Sheet Pan Cheesy Jalapenos

For years, we’ve been making jalapeno bites the messy way: Stuff jalapenos with cheese, dip in wet and dry ingredients, then bake. Using this process, we always ended up with goopy hands, a messy counter, and left-over ingredients. We didn’t make these yummy bites very often, because we just didn’t want to deal with the cleanup!

One day, I decided to experiment with making the jalapeno bites an easier way, using a sheet pan.

The ingredients are few: Jalapenos (obviously!), jack cheese (not pictured), Panko bread crumbs, Italian bread crumbs, flour, grated Parmesan cheese (the kind in the jar – not pictured), black pepper, eggs and milk.

Start by washing the jalapenos, removing the ends, slicing them in half length-wise, and removing seeds and membranes. Be very careful – use gloves and eye protection to prevent getting burned. I use a small spoon to scrape out the insides of each pepper.

Place jalapenos on a greased sheet pan, round side up. Broil on high until they start to char; flip and broil insides. Now lower your oven to 450 degrees.

Mix bread crumbs, flour, Parmesan cheese and pepper in one bowl. Mix eggs and milk in another.

Fill broiled jalapeno halves with grated jack cheese.

Then drizzle egg mixture over the top.

Finally, sprinkle tops of peppers with bread crumb mixture. There’s usually a little extra, so I just sprinkle it over the egg on the pan.

Place pan in 450-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

That’s it! Remove and serve with a dip of your choice, if desired. We like a ranch dip: 1 cup ranch dressing with 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. lemon juice mixed in.

After baking, these aren’t individual ‘poppers’, so be prepared to use a spatula to grab a section of melted cheese and jalapeno goodness. And, we don’t so much dip them as drizzle the dressing over the top and eat them with a fork.

Honestly, they don’t usually look this good! I was a little more careful than normal putting these together. But, they taste just as good if they look messy, so don’t worry.