Double Cheese Chiles Capeados are spicy jalapeños, filled with gooey, melted cheese and covered in a deliciously golden and crunchy crust. An amazing appetizer you have to try!
This post is sponsored by Milton's Craft Bakers. All opinions are my own.
My dad takes a lot of pride in his chiles capeados. He never misses the opportunity to make this appetizer for people and everyone always loves them.
Think of chiles capeados as a version of jalapeño poppers, but oh so much better. These have a great spicy kick to them, while most of the jalapeño poppers I've ever had are never spicy. Depending on the jalapeños you get these can end up pretty hot, but we pair them with an easy yogurt sauce that not only goes great with them but cools off your taste buds.
This version of chiles capeados is a little different than the one my dad usually makes. For this recipe, we stuffed the peppers with pieces of cheese then used Milton's Organic Cheesy Cheddars for the coating, turning these into Double Cheese Chiles Capeados. These Organic Cheesy Cheddars deliver a better, bolder, cheddar crunch than the cheese crackers many of us loved in childhood. Plus, they are made with high quality ingredients that are Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and rBST-Free.
Another thing my dad and I noticed is the cracker coating actually helps the batter adhere to the peppers much better, making them even more delicious and also quite pretty.
We loved using the White Cheddar flavor for these, but Milton's also makes Original and Hot & Spicy which would work great too. You can use Milton's Store Locator to find all three of the Organic Cheesy Cheddars in a store near you!
Now let's get to making these spicy delights.
How to Make Double Cheese Chiles Capeados
Preparing the Chiles
- Begin by washing and drying 8 extra large jalapeños. The bigger the jalapeños the easier they will be to stuff.
- In a small Dutch oven or a heavy bottom pot, fry the jalapeños in 2-3 batches in an inch of hot oil. Keep the heat on medium and use tongs to periodically turn the jalapeños so they don't burn. You only want the skin to blister all over.
- Place the fried jalapeños on a paper towel-lined plate and allow to cool.
- Once cool, use a paper towel to peel off all of the blistered skin. You may also want to use gloves to protect your hands from the spice.
- Once peeled, use a sharp knife to carefully cut a slit in the jalapeños lengthwise. Be careful not to puncture the other side or tear the pepper. Then use a small spoon to scrape out the seeds and veins.
- Stuff the peppers with a small but long piece of white cheese (such as cheddar, asadero, muenster or Chihuahua). Use a toothpick to seal the slit if it is too wide and the pepper won't stay shut.
Preparing the Coating and Batter
- You can work on the following steps while the peppers cool. First, use a mortar and pestle or food processor to grind up one cup of Milton's Organic Cheesy Cheddars, White Cheddar crackers into very fine crumbs. Place on an extended plate and set aside.
- Next, prepare the batter. In a medium mixing bowl combine ½ cup of cornstarch, ½ cup of flour of choice (regular or rice flour work best), and 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Slowly mix in ⅔ cup of unflavored mineral water until you reach the consistency of a thick pancake batter. You may end up having some mineral water left over which you can use later if the batter thickens.
Assembly and Frying
- In a Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, heat a couple of inches of oil over medium heat.
- One by one, roll the prepared jalapeños in the cracker crumbs and then dip in the batter. If the batter has thickened too much by now, add a little more mineral water.
- If you are having a hard time getting the cracker crumbs to stick to the jalapeño, you can also whip up two eggs and dip the jalapeños in the eggs before rolling them in the crumbs.
- Fry each of the jalapeños until the batter puffs up and all sides are golden brown.
- Remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Yogurt Sauce
- In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup of Greek yogurt, ⅓ teaspoon of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon of lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the chiles capeados with the yogurt sauce on the side as a dip.
These Double Cheese Chiles Capeados are best served immediately when the cheese is still melted and the outer shell is nice and crispy.
I hope you enjoy!
Please leave me a comment below if you make this or tag me on Instagram @everydaylatina.
Check out these other great jalapeño recipes:
And check out this other recipe that also uses Milton's Organic Cheesy Crackers:
Recipe
Double Cheese Chiles Capeados
Ingredients
- 8 extra large jalapeño peppers
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup flour (either all-purpose or rice flour)
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup unflavored mineral water (plus more if needed)
- 1 cup Milton's Organic Cheesy Cheddars, White Cheddar
- 2 eggs (if needed, see recipe)
Yogurt Sauce
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ⅓ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preparing the Chiles
- Wash and dry the jalapeños. In a small Dutch oven or a heavy bottom pot, fry the jalapeños in 2-3 batches in an inch of hot oil. Keep the heat on medium and use tongs to periodically turn the jalapeños so the skin blisters but doesn't burn.
- Place the fried jalapeños on a paper towel-lined plate and allow to cool. Once cool, use a paper towel and gloves to peel off all of the blistered skin.
- Once peeled, use a sharp knife to carefully cut a slit in the jalapeños lengthwise. Be careful not to puncture the other side or tear the pepper.
- Use a small spoon to scrape out the seeds and veins.
- Stuff the peppers with a small but long piece of white cheese (such as cheddar, asadero, muenster or Chihuahua). Use a toothpick to seal the slit if it is too wide and the pepper won’t stay shut.
Preparing the Coating and Batter (do the following while the peppers cool)
- Use a mortar and pestle or food processor to grind up one cup of Milton’s White Cheddar crackers into very fine crumbs. Place in an extended plate and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine cornstarch, flour and baking soda.
- Slowly mix in the unflavored mineral water until you reach the consistency of a thick pancake batter. You may end up having some mineral water left over which you can use later if the batter thickens.
Assembly and Frying
- In a Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, heat a couple of inches of oil over medium heat.
- One by one, roll the prepared jalapeños in the cracker crumbs and then dip in the batter. If you are having a hard time getting the cracker crumbs to stick to the jalapeño, you can also whip up two eggs and dip the jalapeños in the eggs before rolling them in the crumbs.
- If the batter has thickened too much by now, add a little more mineral water.
- Fry each of the jalapeños until the batter puffs up and all sides are golden brown.Remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Yogurt Sauce
- In a small bowl, mix together the Greek yogurt, garlic powder, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve chiles capeados immediately with the yogurt sauce on the side as a dip.
Amy Boeru
I made these today and they were DELICIOUS! And my house smelled heavenly. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️❤️❤️❤️
everydaylatina
Hi Amy, that’s wonderful! These are so great, we love to serve them as an appetizer. Thank you for trying the recipe and for the comment.
Emily C
These look super yummy!! I definitely want to try. Do you think pulsing the crackers in a food processor would be ok - not make them too fine?
everydaylatina
Hi Emily, yes you can pulse the cracker in a food processor. You don't want them as fine as flour but ground up pretty well so that it helps the batter stick.