Kick regular poppers up a notch by making this Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers recipe. It’s stuffed with, you guessed it, spicy tuna.
For more ideas of what to make, check out all of our recipes.
We’re always having company over. Between friends and family visiting for some time away from home or neighbors who stop by on the weekends to watch sports, our home is a revolving door of guests.
The best part about that is it gives me the opportunity to try out new recipes, like these Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers.
They’re a really fun twist on a traditional jalapeño popper. So, if you’re looking for the perfect appetizer for your next game day party, that you’re sure no one else is bringing, these tuna stuffed jalapeños are it.
If you bought too many jalapeños for this recipe, don’t worry. Use the extras in a recipe from our list of Budget-Friendly Jalapeño Recipes.
Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers Recipe
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Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers Ingredients:
- 8 jalapeño peppers
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 5 oz. canned tuna fish (or canned albacore)
- 1/2 small onion
- 1/4 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (or onion powder)
- 1 tablespoon Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
How To Make Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers:
Pre-heat the oven to 425 F.
Slice the jalapeño peppers in half, cleaning out the seeds and the ribs.
Side note: The ribs are where the pepper’s heat is, not the seeds. So, if you want these to have a little kick, remove as much as the ribs of the pepper as possible. If you want these to be spicier, leave more of the ribs.
Also, if this is your first time cooking with jalapeños, you might want to wear plastic gloves while you cut them. Some people have reactions to the capsaicin in the peppers that causes, “jalapeño hands.” And, if you’re wearing gloves, it reminds you to not wipe your face or eyes while you’re cutting the peppers (which can really irritate your eyes).
Set the jalapeño pepper halves in a single layer a baking sheet.
Warm the cream cheese in the microwave in a large bowl. You don’t want to cook it, but you want to soften it.
Drain the can of tuna and add it to the bowl with the cream cheese.
Finely chop the onion and add it to the bowl. Mix until combined.
Side note: We use yellow onion in this because they’re the most budget friendly, but you could use a red onion if you have that on hand.
Add the hot sauce, salt, garlic powder, Panko, and Parmesan to the bowl with the tuna mixture. Stir until combined.
Scoop the cream cheese filling into the jalapeño pepper halves.
Bake them for 15 minutes until the tops start to get a golden brown color. Don’t overcook them. Serve warm with a sprinkle of furikake or seaweed flakes on top for garnish.
We serve these Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers alone, as a finger food at a party. If you wanted, you could serve them with a spicy mayo dip.
Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers: Frequently Asked Questions
Whatever hot sauce you have on hand, or whatever your favorite is, is the best for this recipe. For the best results, use a plain hot sauce. A Buffalo sauce would add an unwelcomed extra layer of flavor to these.
Speaking of hot sauce, we have this Best Sriracha Alternatives (to get through the Sriracha shortage) post which lists a bunch of our favorites, in case you’re trying to find a new hot sauce to love.
The heat in jalapeño poppers mostly comes from the ribs of the peppers. So, if you remove all of the ribs when you’re cleaning the jalapeño peppers, it’ll taste more like a green bell pepper than a spicy jalapeño. If you want a spicy popper, leave some of the rib.
Usually, the filling of jalapeño poppers mellow the spice of the pepper as well. That’s why we add hot sauce to the cream cheese mixture in these. It gives them a little bit of a kick in the filling to help keep them spicier.
If you want a softer jalapeño popper, you can par boil the jalapeño pepper before stuffing them. We don’t do this.
First, it’s extra steps. We like this because it’s an easy appetizer, and once you start adding more steps, it’s not as easy any more. We also don’t par boil the peppers because the creamy tuna stuffing is already really soft. So the crunch from the jalapeño peppers are a great contrast to the soft filling. If everything was soft and squishy, it just wouldn’t be that great of a bite.
When the spicy tuna jalapeño poppers have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to three days.
You can eat leftover jalapeño poppers cold, however, we recommend reheating them in an air fryer at 370 F for three to five minutes until they’re warmed through.
If you’re making these jalapeño poppers as a party appetizer, you may want to make them ahead of time so you have less to do on party day. I get it. But, these are best straight out of the oven.
If you need to save time, you can make the tuna mixture ahead of time. Cover it in plastic wrap in the bowl or put it in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll be good for between three and five days if stored properly. So, you can make the filling ahead of time, then stuff the jalapeños on party day.
Bacon makes everything better. As written, these are a pescatarian appetizer. But, if you don’t care about that, you can definitely add bacon bits to the top of the pepper (after they’re stuffed) and then bake them according to the recipe.
If you wanted, you could also wrap bacon around these to make bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers. You want to cook them until you have a crispy bacon piece wrapped around the popper, so your cooking time may be different than what’s listed in this recipe.
Jalapeño poppers are keto friendly, since the peppers and tuna are low in carbs.
More Tuna Recipes:
Canned tuna gets a bad rap, but it’s a staple. It’s frugal, shelf-stable, and really versatile. So definitely don’t sleep on it. We use it to make tuna salad and Tuna Cakes, which are basically crab cakes using canned tuna instead of fresh crab meat because crab meat is expensive.
And, during the summer when we have fresh cucumbers in the garden, we pair them with a can of tuna to make our Spicy Tuna Cucumber Bites. They’re a great quick lunch or snack idea.
More Spicy Appetizer Ideas:
If you’re always looking for a new recipe with some spice to make for a party, and that’s how you found this one, be sure to try our Sweet & Spicy Jelly Meatballs, Super Spicy Salsa, or Jalapeño Jelly Meatballs next time.
And, of course, don’t forget about our Jalapeño Poppers Wonton Cups recipe too.
Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers
Kick regular poppers up a notch by making this Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers recipe. It's stuffed with, you guessed it, spicy tuna.
Ingredients
- 8 jalapeño peppers
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 5 oz. canned tuna fish (or canned albacore)
- 1/2 small onion
- 1/4 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (or onion powder)
- 1 tablespoon Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 F.
- Slice the jalapeño peppers in half, cleaning out the seeds and the ribs. Set the jalapeño pepper halves in a single layer a baking sheet.
- Warm the cream cheese in the microwave in a large bowl. You don’t want to cook it, but you want to soften it.
- Drain the can of tuna and add it to the bowl with the cream cheese.
- Finely chop the onion and add it to the bowl. Mix until combined.
- Add the hot sauce, salt, garlic powder, Panko, and Parmesan to the bowl with the tuna mixture. Stir until combined.
- Scoop the cream cheese filling into the jalapeño pepper halves.
- Bake them for 15 minutes until the tops start to get a golden brown color. Don’t overcook them Serve warm with a sprinkle of furikake or seaweed flakes on top for garnish.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 98Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 31mgSodium 157mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 11g
Have you made this Spicy Tuna Jalapeño Poppers Recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments.
amy liu dong
Monday 6th of February 2023
I am a big fan of making an easy, but a delicious dish like this. My husband love it so much!