VeganMoFo: "J" is for Jalapeno Poppers Revisited

The "V" Word continues its celebration of VeganMoFo, a month of delicious food, with the other 25 letters of the alphabet. Today the letter "J" is for Jalapeno Poppers Revisited.

Last March I wrote a post with a recipe for my fried Jalapeno Poppers.

Fried Jalapeno Popper

Well, that has become my most popular recipe post on the blog by a long shot. While my "Breaking Up with Richard Gere" is the most viewed post so far this month, my Jalapeno Poppers are right behind. And the stats for number of views for all time show that my Jalapeno Poppers may be beating Richard by only 20 views but they both have more than double the views of the next most popular post, my Eggplant Rollatini recipe.

I guess that's not a big surprise. Anytime I post a recipe that is breaded, fried and indulgent, it gets a lot of visits and comments. My healthier recipes are just not as popular. It also helps that my Jalapeno Poppers were featured on Vegan.com and VeganEtsy. It's much more surprising that my post about Richard Gere gets so much traffic but then again, what's better than fried appetizers and handsome men?

But as I've mentioned so many times, fried food is my last vice. Whenever I feel the need for comfort food, I reach for the oil. In an effort to be able to indulge in my favorite comfort foods but not wreck my health, I decided to revisit my Jalapeno Poppers and give them a healthy makeover. So I ditched the oil, the flour, the milk and the bread crumbs. What's left? Only the most delicious, spicy, creamy, BAKED jalapeno popper.

Baked Jalapeno Popper

That's right - no dredging, no breading, no frying. Just beautiful jalapeno peppers stuffed with a flavor-packed mixture of Vegan cream cheese, Daiya, scallions and spices. I think they actually taste better than the fried version because you can really taste the jalapeno. The taste of the pepper is not all covered up in breading and oil. These taste fresh, they actually taste healthy...well, healthier.

Now when I need some comfort food, I can have my Baked Jalapeno Poppers and take comfort from the fact that I am not going to make myself feel worse by trying to make myself feel better. Watch out, Richard Gere, these might give you a run for your money :)

Jalapeno Poppers Revisited

Ingredients

12 jalapeno peppers
6 oz. Vegan cream cheese (I now love Galaxy)
1 cup Daiya Pepperjack shreds
4 scallions, finely chopped
2 tsps. Mexican chile powder
2 tsps. garlic powder
Cooking spray

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the stems off the peppers and slice them in half. Remove the seeds and the ribs.

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, Daiya shreds, scallions and spices. Mix it well to make sure the spices are evenly distributed.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with the cooking spray. Add about 1 Tbs. of the cream cheese mixture to each pepper half. Lay the filled peppers onto the baking sheet. Spray the tops of the peppers with the cooking spray.

Bake for about 15 minutes. The peppers should be softened but not mushy. The time will depend a lot on how hot your oven gets. When the cheese is melted and the peppers are softened, they are ready to eat.

Serve while hot. Enjoy!

"J" is for Jalapeno Poppers Revisited. For another "J" word, check out my original fried Jalapeno Poppers.

The "V" Word: Say it. Eat it. Live it.