Your next game night needs these vegan jalapeno poppers stuffed with a spicy buffalo chickpea, red bell pepper and scallion filling, then coated in a mixture of seasoned breadcrumbs and baked until golden brown.
This post is in partnership with Primal Kitchen Foods and may contain affiliate links.
Jalapeno poppers are one of those appetizers that everybody loves, but that people don’t usually think of as being vegan or healthy. This version is both healthy, vegan, and delicious!! Although they are incredible popular, we have to ask ourselves, for nerdy research purposes, are they Mexican??
History of Jalapeno Poppers
The answer is a little more complicated than you would think. The quickest and most straightforward answer is that they are probably the US version of chiles rellenos. Like many Tex-Mex adaptations of classic Mexican dishes, Mexican immigrants or Mexican-Americans had to work with what was available to them, like putting cheddar cheese on enchiladas.
However, they are reports of restaurants in Ensenada and Playa del Carmen serving stuffed jalapeño peppers before the whole thing blew up in the US. So it could be a Mexican thing that was Americanized or it could be an American thing that made its way to Mexico to make tourists happy. Either way the name jalapeño popper was trademarked by Anchor Food Products in 1993, and turned into a frozen snack, which is what is most likely served at your favorite chain restaurant.
Primal Kitchen Vegan Products
I’m always on the lookout for new vegan-friendly products and brands and I’ve recently found some that have become a part of my weekly grocery shopping. The first thing I tried was the Primal Kitchen Organic Unsweetened Ketchup which is sweetened with balsamic vinegar. I’ve tried other sugar-free ketchups and they are not good or basically taste like tomato paste.
For these vegan jalapeño poppers I’ve used another one of their vegan products the Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce. Funny enough, I wasn’t a big lover of buffalo sauce before going vegan, but I really enjoy it now. It brings an intensity that I think really highlights vegetable dishes. I make dishes like this buffalo chickpea salad, buffalo wrap, and vegan buffalo nachos.
This Primal Kitchen version uses a genius trick to mimic the creaminess of butter, it has just a little bit of cashews in it! The combination of buffalo sauce and chickpeas is one of my favorites and stuffing it in a jalapeño pepper definitely took it to the next level. If you are interested in purchasing any of the Primal Kitchen products you can use the discount code DORAPRIMAL at checkout!!
Disclaimer: Not all Primal Kitchen products are vegan so be sure to check the label before buying. You can find all of their vegan products HERE.
The Recipe: Buffalo Chickpea Jalapeño Poppers
If you don’t have access to nutritional yeast you can omit it. Serve the poppers with this spicy avocado sauce for tacos.
Buffalo Chickpea Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. Tahini
- 1 tbsp. Water
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 -3 tbsp Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce
- 1 can 15 oz. Chickpeas, rinsed, drained
- 1/4 cup Sliced green onion
- 1/2 cup Diced red bell pepper
- 7 Jalapeño peppers sliced in half, deseeded
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp. Nutritional yeast optional
- Avocado oil spray
Serving:
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- In a small bowl combine the tahini, water, lemon juice, and buffalo sauce (depending on how spicy you want it add 2 or 3 tbsp. of the buffalo sauce). Using a whisk, stir to combine.
- Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, and smash with a fork, add green onion, and red bell pepper. Pour in the tahini-lemon mixture in stir to combine. Season to taste.
- Fill the jalapeños with the chickpea mixture and place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs with the nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Cover the top of the jalapeño poppers with the breadcrumb mixture. Spray with avocado oil. Bake in oven for 20 – 25 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Serve with this spicy avocado sauce.
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