Hot, cheesy, and satisfying! These Jalapeño Popper Wonton Cups appetizer is loaded with bacon, cream cheese, jalapeños and cheddar. It is everything you love about jalapeno poppers in a crunchy wonton! It is the perfect appetizer for a party or the big game!
I originally shared this recipe back in 2017, and today I’m updating it with new information and extra tips!
These Jalapeño Popper Wonton Cups slipped in and stole my heart pretty fast. Hot melted cheese. Spicy peppers. BACON! What’s not to love? Easy prep, plenty of bacon and of course MELTED cheese. This is a simple flexible appetizer that can be made in advance or made gluten free!
What is a Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cup?
Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups take the ingredients in your everyday jalapeno poppers and combine them better! Instead of a messy pepper and cream cheese situation you get tasty, crispy wonton cups! In this recipe the peppers are chopped up which gives great flavor distribution and the mixture is easy to eat. When it comes to avoiding messes I need all the help I can get! And of course jalapeno popper wonton cups add in additional ingredients for a more robust flavor combo.
Making Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups Gluten Free
It is possible to buy or make some kinds of gluten free wonton wrappers to make this recipe fully gluten free. However, when I want to make this GF I bake it up as a jalapeno popper dip instead of as wonton cups!
I spread the filling into a cast iron skillet or baking dish and then bake as I would to make wonton cups. The dip comes out hot and bubbly. It is perfect served with corn tortilla chips or rice crackers. See the recipe for additional information on making the dip version.
Making Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups in Advance
You can make jalapeno popper wonton cups in advance. The best part of any party is being with the people – not getting stuck in the kitchen so it is nice to prepare what you can ahead of time! You can make the filling as far ahead as the day before and keep it in the refrigerator. Store it in a tightly covered container so it doesn’t dry out.
The wonton cups can be baked the day you plan to use them. Just bake as directed and keep at room temperature until you are ready to fill and bake. That way the only cooking you have to do once the party starts is to fill the cups and put them into the oven – five minutes of work at worst!
Note: If you do live in a humid climate be sure to cover baked wonton wrappers carefully so they don’t become soggy.
The Best Fillings for Wonton Appetizers
I love the fun flexibility of wonton appetizers. These little baked cups provide endless possibilities! They can be filled up with taco fillings or pie fillings or even diced up fruit salad and a dollop of whipped cream! They are easy to pick up and eat and fun to look at! Of course cream cheese type dips work perfectly with these crunchy cups. Think hot artichoke parmesan dip or a hot seafood dip!
Variations for Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups
There are lots of great ways to adapt and change the filling in Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups.
- Seafood – add shrimp or crab
- Meat – try sausage, ham, prosciutto, chicken or bits of steak
- Cheese – switch out the sharp cheddar for smoked gouda, parmesan, Swiss, pepper jack or even blue cheese!
- Vegetables – add minced purple onion, diced sweet peppers, sautéed onions, or fresh parsley
The Best Tools To Make Jalapeno Popper Wonton Cups
For even faster prep I use a Vidalia Chop Wizard Pro for dicing the jalapenos. They come out evenly and perfectly sized in a snap. I love the pro version because it’s so much easier to clean than the original. I save a ton of time cutting up food for meals like soup, salsa and stir fry, and I use mine more days than not for soups, dips, salads, omelets – all the things! If you cook much, this is a worthwhile investment.
Freshly grated cheese melts so much better than a lot of the bagged kinds, and this OXO cheese grater is my favorite. It has a box that fits right underneath, so it catches all the cheese as you grate. No mess on the counter!
For the wonton cups, I use my USA Pan 12-cup muffin tin. USA Pan makes the highest quality, most durable bakeware I own, and it does an amazing job baking everything evenly. Honestly, it makes other muffin tins look like junk! It’s an investment that will last you for years.
Reheating Leftover Wonton Cups
If you are lucky enough to have leftovers they should be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. To reheat them place on a sheet pan and bake in a preheated 350F oven until hot through. This takes about 10-15 minutes. Watch them closely.
More Cheesy Appetizer Recipes
Jalapeño Popper Wonton Cups
Ingredients
- 12 wonton wrappers (often sold in produce section of store)
- 8 oz cream cheese brick style
- ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 -3 jalapeños
- 1/3 cup cooked and crumbled bacon or real bacon bits plus additional to garnish if desired
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese plus additional to garnish if desired
- 3 Tablespoons green onions minced
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Put one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup.
- Bake wrappers about 5 minutes until they are starting to brown.
- While the wrappers are in the oven start mixing the filling.
- In a medium glass mixing bowl, microwave the 8 oz cream cheese for 30 seconds.
- Add ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. Stir together with a fork.
- For a less spicy recipe remove and discard the seeds and white pith from the jalapenos (leave it in for more spice). Dice 2 -3 jalapeños small – almost minced.
- Add jalapenos, 3 Tablespoons green onions, 1/3 cup cooked and crumbled bacon or real bacon bits and 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese to the cream cheese mixture – stir to combine.
- When the wontons have browned, use a #24 cookie scoop or portion scoop to add the filling to the wonton cups. Garnish with reserved bacon and cheese.
- Return filled wontons to the oven for 7-9 more minutes until hot through and cheese is melted.
Helpful Recipe Notes
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. - Mirlandra
Nutrition Estimate
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
Melissa Amari says
Well darn, green onions are not in the ingredients list. So didn’t even know to buy that. Oh well, I’m sure they will be good either way!!
Mirlandra says
Oh NO! Melisa I’m so sorry! Epic fail on my part. I’ve gone in and fixed that today. Sorry for that. I’m sure they still tasted amazing though! Thanks so much for letting me know so I could get that taken care of!
Marla says
I have made these several times now, and they have been a big hit! Anything that can be made in advance is always welcomed. Looking forward to trying them with crab meat! Thanks for the recipe!
Mirlandra says
Oh Marla! I’m coming to your house! Crab would be wonderful in these!!! Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad you have enjoyed these so much 🙂
Christine says
are these served warm or cold?
Mirlandra says
I like to serve them good and hot right out of the oven.
Derek says
If you were to use shrimp instead of bacon how would you do that?
Mirlandra says
He Derek – That is a very fun idea! I haven’t done it so I can’t promise what the results would be but I think if you start with cooked shrimp you should be fine. I would use large ones that are cut up small or use small salad shrimp. The biggest issue is that shrimp loose a lot of water when you cook them so starting with cooked shrimp that just need to be heated through with the filling should avoid that. I love this idea – you might just see a shrimp version at some point!