This Jalapeno Bacon Recipe makes the tastiest bacon with a spicy kick. If you love the flavor of bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers, you will love this bacon! (Be sure to check out our popular Jalapeno Popper Wontons and Jalapeno Popper Dip, too.)
It’s perfect for brunch, breakfast, buffets, holidays and an easy party appetizer. Jalapeno Bacon is spicy, sweet, salty and savory, for flavor that explodes in your mouth!
The recipe can easily be doubled, and the bacon can be cut in squares and served on toothpicks for an easy hors d’oeuvre. (Be sure to try our other popular candied bacon recipes, including Bacon Crack, Maple Candied Bacon, Million Dollar Bacon, Honey Glazed Bacon, and Billionaire Bacon.)
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Why You’ll Go Hog Wild for This Recipe
Jalapeno Bacon is spicy, smoky, sweet and savory. You and your guests will love the flavor!
It’s easy to make your own glazed Jalapeno Bacon with this simple recipe, which can be doubled or tripled if you’re feeding a crowd.
Make a batch of this tasty bacon up to 24 hours in advance, refrigerate and reheat it for a few minutes (directions below) before serving so you can enjoy the party!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Pictured above, from top, here’s what you’ll need to prepare this recipe:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar – Light or brown sugar works well for this recipe.
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt
Three medium fresh jalapeño peppers – Is it just us, or have grocery store jalapeños gotten milder over the years? For a spicier kick, we have better luck buying jalapeños at Latin American or international markets.
(Note: For milder bacon, you can substitute Anaheim chiles. For spicier bacon, try Serrano chiles.)
1 tablespoon bacon grease – Do you save your bacon grease? If not, you can substitute butter.
8 strips thick-cut bacon – The thicker slices work best for this recipe.
Equipment Needed
You’ll need a baking sheet with a wire baking rack. This will allow the heat to flow over and under the bacon and make the glaze candied. Cooking the bacon this way also means you don’t have to turn it over while baking.
You’ll also need:
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Large skillet
- Spatula
- Food processor or blender
- Shallow dish
- Cooling rack
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with the rack. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray so your bacon doesn’t stick.
Dice the jalapeños, reserving about a third of one pepper for garnish. Heat the bacon fat or butter in a large frying pan or nonstick skillet and sauté the remaining chopped jalapeños until tender, about 6 minutes.
Add the salt, brown sugar, pepper, and water, and stir just until the sugar melts (but don’t bring to a boil). Remove from heat.
Cool the mixture for 5 minutes and transfer to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process 2-3 times until the mixture is fairly smooth, using a spatula to push the mixture from the sides of the bowl so it can be incorporated.
Pour the glaze mixture in a shallow dish. Drag each slice of bacon through the glaze, making sure each piece is generously coated.
Arrange the bacon strips in a single layer on the prepared rack.
Cook bacon until it is golden brown and crispy. The exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of your bacon, but in our oven it took about 35 minutes.
Pro tip: Check the bacon after about 20 minutes of cooking time. If the outer strips are cooking faster than the inner strips, use a metal spatula to carefully rearrange the strips and move the outer ones to the center.
Cool the bacon on the pan for 10 minutes. Drain bacon strips on a double layer of paper towels for a moment, and remove to a serving dish.
Pro tip: Don’t leave the strips of bacon on the paper towels or they may stick and remove the glaze.
Recipe Variations
Garlic Jalapeño Bacon – Add 1 large, peeled minced garlic clove to the skillet about 2 minutes after you start cooking the jalapeños, and continue with recipe. (Alternately, you can add 1/4 teaspoon dried garlic powder.)
Maple Jalapeno Bacon – Add 2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon maple extract to the glaze mixture at the same time you add the brown sugar, and reduce the water by 1 tablespoon. Proceed with the recipe.
Spicy Jalapeno Bacon – After glazing the bacon and arranging it on the baking rack, sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Let’s be honest; it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to have leftover Jalapeño Bacon, right? But if you do, store it in an airtight container or zip-top bag and refrigerate up to 2 days.
If you are storing a quantity, you may want to layer the strips with wax paper to prevent sticking.
To reheat, arrange the strips on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook in a 325 degree F oven until strips are hot and sizzling, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes before serving.
How to Use Jalapeno Bacon
Jalapeno Bacon Mac and Cheese: Prepare our Bacon Mac and Cheese recipe and use cooked, chopped jalapeno bacon in place of the bacon bits.
Jalapeno Bacon Deviled Eggs: Substitute for the regular bacon in our popular Best Bacon Deviled Eggs recipe.
Make delicious appetizers by simply cutting the bacon in squares, skewering with a toothpick and arranging on a tray. This spicy bacon is also great as a topping on burgers, BLTs and pizza!
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Here’s the full, printable recipe:
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Jalapeno Bacon
Equipment
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Large skillet
- 1 food processor
- 1 silicone spatula
- 1 Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease (or substitute butter)
- 3 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- 10 strips thick cut bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with a heat-proof wire rack. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray so your bacon doesn’t stick.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon diced jalapeños for garnish, mince and spread on a paper towel to remove moisture.
- Add the brown sugar, pepper, salt and water, and stir just until the sugar melts (but don’t bring to a boil). Remove from heat.
- Cool the mixture for 5 minutes and transfer to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process 2-3 times until the mixture is fairly smooth, using a spatula to push the mixture from the sides of the bowl so it can all be incorporated.
- Pour the glaze mixture in a shallow dish. Drag each piece of bacon through the glaze, making sure each piece is generously coated and arrange the bacon strips on the prepared baking rack.
- Bake until the bacon is golden brown and crispy, about 30-35 minutes. (The exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of your bacon. Check the bacon after about 20 minutes of cooking time. If the outer strips are cooking faster than the inner strips, use a metal spatula to carefully rearrange the strips and move the outer ones to the center.)
- Remove from the oven, place the pan on a cooling rack, and cool the bacon on the pan for 10 minutes. Lay the strips on a double layer of paper towels to drain, and remove to a serving dish. (Don’t leave the strips on the paper towels or they may stick and remove some of the glaze.) Makes 8 strips.
- Arrange in a serving dish and sprinkle reserved minced jalapeno over the bacon strips. Makes 10 slices.
Notes
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
Whenever you come back to this recipe, you’ll be able to see your notes!
Nutrition
Got questions? Just ask! I’m happy to help.
If you post your creations on social media, tag #BENSABaconLovers so I can share! Thank you for your support. – Eliza
Nutrition Disclaimer: All nutritional information shared on this site is an approximation. I am not a certified nutritionist, and any nutritional information should be used as a general guideline.
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Oh my goodness, cannot wait, my oldest loves spicy and the hotter the better! These might just show up in his stocking this year! ;-)
Spicy and bacon together? Yes please! Perfect for game day!
Wow! Just when I though bacon couldn’t get any better, I come across this recipe!
We made these when we had some friends over and they were a hit! So yummy and easy to make!
Spicy bacon? Sounds amazing I can’t wait to try this!
I’m a fan of spicy food so I loved this jalapeno bacon! It went great with our breakfast quiche. So delicious!
Absolutely delicious! Thanks for another great game day recipe!
Can you put the jalapeño sauce on the bacon and just marinate it days before cookin?
That is a really interesting question! While I have never tried marinating bacon, I’m intrigued by the idea. However, I should clarify that the jalapeno sauce in this recipe is a sweet-spicy glaze that turns sticky when you bake it in the oven. I’m not sure that additional flavor would be gained by marinating it for a few days, but if you try it, I would LOVE to hear back from you! Thank you for stopping by!