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This creamy, cheesy jalapeno popper pizza has just the right amount of spice! It’s your favorite appetizer in pizza form. Cream cheese, cheddar cheese and crispy bacon make this the pizza of your dreams!
We’re in the middle of another deep freeze and I’m cooking up all the cozy, cheesy foods. What about you!? Soup season is in full swing around here much to my kids’ chagrin. I’m working on them though – I think they’ll come around.
So, I hope you are going to tell me you’ve had a jalapeno popper before!? If you haven’t you MUST make them soon. I surprisingly don’t actually have a recipe on the blog for them, even though I make them all of the time; however, I do have a very similar, but less spicy version on the blog using mini bell peppers. They’re more kid-friendly!
I actually came up with the idea to turn a jalapeno popper into a pizza when I was brainstorming appetizer recipes for the Super Bowl, which was a few weeks back. We were going to have a few friends over to watch the game and I wanted some delicious snacks to serve up! I was going to just make poppers as I usually do, but inspiration struck! A pizza was born.
Wait, what is a jalapeno popper?
I should have explained that part first! A jalapeno popper is essentially a jalapeno popper split down the middle lengthwise, scraped of its seeds, then filled with a cream cheese and cheddar cheese mixture. It’s wrapped with bacon and then the whole thing is baked in the oven. They are DELICIOUS! They’re a fun appetizer to make when you have people over, or just for yourselves!
I’ve essentially taken the flavors and ingredients from a popper and turned it into a pizza.
How do you make a jalapeno popper pizza?
You can use a store-bought pizza crust, or you can make your own. I highly recommend making your own, since this recipe adds some extra cheese into the actual dough!
The dough needs to be started about 1 1/2 -2 hours before you’re ready to make the pizza as it will need some time to rise! If you’ve got a stand mixer with a dough attachment, this is the best way to make your pizza dough. Otherwise, you can knead by hand!
The dough is based off my usual favorite pizza crust, but I’ve added 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese right into it! Once the dough has risen, you’re ready to roll it out and start building your pizza.
Before you begin, you’ll need:
- crisped up bacon, about 5 slices
- shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- shredded cheddar cheese
- diced jalapenos, seeds removed (keep some seeds if you like things spicy)
- softened cream cheese
- parmesan cheese
- diced bell pepper, orange or red
I find it helpful to have everything ready to go before you begin creating! Turn the oven to 425 F and begin mixing the creamy base of the pizza. In a small bowl, mix together:
- cream cheese
- garlic powder
- shredded jalapeno Monterey jack cheese
Smear this mixture all over the bottom of the rolled out pizza crust.
Now the fun part! Load up the pizza with more shredded Monterey as well as cheddar cheese, then add the diced bacon, bell peppers and jalapenos.
Layer the ingredients, finishing with a bit of extra cheddar and parmesan cheese. I always like to have a few sliced jalapenos on top, so whoever you’re serving the pizza to isn’t surprised by the heat! Plus the green is such a pretty pop of color.
The pizza will take about 15 minutes in the oven to be ready, and I highly recommend turning the oven to broil for the last 1-2 minutes, to get that crispy, golden finish!
After removing the pizza from the oven, let it rest for a few minutes before slicing into it (if you can resist)! We eat ours just the way it is, but some hot sauce or ranch dressing would go perfectly with this pizza!
Can you use a store-bought crust for this pizza?
Yes, absolutely! Skip the steps about making the dough and letting it rise, and just go straight to making the cream cheese base.
Can you make this pizza extra spicy?
The pizza has some nice heat from the jalapenos and Monterey Jack cheese, but if you want to make it extra spicy, leave some of the seeds from the jalapenos in tact when you dice them. You can also sprinkle some of the seeds on to the base of the pizza to make it extra spicy!
Some of my other favorite pizzas from the blog:
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Jalapeno Popper Pizza
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 1 pizza 1x
Description
This creamy, cheesy jalapeno popper pizza has just the right amount of spice! It’s your favorite appetizer in pizza form. Cream cheese, cheddar cheese and crispy bacon make this the pizza of your dreams!
Ingredients
Parmesan Pizza Dough
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Toppings
- 6 oz full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup + 1 cup shredded Monterey jack
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3 jalapenos, deseeded and sliced*
- 1/2 bell pepper, diced
- 5 slices bacon, cooked and crispy
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, gently stir together the warm water with the yeast and allow it to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. Add the honey, salt and olive oil and 1 cup of the flour and Parmesan cheese. Mix on low until things are combined, then add the remaining flour and turn the mixer to medium-high. Mix and knead the dough for 4-5 minutes or until the dough bounces back when poked with a finger. If the dough is starting to stick to the sides too much, add a tablespoon or two of flour at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides. Remove the dough, spray the inside of the bowl with nonstick spray and place the dough back inside. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Roll out the dough to a 12″ circle and place on a pizza stone or a pan lined with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese with 1/4 cup of Monterey Jack and garlic powder then spread the mixture all over the rolled out pizza dough.
- Cover the pizza with a layer of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, then add the diced jalapeno, bell pepper, crumbled bacon and the remaining cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese. Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, before switching the oven to broil on high for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to sit for 5 minutes before slicing into it and serving!
Leftover pizza can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days.
Notes
*If you like things spicier you can include some of the seeds
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: oven bake
- Cuisine: american
This is fabulous! I love the ingredients. And I really like that you made your own pizza dough.
Love, love the ingredients ! Must do !