BBQ Bacon Wrapped Chicken Poppers

This recipe was a Pinterest find. Although it takes a bit of time to put together we enjoyed these as an afternoon snack! I air fried them but these could easily be baked or even grilled. The salty bacon with the heat of the jalapeño and the cream cheese topped with a sweet BBQ sauce….what could be better? I know I’ll be making them again soon.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 jalapeño’s, top cut off and seeds inside removed
• 3/4 cup cream cheese
• 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 scallion, diced
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded thin
• 8 slices of bacon
• 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, we used a sweet sauce/ extra for serving if desired

DIRECTIONS

Slice the tops of the jalapeños off. Make a slit in each jalapeño along one side and carefully remove the seeds. Mix together cream cheese, cheese and scallions, and stuff the jalapeños with this mixture, trying not to overfill.

Pound the chicken so it is thin. Depending on the size of the chicken, slice into 8 strips. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Wrap one chicken strip around each jalapeño popper. Wrap one slice of bacon around each chicken jalapeño trying to seal the top opening with the chicken and bacon so the cheese does not ooze out. Secure with a toothpick or two.

Place the poppers in the air fryer and air fry at 350 for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, brush the bacon wrapped chicken with the barbecue sauce and cook at 400 degrees for 2 minutes. Remove from the fryer, remove toothpicks and serve warm with additional BBQ sauce if desired.

Enjoy!