Traeger Smoked Jalapeño Popper Dip

This smoked jalapeño popper dip recipe will make your mouth water! It’s easy to make, and has all of the ingredients you love in a jalapeño popper. Jalapeños, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon and topped with a buttery bacon bread crumb topping.

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Ingredients

for the dip:

10 slices thin cut bacon or 6 slices thick cut bacon
4 medium/large jalapeños
8 oz block cream cheese softened
1 cup full fat sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese lightly packed
2 tablespoons BBQ rub

for the topping:

1 cup Panko or breadcrumbs
⅓ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup melted butter or margarine

Instructions

Preheat your Traeger or other pellet grill to 225f.
Coarsely chop 10 pieces bacon and cook until semi crisp. Drain well.
Meanwhile, thoroughly wash and dry 4 fresh jalapeños. Remove the seeds and membrane, then dice the jalapeños finely. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 8 oz of softened cream cheese with 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup of full fat sour cream, and 2 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ rub until fully combined.
Then add half of the cooked and crumbled bacon and all of the diced jalapeños. Beat again until completely combined.
Transfer cream cheese mixture to an 8" round casserole or baking dish, and use a spoon or spatula to smooth the surface.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of Panko or breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan and the remaining bacon. Toss to combine.
Pour 1/4 cup of melted butter over top of the breadcrumb mixture and stir until completely combined.
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over top of the cream cheese mixture.
Smoke your jalapeño popper dip at 225f for 40 minutes.
Increase the heat to 350f and smoke for another 20 minutes or so.
Remove smoked jalapeño popper dip from the pellet grill and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving!

Notes

Batch:

This recipe makes right a full 8" dish. It can easily be doubled, or halved, if you like! I find this to be enough for 6-8 people.

Storage:

If you've got leftover dip, it can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. It's good cold, which surprised me, but can also be reheated in the oven at 250f until heated through, or tossed into a microwave safe dish and nuked until nice and warm!

make ahead

One great thing about this recipe is that this jalapeño popper dip freezes so great!

Instead of transferring your dip into a cast iron skillet or casserole dish, spoon it into a tinfoil container, leaving enough room to add the topping too! Add the topping and close the container.

Place dip in the freezer until ready to use. It will last at least 2 months in the freezer.

When ready to eat, place the frozen dip on a wire mesh rack and smoke uncovered at 225 f for 90 minutes, then increase the temperature to 350f, and smoke for another 20 minutes or until hot throughout and bubbly.

variations + substitutions

Change out the cheese! Use Monterey Jack or even your own homemade smoked cheddar cheese *bonus points if you use my guide!
Add a smidge of your favorite BBQ sauce to your cream cheese mix, to make it a bit more like my pulled pork dip.