These jalapeño popper smash burgers are smashed with diced bacon and thinly sliced onions, and topped with a blend of cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, and fresh jalapeños for a flavor-packed burger that’s similar to your favorite poppers. A delicious take on the classic smash burger!
Ingredients for Jalapeno Popper Smash Burgers
Our jalapeno smash burgers combine all of your favorite jalapeno popper flavors on a cheesy burger including bacon, fresh jalapeños, and cream cheese. Full ingredient list with measurements is in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- ground beef – After making thousands of smash burgers, we’ve learned that 80/20 ground beef is the best choice.
- jalapeños – Our jalapeno smash burgers use fresh jalapenos two different ways – fresh diced jalapeños get added to the cream cheese topping, and sliced jalapeños get smashed into the burger patties as they cook. For spicier burgers, leave the seeds and veins intact.
- onion – Thinly sliced. We made our burgers similar to fried onion burgers, but you can omit the onions if you wish.
- bacon – We used diced bacon two different ways for this burger.
- cream cheese – We used full-fat, softened cream cheese to make the popper-style topping for the burgers.
- shredded cheddar cheese
- burger seasoning – We used our own Smash That Burger Seasoning, but you can substitute your favorite all purpose seasoning, or just use a simple salt and pepper blend.
- hamburger buns – We LOVE brioche hamburger buns because they add a bit of sweetness, and they’re perfectly soft. Use your favorite hamburger buns.
Jalapeno Popper Burger Video
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Portioning Beef for Smash Burgers
Getting the burger ball size just right is the first step in making the best smashburgers, whether on a griddle or in a skillet on the stovetop. We’ve found that about 2.5 – 3 ounces of ground beef is the perfect amount of beef.
If you don’t have a kitchen scale, then you can use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to portion out the ground beef. Or just divide a 1 pound package of ground beef into 6 equal sized balls.
How to Make Jalapeno Popper Smash Burgers
Here’s a look at how to make jalapeno popper smash burgers on the Blackstone griddle, complete with step-by-step pictures. Complete instructions are available in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1: Cook diced bacon and jalapeños – Start by sautéing diced bacon until cooked through and crispy. Then transfer to paper towels to drain off excess grease. If you’re using a griddle for your smash burgers, then you can sauté the diced jalapeños in a separate area on the heating surface, or cook the peppers in a skillet over medium heat. While bacon and peppers are cooking, toast the hamburger buns.
Step 2: Make the jalapeno cream cheese mixture – Mix softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, and the sautéed diced jalapeños in a small bowl.
Step 3: Add burger balls to the griddle or skillet – Place diced raw bacon on the griddle in a round, even layer similar to the size of your burger balls. Set the beef balls on top of the bacon, and pile the sliced onions and jalapeños on top of the balls. Allow the burger balls to cook untouched for about 1 minute like this for the bacon to begin the cooking process.
Step 4: Smash the jalapeno burgers – Use a burger press or stiff spatula to apply even pressure to the burger balls, smashing them down into a thin layer on the griddle or in the skillet. After smashing, continue to apply pressure for about 10 seconds – this helps a nice crust to form on the bottom of the burger. That’s what a smash burger is known for!
Step 5: Season the smashed jalapeno burgers – After smashing, season the top side of the smash burger patties. We used our own Smash That burger seasoning that we specifically made for cooking smash burgers (but it’s also great on regular burgers and steak). Then allow the burgers to cook on the first side untouched for about 2-3 minutes, or until the burger patties are a bit more than halfway cooked through.
Step 6: Add the jalapeno cream cheese mixture to the burgers – After the burgers have developed a nice crust on the first side, use your spatula to flip to the second side. After flipping, top each patty with a bit of the jalapeno cream cheese mixture.
Step 7: Continue to cook jalapeno smash burgers until done – Cook on the second side for about 2-3 minutes, or until burgers are cooked through and the cheese mixture is warmed.
*TIP – I recommend placing a melting dome over the burgers after adding the jalapeno cream cheese. If you’re cooking the burgers in a skillet, you can place a lid on the skillet to help melt the cheese more quickly without overcooking the burgers.
Then, stack one burger patty on top of another for a double smash burger – my favorite way to serve them – and transfer to the toasted buns. Then your jalapeno burgers are ready to serve!
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Jalapeno Popper Smash Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 8 slices bacon diced, divided into two equal piles
- ½ onion very thinly sliced
- 2 fresh jalapeños 1 pepper finely diced, 1 pepper sliced into thin coins
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 hamburger buns
- burger seasoning or substitute salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat griddle over medium heat to about 400℉. *If cooking burgers on the stovetop, heat large skillet over medium heat.
- Add half of the diced bacon to the griddle or skillet, and cook until crispy. Then transfer to paper towels to drain excess grease.
- While the bacon is cooking, sauté the diced jalapeños in a separate area on the griddle just until barely tender. Then transfer to a medium bowl.
- Make the popper-style burger topping. Add softened cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese to the bowl with the sautéed diced jalapeños. Mix well and set aside.
- Butter the cut side of the hamburger buns, and toast cut side down on the griddle until golden brown. Then remove from the griddle and set aside.
- Divide ground beef into 6 equal portions, and roll each into a ball. *TIP – You can also use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to portion out equal amounts of beef.
- Place 6 portions of diced raw bacon on the griddle in a round, even layer similar to the size of your burger balls. Set the beef balls on top of the bacon, and pile the sliced onions and sliced jalapeños on top of the balls. Allow the burger balls to cook untouched for about 1 minute like this for the bacon to begin the cooking process.
- Use a burger press or stiff spatula to apply even pressure to the burger balls, smashing them down into a thin layer on the griddle or in the skillet. After smashing, continue to apply pressure for about 10 seconds.
- Season the top side of the smash burger patties with burger seasoning or salt and pepper. Then allow the burgers to cook on the first side untouched for about 2-3 minutes.
- When burgers are a bit more than halfway cooked through (and there are still some pink spots on top), use a spatula or scraper to flip the burgers to the second side, making sure to scrape under the bacon and burger crust to remove it from the griddle with your burgers. Immediately after flipping, top each patty with some of the jalapeno cream cheese mixture.
- Cook on the second side for about 2-3 minutes, or until burgers are cooked through and the cheese mixture is warmed. *TIP – I recommend placing a melting dome over the burgers after adding the jalapeno cream cheese. If cooking burgers in a skillet, you can place a lid on the skillet to help melt the cheese more quickly without overcooking the burgers.
- When burgers are done cooking, stack two burger patties on top of each other to make double smash burgers. Use your spatula to remove jalapeno popper smash burgers from the griddle, and transfer to the toasted buns. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- For spicier jalapeno popper burgers, leave the seeds and veins intact when slicing and dicing the jalapeños.
- The cooking times provided are for griddle cooking with a surface temperature of about 400°F. If you’re cooking these smash burgers in a skillet, then cooking times will vary. Since the burgers contain bacon, be sure that the bacon is cooked through.
- For skillet cooking – You will need to cook the burgers in batches, as only 1-2 smash burger patties will fit in a large skillet at one time.
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