KETO FRIED BACON JALAPEÑO POPPERS CHEESE BITES

A delicious take on my favorite stuffed Keto Jalapeño Poppers! These take a little more time but trust me — IT’S WORTH IT! Great as an appetizer! These Keto Fried Bacon Jalapeño Cheese Bites are Keto & LCHF Friendly! 1 Delicious Carb per serving 🙂 

DESCRIPTION

A delicious take on my favorite stuffed Jalapeno Poppers! These take a little more time but trust me — IT’S WORTH IT! Great as an appetizer! And as always, it’s Keto & LCHF Friendly!

INGREDIENTS

For the filling:

• 16oz Cream Cheese (or Neufchâtel cheese)
• 10 oz Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
• 12 oz Bacon, fried to your liking and set aside
• 6-8 large Fresh Jalapeno Peppers –  blanched, seeded and chopped.
  • OR – 1/2 cup Canned Jalapeno Poppers, chopped and seeded.
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Optional: 100g Onions, caramelized (optional – I like it with onions!)
• Oil for Frying 

For Dredging:

• 1– 2 cups of Crushed Pork Rinds (you can make your own with a food processor – I use a 4oz bag of pork rinds and it’s usually enough)
• 3 eggs, whisked

INSTRUCTIONS

Blanching Fresh Jalapeno Peppers:

Bring a large pot of water to a Boil and have a large bowl of ice water ready on the side. Let the jalapeños boil for 5-10 minutes (or until tender) and then quickly add them to the ice bath. This stops them from cooking. You can skip this step and use canned jalapenos instead.

Caramelizing Onions (optional)

Add 1 tbsp of oil (or bacon fat) to pan on medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they’re golden brown. Add to cream cheese mixture.

Directions:

1. Mix chopped jalapeños, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cooked bacon, onions and salt in a large bowl.
2. Form into 1- 1.5″ inch balls. Place on a baking sheet ( don’t let the balls touch! 😉 ) and chill for 30 minutes.

Dredging & Frying — After 30 mins in the fridge, the mixture should be ready to be fried.

1. Have 2 bowls ready — one with crushed pork rinds and the other with the whisked egg.
2. Coat the chilled cheese balls with the crushed pork rinds and press it in gently. It doesn’t need to cover the entire ball completely.
3. Dip it into the egg mixture.
4. Then coat it again with pork rinds and this time, make sure it’s completely coated. Press the pork rinds gently on the cheese ball to make sure it sticks.
5. Note: If you are prepping this to cook later, place it back on the baking sheet and cover it with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge until it’s ready. Or you can wait to coat it with the pork rinds mixture until you’re ready to fry. Otherwise, move on to the next step!
6. You can either use a deep fryer or a medium saucepan filled with enough oil to cover the cheese balls. When the oil is hot enough (medium heat — sorry I don’t have the exact temp!), drop the coated cheese balls (slowly!) in the hot oil.  Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove and shake off the excess oil.
7. Serve with Ranch Dressing or try out Pickle Juice Ranch! Enjoy 🙂

NOTES

Nutrition facts below includes 1 Bag of Pork Rinds and doesn’t include the oil for frying or onions.

NUTRITION

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 127
• Sugar: 0.6
• Sodium: 247.6
• Fat: 10.4
• Saturated Fat: 5.6
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 0.9
• Fiber: 0.1
• Protein: 7.2
• Cholesterol: 50.5