Vegan Jalapeno Poppers (Gluten Free)

A couple of weeks back, a group of my cousins went out for Christmas dinner and drinks. 

At our first stop for drinks, there was basically nothing on the menu I could order on my diet (vegan + gluten free) so I had to watch others eat. This doesn’t bother me normally...

One of the dishes was jalapeño poppers. 

They looked amazing.

I don’t normally eat fried foods, but I wanted to eat these bad boys.

Fast forward to this week, I was out grocery shopping and the fresh green smooth jalapeños caught my eye.

That’s it, I am doing it. I am making easy gluten free vegan jalapeño poppers.

And so here we are.

I made three batches. All three tasted amazing. Only one, looked presentable.

Each batch used a varying breading. I wanted to see which one worked out best.

Batch one - I used aquafaba mixed with chickpea flour as the wet coat, then dipped into cornflour (corn starch) and rice flour, and then homemade gluten free bread crumbs. These jalapeño poppers tasted amazing and had a serious crunch on them, but they fried a really dark shade of brown (almost black) that didn’t look appetising.

Batch two - I used aquafaba dipped in rice flour. The taste was great, but the coating didn’t stick too well on the jalapeños.

Batch three - I used aquafaba dipped in a combination of rice flour, cornflour (corn starch) and some nutritional yeast. These turned out fab! The coating was extra crunchy and the taste was bang on.

Out of the three batches (21 pieces) of vegan stuffed jalapeños only two individuals were super hot, and I was the lucky recipient of the hottest jalapeño from hell. 

Haha. Guess it was my lucky day.

Albeit all that heat, where I was licking my tingling lips and slurping my extra saliva, I absolutely love these.

The taste combination of the crispy outer shell with the unique jalapeño flavour and the stuffing of cashew cream is super good.

So good, I had a few.

Never mind, I will be eating loads of salads moving forward, like my fresh orange and fennel salad with a side of crunchy oven roasted cumin chickpea.

Why you’ll love these vegan jalapeño poppers

• They are soy free and gluten free
• Made with all natural ingredients
• Un-cooked jalapeno poppers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for a couple of days 
• Straightforward to make
• They are the best party food - seriously these will disappear in no time

Did you know that jalapeño poppers are also known as jalapeño bites or armadillo eggs due to their resemblance to scotch eggs.

Let’s get on with how to make vegan jalapeño poppers, this is conducted in three sections -  1. preparing the vegan cashew cream filling, 2 preparing the jalapeños and 3. breading and frying.

🥘Ingredients

Jalapeños - pick out the super smooth green ones with no blemishes, these are the freshest. If you have left over jalapenos, make skhug..

Cooking oil - use your preferred neutral oil for frying

Filling

• Raw cashew nuts
• Garlic powder
• Nutritional yeast - this gives a cheesy flavour
• Water - this will help to make the cashews creamy
• Salt

Breading

• Aquafaba - I used the brine of canned chickpeas
• Gluten free cornflour (corn starch) - this is also known as corn starch
• Rice flour - the white variety
• Nutritional yeast

🔪Cooking Instructions

1. Soak cashews overnight or for a minimum of a couple of hours, they should be nice and soft
2. Blend drained cashews with ¼ cup of water, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt. Set aside
3. Cut a t-section into the jalapeños and scoop out the flesh and seeds (see video)
4. Fill each jalapeño with about 1 teaspoon of cashew cream
5. Coat each jalapeño in aquafaba first and then the flour mixture (combine rice flour, cornflour (corn starch)and nutritional yeast), do this twice
6. Heat up cooking oil in a pot and fry each jalapeño for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately

📝Recipe Notes

Cashew cream should be thick and not runny. Use water as needed to make it creamy.

Use the smallest sized spoon, such as a moka or grapefruit spoon to fill the jalapeños. A teaspoon is just too big for the size of the jalapeños

Don’t overfill the jalapeños with the cashew cream as once bitten into the vegan jalapeño popper it will ooze out creating a mess

I like to use a small amount of excess cashew cream that’s popping out of the jalapeños to cover the outside of them before breading

Coat each jalapeño as evenly as possible

Check that the cornflour (corn starch) is not wheaten cornflour as that's not gluten-free

💭Recipe Tips

Cut the T-section on the part of the jalapeño you think will open well. When cutting the crossbar of the T, cut into the flesh without piercing the back of the jalapeño. For a visual of this, watch the video.

Use gloves when deseeding jalapeños as the chilli oil will stick to your fingers (which if you touch your face/eyes will sting)

After washing jalapeños, ensure they are thoroughly dry (water in hot oil will spit)

If using a small pot to fry jalapeños, only fry 2-3 at a time to ensure the temperature of the oil doesn’t cool

Transfer fried vegan stuffed jalapeños to a paper towel-lined plate to catch any excess oil

Once done frying, cool oil to room temperature and then strain. Store in a jar for future use.

🥄Serving Suggestions

Dip into my thick and creamy egg free mayonnaise or cashew bbq ranch dressing which is made from cashews.

Serve vegan jalapeno poppers as part of a mezze, as a starter or on their own

Squeeze fresh lemon or lime as you eat

As most jalapeños are not super chilli, you can dunk these gluten-free jalapeño poppers into your own chilli garlic dip.

If these are being served as an appetiser, try my air fryer corn ribs also, these are cooked in 10 min!

🗒️Recipe variations

Add your favourite herb or spice to the cashew cream mix, parsley would go well

If you prefer to avoid nuts, try stuffing them with a mashed potato or sweet potato

❓FAQ

⚙️Equipment

• Pot
• Slotted spoon
• 2 x mixing bowl
• Moka spoon* or grapefruit spoon*

🔖Other vegan appetiser recipes

• Roasted okra - Simple and easy. This recipe uses minimal ingredients.
• Termos - Lupini Beans - One of my favourite go-to vegan snacks or served before mains
• White Sweet Potato Chips - quick and delish
• Paleo Tostones by The Clean Happy Life.

Looking for another recipe featuring jalapenos? Try this mango habanero salsa recipe.

Recipe