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My dad is the grill master of the family and has been for many years now. One thing that has become a staple item anytime my family gets together to grill (no matter the occasion) is jalapeño poppers!

My family has always done poppers a little differently. Originally, we tried to stuff the jalapeños with a cream cheese and cheddar mixture and then wrapped them with bacon, but... the bacon never cooked through evenly. So, one day we got smart, chopped cooked bacon up and mixed it in with the cream cheese mixture to stuff in the jalapeños that way. We've never breaded our poppers in anyway. My dad always felt that the breading was unneeded, and I must say that I agree. It's just wasted calories.

These jalapeño poppers are our standard way of making poppers, but with one grilling twist this time around, making them perfectly vegetarian! Because after all, meatless can still be delicious.

With all the friends and family that were at my house this past weekend to celebrate the 4th of July; some vegetarians, some meat eaters, all food lovers, I wanted to be sure to grill with a twist. I like to have something for everyone, making sure that each person at my 4th of July cook out was taken care of no matter what dietary needs were around.

These poppers, as usual, were a hit even with my little twist. In fact, I should have made two or three times the amount that I did since most of them were devoured before half of my guests had arrived. One of my favorite things was that no one would have known they were a vegetarian friendly version if I hadn't said they were.

MorningStar Farms' veggie bacon strips have a great smoky flavor, and crisp right up when cooked. The veggie bacon strips also contain 36% less fat than cooked pork bacon, saving you not only fat, but calories, and guilt too!

Skinny Vegetarian Jalapeño Poppers
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 8 • Size: 2 Poppers • Calories: 129.2 • Fat: 7.5 g • Carb: 5.3 g • Fiber: 0.6 g • Protein: 8.4 g • Sugar: 4.5 g • Sodium: 242.6 mg

Ingredients:
8 Jalapeños, Halved & Seeded
8 Oz. Greek Yogurt or Neufchatel Cream Cheese
1/2 C. Shredded Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar
4 MorningStar Farms Veggie Bacon Strips
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:
Preheat the grill and line a baking sheet with foil; set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a point and toss the seeded jalapeño halves in carefully.

Allow to cook for about a minute before draining the peppers and setting aside to dry.

Cook the bacon according to package directions.

My local Target has a great selection of MorningStar Farms products in their Frozen section, which is where I got everything I needed for this recipe.

Cook the bacon according to package directions; crumble it up.

Beat together the cream cheese, cheddar, and bacon crumbles until well combined.

Spoon or pipe the cream cheese mixture evenly into the par-boiled jalapeños.

I like to pipe the cream cheese through a sealed ziplock bag to keep from getting my fingers cream cheesed.

Place the jalapeños onto the baking sheet and transfer onto the grill.

Grill the jalapeños directly on the baking sheet on the grill until the cheese is melted and the peppers have softened and cooked through.

Serve right away!