Nutrition Recipe: Fireside Turkey Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers Two Ways

Jalapeno poppers are always a party favorite, so making them more nutritious and less guilt filled was a challenge.

Continuing our celebration of National Nutrition Month, we are collaborating on a party favorite recipe with Day by Day Nutrition, LLC‘s Jocelin Lamprey RD, LDN. We always love seeing jalapeno poppers at parties, but they are usually fried, breaded, and overall, not really full of any nutrients except for maybe the pepper itself.

There are plenty of Southwest flavors which can go into a jalapeno popper to reduce the amount of cheese and breading needed to give flavor and texture. So many flavors, in fact, that we came up with 2 different recipes! Not only did we develop 2 different recipes for the filling. but we also tried to turn up the spice by trying both jalapeno and serrano peppers. The serranos will make you sweat, so be careful.

We made a few key adjustments to the traditional poppers. The first was adding ingredients so there wouldn’t have to be as much cheese. We did black beans, corn, and Farmers and Cooks Southwest Turkey with various spices. We also cut out some of the fat by using 1/3 fat cream cheese, and only sprinkling cheese on top of the poppers.

Fireside Turkey Jalapeno Poppers x2

-makes 10 servings as an appetizer

Ingredients

1/2 lb. Farmers & Cooks Fireside Turkey (buy as a whole piece)

25 Jalapeno (or Serrano) Peppers
2 8 oz packages of 1/3 fat cream cheese
12 oz package finely shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 12 oz can Black Beans
1 12 oz can no salt added Corn
1-1/2 TSP Chile Powder
1/2 TSP Ground Cumin
1/2 TSP Cayenne Pepper
1/2 TSP Smoked Paprika
1/2 TSP Salt
1/4 TSP Group Black Pepper

Prep

  1. Leave cream cheese out to let it soften.
  2. Cut turkey into small pieces.
  3. Slice peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds. Be careful when handling peppers, and wash hands afterward.
  4. Drain and rinse Black Beans and Corn. Keep separate.

Assembly

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Prep all ingredients as indicated above.
  3. Get 2 mixing bowls, and place one package of cream cheese in each bowl.
  4. Put black beans in one bowl and corn in the other bowl.
  5. Separate spices between two bowls, and salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Mix both bowls until combined.
  7. Prep baking sheet with tin foil for easy cleanup.
  8. Generously spoon mixture into peppers and top with shredded cheese.
  9. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the desired doneness is reached. We like the cheese browned and the peppers heated through.
  10. Allow poppers to cool for 5 minutes (so you don’t burn you or your guests!) and serve.

The spice amounts can be altered to bring the heat and flavor in different directions. These two different kinds of poppers can also be combined to have corn and black beans in all of them. Did you make any alterations? Let us know and tell us how this recipe was on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest! Did this spark your own recipe idea? Do you use our Fireside Turkey in something all the time? We would love to hear from you!

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