Fried mushrooms might be one of the most dangerous foods known to man (so much hot, squirty liquid!), but frozen jalapeno poppers are a close second. You never know when you’re going to bite into one and find yourself with a mouthful of lava-hot cream cheese or, perhaps worse, a mouthful of jalapeno seeds spicy enough to ruin your life for a full 24 hours. But you know what? That’s never prevented anyone from making a batch—as a society, we’ve decided that the best jalapeno poppers are worth the hurt.
How we picked the pepper poppers for our taste test
To be honest, there aren’t a lot of frozen jalapeno poppers on the market. You’ve got your two big boys—Farm Rich and TGI Fridays jalapeno poppers—and then a smattering of store brands. Most of them are very similar: Halved jalapenos filled with cream cheese, breaded and fried. TGI Fridays actually makes two versions, one with cream cheese and one with melty cheddar cheese, but we couldn’t find the cheddar cheese version anywhere in our area.
Even though they mostly have the same components and construction, these aren’t all the same. One brand was much better than the rest—and one was gluten-free! Here are the best frozen jalapeno poppers for your next spicy snack spread.
- Feel Good Foods Crispy Jalapeno Bites
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These gluten free jalapeno poppers aren’t like other jalapeno poppers. Instead of bisected jalapeno peppers, these contain bits of pepper mixed into cream cheese. While these lack the crunch and snap of that jalapeno pepper skin, you still get plenty of heat and fruity pepper flavor. And if you eat jalapeno poppers because, truthfully, you just want to eat a bunch of fried cream cheese, these are genuinely good. There’s a lot of filling, which is nice because the gluten free breading definitely has a little bit of a lingering gluten free flavor. That said, our gluten free correspondent, Logan, loved these.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Appetitos Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos
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The breading on a lot of frozen jalapeno poppers is kind of bland. These Aldi jalapeno poppers are no different, but they seem to be made with pickled jalapeno peppers rather than fresh ones. You can taste brine in every bite, which gives them a touch more salt. They have a bit of a jarred flavor I didn’t personally love, but my colleagues all thought these deserved a spot on our list of the best jalapeno poppers, so there ya have it!
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- TGI Fridays Jalapeno Poppers
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This might be the best TGI Fridays appetizer at the grocery store, but these aren’t the best frozen jalapeno poppers. Why? The breading is pretty thick. It’s too much to contend with when you really want a mouthful of pepper and cream cheese. BUT TGI Fridays jalapeno poppers have a secret weapon: a packet of raspberry habanero sauce you thaw and serve as a popper dip. The sauce is so good you won’t worry about all the breading. It’s sweet, savory, and zesty and really complements the creamy poppers.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Farm Rich Jalapeno Peppers
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They aren’t called “jalapeno poppers”—whoda thunk it’s a trademarked name—but Farm Rich makes the best jalapeno poppers by far. The breading is MUCH lighter than the rest of the poppers—er, peppers—we tried. This breading is flavorful and light. The cream cheese filling is rich and milky tasting with just the right sort of tang. And the pepper is actually crisp and fresh tasting, too. Your next game day party just got way tastier.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
Best Gluten Free Jalapeno Poppers
Best Pickled Jalapeno Poppers
Best Dip
Best of the Best
Other jalapeno poppers we tried
Great Value Cream Cheese Jalapeno Peppers, Snapps Cream Cheese Pepper Bites, Market Pantry Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos, Kroger Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers
