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups - Want to cut down on prep work? Make your jalapeño wontons a slightly different way! Spritz a mini muffin tin with cooking spray, then line the wells with square wonton wrappers. Spoon in the filling, brush the exposed pastry with oil, and bake into crispy wonton cups.
- Deconstructed Wontons - Make the filling, but bake it in a small oven-safe bowl for an easy jalapeño popper dip. Serve with either baked or deep fried wonton chips and/or tortilla chips!
- Adjust the Heat - Not a fan of spicy foods? Remove and discard the white membranes and seeds from the jalapeños before dicing. Why? Capsaicin (the compound that makes jalapeños taste spicy) is most prominent in those parts of the fruit, so removing them will cut down on the heat!
Expert Tips
- Use freshly shredded cheese for the best results. The pre-shredded kind gets coated in starch to prevent it from glomming together in the bag, but the starch affects how well it melts.
- Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands after handling jalapeños—you don’t want to accidentally touch your eyes or use the restroom with all that spiciness on your hands!
- Crimp the edges of the wontons with a fork to prevent the cheesy filling from busting out the sides when you bake them!
Serving Suggestions
These baked jalapeño cream cheese wontons are one of my favorite appetizers for football season. I can't think of a more iconic game day snack than jalapeño poppers, but wrapping all that goodness up in a crispy wonton shell? That's next level, right there.
While these crispy bites are yummy all on their own, you’re more than welcome to pair them with your favorite dipping sauce—spicy cilantro garlic lime sauce, pepper jelly, hot honey, sweet chili sauce, and spicy ranch dressing are all great contenders. If you’re looking for other fan favorite finger foods to fill out your buffet table, swiss cheese ham delights and Hawaiian BBQ chicken sliders are tough to beat.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Unbaked jalapeno wonton poppers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Note that they will have a tendency to stick together, so it's important to separate them with parchment and store in a single layer.
- To freeze raw wontons, place them on a parchment-lined plate in a single layer, then pop the plate in the freezer for about an hour. Once the wontons are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, allow to defrost overnight in the fridge or for an hour or so at room temperature, then bake as directed. Make sure you lay them out on your parchment-lined sheet pan before defrosting so they don't glom together.
- Allow any leftover baked wontons to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. They'll keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or can be frozen for up to a month.
FAQs
Taste is subjective, so "the best" will be different for different folks. Creamy sauces like Chuy’s jalapeno ranch tend to be my hubby’s favorite, whereas I prefer spicy-sweet dips like red pepper jelly or hot honey.
Crab rangoon are a variety of cream cheese wontons, but not all cream cheese wontons are crab rangoon. This particular cream cheese wonton recipe eschews the seafood in favor of fresh jalapenos and bacon for a fun twist on jalapeño poppers!
Imagine all the delicious flavor of a jalapeño popper—you know, spicy peppers stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked till crisp and melty—except all wrapped up in a tidy wonton package. In other words, they're the perfect snack for game day parties!
More Easy Game Day Recipes
Baked Jalapeño Popper Wontons
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz Cream Cheese block-style, softened
- ½ cup Mayonnaise or Sour Cream
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ cup Bacon Bits about 3-4 strips if making from scratch
- ½ cup Freshly Shredded Cheddar
- ½ cup Freshly Shredded Mozzarella block-style, not fresh
- 3-4 Green Onions thinly sliced
- 3 Jalapeños small dice
- 1 package Wonton Wrappers or egg roll wrappers cut into ¼s
- 1-2 tablespoon Avocado Oil or more as needed
- Water
Instructions
- Mix cream cheese, mayo or sour cream, and garlic powder in a medium mixing bowl until uniform.8 oz Cream Cheese, ½ cup Mayonnaise or Sour Cream, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Add all mix-ins, gently stirring until evenly distributed.¼ cup Bacon Bits, ½ cup Freshly Shredded Cheddar, ½ cup Freshly Shredded Mozzarella, 3-4 Green Onions, 3 Jalapeños
- Place a small (roughly 1 teaspoon) amount of filling in the middle of a wrapper. (Keep other wrappers under a damp towel as you work to prevent them from drying out.)1 package Wonton Wrappers
- Wet the outside edges of the wrapper using your forefinger dipped in a bowl of water, then fold into a triangle. Seal by pressing the tines of a fork around the edges. NOTE: You can freeze these for later after this step. Line a sheet tray or plate with parchment and freeze in a single layer before transferring to a freezer bag and removing as much air as possible. They'll keep well for up to 3 months.Water
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place wontons on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly spritz with avocado oil (or use a pastry brush to brush the tops).1-2 tablespoon Avocado Oil
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-18 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Serve warm & enjoy! Feel free to offer a dipping sauce on the side if you'd like.
Notes
- Use freshly shredded cheese for the best results. The pre-shredded kind gets coated in starch to prevent it from glomming together in the bag, but the starch affects how well it melts.
- Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands after handling jalapeños—you don’t want to accidentally touch your eyes or use the restroom with all that spiciness on your hands!
- Crimp the edges of the wontons with a fork to prevent the cheesy filling from busting out the sides when you bake them!
- Unbaked jalapeno wonton poppers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Note that they will have a tendency to stick together, so it's important to separate them with parchment and store in a single layer.
- To freeze raw wontons, place them on a parchment-lined plate in a single layer, then pop the plate in the freezer for about an hour. Once the wontons are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, allow to defrost overnight in the fridge or for an hour or so at room temperature, then bake as directed. Make sure you lay them out on your parchment-lined sheet pan before defrosting so they don't glom together.
- Allow any leftover baked wontons to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. They'll keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or can be frozen for up to a month.
- Dairy-Free - Use vegan cream cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella to keep things dairy-free.
- Vegan - Go dairy-free with your cheese and use vegan bacon bits to make these snacks totally plant-based and vegan-friendly.
- Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups - Want to cut down on prep work? Make your jalapeño wontons a slightly different way! Spritz a mini muffin tin with cooking spray, then line the wells with square wonton wrappers. Spoon in the filling, brush the exposed pastry with oil, and bake into crispy wonton cups.
- Deconstructed Wontons - Make the filling, but bake it in a small oven-safe bowl for an easy jalapeño popper dip. Serve with either baked or deep fried wonton chips and/or tortilla chips!
- Adjust the Heat - Not a fan of spicy foods? Remove and discard the white membranes and seeds from the jalapeños before dicing. Why? Capsaicin (the compound that makes jalapeños taste spicy) is most prominent in those parts of the fruit, so removing them will cut down on the heat!
Nutrition
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