Cream Cheese Board {Jalapeño Popper Style}
A cream cheese board is perfect party appetizer food. This version is like a deconstructed jalapeño popper and comes with shredded cheese, bacon, pickled jalapeños, and is served with crackers, bread, and bagels on the side.
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This jalapeño popper cream cheese board would complement any party table or just a night in with friends.
For a party, serve it alongside the trending butter board (my version has a sweet and savory side), assorted charcuterie, cheeses, fruits, vegetable platters etc. It’s really simple to assemble and looks great.
For even more appetizer ideas, you can try my delicious and simple bacon-wrapped dates, my roasted bone marrow (you can smoke it too), and rustic pork & mushroom pate recipes.
Ingredients
- cream cheese, softened
- garlic powder
- minced dried onion
- grated sharp cheddar
- diced Bacon
- pickled jalapeños, chopped
- grape tomatoes, cut into wedges
- crispy crackers, breads, sourdough breads, vegetables etc (for dipping)
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
- wooden board to use as a base (a large platter will suffice too)
- spatula or off-set spatula for spreading the cream cheese
Instructions
1. Allow cream cheese to soften to make it easier to mix. Mix the garlic powder and minced onion into the cream cheese with a hand or stand mixer. Ideally, let this sit overnight to fully develop the flavors.
Prepare all of your toppings: cook the diced bacon and drain off the fat, grate your cheese, dice your tomatoes and pickled jalapenos etc.
2. Bring cream cheese mixture to room temperature. Spread it onto your board of choice with quick spreading motion to give your cheese a nice texture.
3. Sprinkle on your other ingredients (shredded cheddar, bacon, jalapeno pieces) to your liking. Use the wedges to form a flower, if desired.
Add your crackers, breads, vegetables etc on the side for dipping.
Hint: not everyone likes spicy jalapeños. Consider leaving a third to half of the board jalapeño-free or serving them on the side.
Substitutions & Variations
gluten-free & grain-free
Serve gluten-free and grain-free breads and crackers too.
add more vegetables
Serve slices of bell peppers and sliced cucumbers for scooping.
make it sweet
Instead of the jalapeño popper concept, you can top your cream cheese with drizzled honey and nuts and serve fruit and sweet breads like cinnamon raisin or apricot and walnut.
add smoked salmon
Smoked salmon and cream cheese is a match made in heaven. You can even turn this into a breakfast board by serving it with bagels on the side.
Storage
This does not store well overnight or longer. You can prep the individual ingredients beforehand in small bowls and then refrigerate them to make assembly quicker on the day-of.
Best enjoyed on the day it’s assembled, you can transfer any leftovers from the board into a small covered bowl and then store that in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Do not freeze.
Top Tips
Make sure your board is clean (sprinkling with salt and rubbing half a lemon into it is what I do) and prepped (I seal my wooden boards regularly with a combination of steam-distilled coconut oil and natural beeswax). You do not want off flavours from your board to permeate the delicate cream cheese. Serve on parchment paper if there is any risk of this.
FAQ
sweet & sour: drizzle honey over pickled jalapeños, herb & garlic: herb and garlic cream cheese served with crusty sourdough bread and bagels, sweet & fruity: honey drizzled over candied pecans and sliced strawberries, breakfast board: smoked salmon with assorted bagels.
Cream Cheese Board {Jalapeño Popper Style}
Equipment
- wooden board (or platter)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon minced dried onion
- ⅓ cup cheddar cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapenos chopped
- 2 tablespoons bacon diced
- 3 grape tomatoes
Instructions
- Allow cream cheese to soften to make it easier to mix. Mix the garlic powder and minced onion into the cream cheese with a hand or stand mixer. Ideally, let this sit overnight to fully develop the flavors.
- Prepare all of your toppings when you are ready to assemble and the cream cheese mixture gets to room temperature: cook the diced bacon and drain off the fat, grate your cheese, dice your tomatoes and pickled jalapenos etc.
- Spread the cream cheese onto your board with quick spreading motions to give your cheese a nice texture.
- Place your dippers: breads, crackers, veggies on the side and enjoy.
Notes
- It’s ideal to let your cream cheese mixture sit overnight, but if you’re in a hurry, a couple of hours will suffice.
- Feel free to leave out what you don’t like or add something else. This recipe calls for pickled jalapenos, but feel free to use fresh, or roasted if you prefer.
