These keto friendly and gluten free morsels are packed with flavor. They're essentially the ultimate mashup of foods, coming together to form something seriously flavorful. The ingredients, prep work and cook time are super minimal. You're going to want to try these!
We include lots of process pictures in the body of the text, as well as ideas for substitutions and more. Feel free to skip to the recipe card if you'd like to get right into it. This recipe is also available as a Google Web Story here!
Jump to:
🥓Ingredients
✏️Ingredient notes
- Jalapeños - Halved lengthwise, with the seeds and ribs removed. These will be the vessel for all of the yummy goodness!
- Cream cheese & smoked gouda - Let the cream cheese sit out at room temperature so it's easy to mix in with the shredded smoked gouda.
- Shredded chicken - Cook and shred chicken ahead of time, or use a canned version. Whatever you prefer will work great here.
- Buffalo sauce - Use your favorite buffalo sauce here, we like Frank's RedHot.
- Ranch dressing - You can use whatever your favorite ranch dressing is.
- Seasonings - Kosher salt, black pepper, dried onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley will perfectly complement these tasty bites. We use some in both the ranch dipping sauce and mixed in with the buffalo chicken dip mixture.
- Green onions - To garnish everything!
📖Instructions
To prepare the filling, combine gouda cheese, cream cheese, Frank's, salt and the dried seasonings. Mix to combine.
Mix in the shredded chicken.
Fill the jalapeño halves with the buffalo chicken mixture.
Wrap with bacon. Preheat your air fryer to 400°F. Once preheated, cook the jalapeño poppers for around 18-22 minutes to reach desired doneness.
Depending on the size of your jalapeños and design of your air fryer, you may need to work in batches, and switch the air fryer trays halfway through to ensure even crispiness.
Now, make the dipping sauce by combining ranch, the remaining seasonings, and buffalo sauce of choice. Stir to combine, then refrigerate until time to serve.
Once the jalapeño poppers are done, allow to cool for a few minutes, then drizzle with buffalo ranch, and sprinkle with green onions. Serve with carrots and celery.
✨Tips and tricks
- Ranch dipping sauce is optional, you could substitute for blue cheese dressing instead.
- Serve with carrots, celery and dipping sauce.
- Any neutral cheese could be substituted in place of gouda cheese. Colby jack, mozzarella or Havarti are a few great options.
💭Frequently asked questions
Yes, absolutely! It's easy to make these buffalo chicken jalapeño poppers in the oven instead of an air fryer.
To prepare these in the oven, follow of the same steps, but place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 30-35 minutes until the bacon is cooked through.
You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer for a super simple way to shred cooked chicken.
If using a stand mixer, use the dough attachment, and set the mixer to medium speed. This will break the pieces up well.
You can also use two forks to make nice nice shreds.
🎉More recipes to try
Need more ideas? Be sure to check out this massive list of over 85+ low carb and keto friendly recipes on our site!
🛒Shop this recipe
Want to get supplies for this recipe or shop our keto kitchen or pantry? We've linked our favorites above and right here in our Amazon Store!
A Full Living is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate program, an affiliate advertising program designed to promote a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking products to amazon.com. We only share products we use and love. It doesn't cost you anything extra to shop using our links, but we earn a small commission that helps us keep this site going!
If you get a chance to try this recipe, let us know what you think, would ya?! Leave us a comment, or catch up with us on Facebook or Instagram, or pin to your favorite Pinterest board for later. We love sharing your versions of our creations over on Instagram @afullliving!
If you could please leave a comment and/or a rating if you loved this recipe, we would be forever grateful! (Ratings helps users find our recipes, since users say that they like them!)
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to subscribe to our email newsletter so you're the first to know about new recipes we post on our blog.
Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients
For the jalapeño poppers:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 ounces shredded gouda cheese
- 5 ounces Frank's RedHot sauce
- 1.25 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley (optional)
- 8 ounces cooked and shredded chicken breast (could use thighs as well)
- 10 whole jalapeños, halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed
- 10 slices bacon, cut in half
For the buffalo ranch:
- 6 ounces ranch dressing of choice
- 1 ounce Frank's RedHot sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley (optional)
Instructions
- To prepare the filling, combine gouda cheese, cream cheese, Frank's, salt and the dried seasonings. Mix to combine, then stir in the shredded chicken.
- Fill the jalapeño halves with the buffalo chicken mixture, then wrap with bacon. Preheat your air fryer to 400°F. Once preheated, cook the jalapeño poppers for around 18-22 minutes to reach desired doneness. Depending on the size of your jalapeños and design of your air fryer, you may need to work in batches, and switch the air fryer trays halfway through to ensure even crispiness.
- To make your buffalo ranch, combine your favorite ranch dressing and the remaining 1 ounce of Frank’s red hot with dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Refrigerate, covered until time to use.
- After poppers are done, allow to cool for a minute or two before digging in. Dip in buffalo ranch and dig in!
- Store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- To make in a regular oven, simply bake at 375°F for roughly 30-35 minutes, until bacon is completely cooked through.
- Ranch dipping sauce is optional, you could substitute for blue cheese dressing instead.
- Serve with carrots, celery and dipping sauce.
- Any neutral cheese could be substituted in place of gouda cheese. Colby jack, mozzarella or Havarti are a few great options.
Nutrition
These nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are only estimates. We cannot guarantee the accuracy.
Krista says
These are so delicious and were really easy to make! I just made them for Easter brunch and everyone loved them!
Briana says
We're so thrilled that you and your guests loved this recipe, Krista! Thanks so much for trying them and for the lovely review. 🙂