A friend of mine told about some jalapeño poppers she made recently and I instantly had an uncontrollable urge for these spicy and creamy bites (thank you for the inspiration!) I picked up the ingredients the next day and set out to make a healthy plant-based version of a usually greasy and fattening version.
I was thrilled with the results. They were spicy, crunchy, creamy, melt-in-your mouth peppery goodness.
I ate so many I spoiled my dinner, but it was worth it.
Makes 24 poppers
Ingredients
- 12 jalapeño peppers, halved, seeds removed
- 4 tbsp. macadamia or cashew nut butter (or use the same amount soaked nuts)
- Juice of ½ lemon or lime
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt, divided
- 3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, divided
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¾ cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. dried cumin
- 1 tsp. hot sauce
- 1 cup daiya shreds (I used cheddar)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Place halved jalapeño peppers open side up on a stoneware baking sheet or a metal sheet lined with parchment paper
- For the creamy filling; in a food processor, process nut butter or soaked nuts, lemon or lime juice, ½ tsp. sea salt, 2 tbsp. cilantro and nutritional yeast until smooth then distribute among peppers
- For the crunchy topping; in a food processor, pulse sunflower seeds, 1 tbsp. cilantro, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce and ¼ tsp. sea salt several times until the mixture is well integrated but still chunky, then spoon on top of the creamy topping
- Top each pepper with daiya shreds
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until daiya melts
Top with more hot sauce if you want them even spicier. Then try not to burn your tongue.
