The Best Jalapeño Pie Appetizer, A Zesty Party Favorite

Jalapeño pie is a spicy, cheesy appetizer that’s great for potlucks or holiday spreads. Quick & easy, it’s delicious with a flaky pie crust.

Jalapeño pie is a delicious and popular appetizer that’s super quick and easy to make. Pair it with my flaky pie crust and you’ll get lots of raves about this simple dish. It’s great for potlucks, as a holiday appetizer, for parties, and football game day gatherings. It makes a tasty snack and even makes a lovely lunch when paired with a salad.

I find it a great little recipe that fills lots of holes when planning your meals, party, and holiday menus. Take advantage of the end of season jalapeño harvest and make this pie with fresh jalapeños, or make it anytime with frozen, canned, pickled, or fermented jalapeños. 

If you love peppers, don’t miss my fermented pepper recipes, Fermented Jalapeños, Fermented Chili Paste, and Cantaloupe Hot Sauce. And try an old family heirloom recipe of Bessarabian origin, an amazing Zucchini Vegetable Ikra, or ‘poor man’s caviar’, which utilizes peppers as well. A German fall favorite, a savory pie, that you really must try is Zwiebelkuchen, or onion pie with bacon. It’s fantastic, and also makes a great party offering! And you can get my awesome Flaky Pie Recipe Here!
Visit my page on How To Grow Peppers From Seed if you’d like to grow your own Jalapenos, and you’ll learn about the medicinal value of peppers on my Benefits Of Peppers page.  

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The Best Jalapeño Pie Appetizer, A Zesty Party Favorite

If you have never had jalapeño pie, you’ll be surprised how awesome a few simple ingredients can taste, when used in combination. Jalapeños and cheese are a classic combo that have inspired countless delicious and zesty recipes.

In my recipe, this duo is paired with a delicious flaky pie crust, preferably made with all or part lard. If you don’t have a favorite pie crust recipe yet, then you must try my flaky pie crust to make jalapeño pie, it’s a perfect match! 

I remember the first time I got to taste this pie, it made such an impact on me! I don’t remember much about the party, and not because I was drinking, lol. It was just really long ago, like almost 40 years! But I remember tasting the pie and begging for the recipe. It was so delicious, and I was surprised how simple it was.

And now I still make it every year at least once during jalapeño season. It’s a must for me. Just as every year I love to make jalapeño halves, stuffed with a chunk of cheddar cheese and cooked on a grill. And I’m adding my newest favorites, jalapeño popper mini pies to my list of must-make jalapeno recipes. That fantastic recipe will come really soon, stay tuned! 

So this recipe is almost the same as the original I got 40 years ago and I’m really excited to share it with you!

Why You’ll Love My Jalapeño Pie Recipe

• It tastes fantastic!

• It’s simple, quick and easy to make when you’re in a hurry. Especially if you have a premade pie crust. And I highly recommend using a quality, or better, homemade crust, it’s a big player in this recipe. You can make the crust ahead of time and store it in the freezer for when you need it.

• This pie can be healthy if you choose healthy ingredients, see notes in the ingredient list.

• Great for lunches too with a salad, like my cucumber salad, some fermented coleslaw, or a veggie side. 

• You can also make this pie mild by using mild jalapeños or sweet peppers. I’d add a few extras for more flavor in that case.

• Perfect for a party or holiday spread, football season, or as an appetizer for any meal, and, though it’s not German, I wouldn’t hesitate to serve it at an Octoberfest party alongside my German Zwiebelkuchen!

How To Make Savory, Zesty Jalapeno Pie

Equipment

9″ pie dish
Knife 
Cutting board
Grater

Ingredients

I use organic ingredients whenever possible. It’s worth it to me for their higher nutrient density and to reduce toxins and pesticides in the body. Most conventional farming is not going to produce healthy foods, it’s all about mass production of produce grown on depleted soil and doused with toxins.

The EWG tests foods for toxic residues each year and publishes a ‘dirty dozen’ list of foods with the highest toxic loads. Peppers just barely missed a placement on this list by one spot in 2025!

9″ pie crust, unbaked – I highly recommend that you make your own from scratch, using half or all lard. But it’s delicious with an all butter crust too. And I think you’ll love my flaky pie crust recipe, it’s the crowning result of countless attempts!

However, if you’re in a wicked hurry, by all means, use a premade quality store-bought crust. It’ll get you from start to finished pie in a flash! I used an all-purpose flour crust in this recipe today, but I have made it with fresh milled and sifted einkorn crusts too and the flavor of a fresh milled flour crust is just plain fantastic.

Sharp cheddar cheese – Use a sharp cheddar cheese for best flavor. There are no other seasonings in this pie, and the cheese is pretty much the flavoring. I now make my own cheese and I’ve been working on an over 5 pound wheel of 3-year old aged homemade cheddar cheese, which has become quite piquant. It gives this pie a fantastic flavor. I think I should post the recipe for it soon, so you can make it too. It’s delicious.

But I’ve made this pie many times in the past with sharp cheddar from a grocery store and it’s wonderful! If you’re looking to make this the most healthy pie, try to find organic cheese from pasture raised cows. Azure Standard has some really great cheeses available for a healthy option. They deliver to drops all over the country by truck.

Mozzarella cheese – I like to use my homemade mozzarella (recipes to come). But if you’re buying it, use a good quality whole milk mozzarella for best flavor. I would try to get organic mozzarella for clean eating, and if you can’t find it locally, you can check out the selection at Azure Standard. I’ll be posting an easy mozzarella recipe soon, so you can make it from whole milk yourself. Stay tuned.

Jalapeños (to your own taste) – It’s hard to make a recommendation for an amount, because much depends on how spicy you like things, how spicy your jalapeños are and whom you’re serving. Especially kids might not appreciate too much zest. Use your own judgment and adjust accordingly. Replace some or all with sweet peppers, or use mild jalapeños. You can really use any peppers that you’re growing in your garden. Increase the amount, if using sweet peppers, for more flavor.

Eggs – Homegrown are best, otherwise I’d recommend pasture raised eggs for best nutrition.

Instructions For Making Jalapeño Pie

Preheat the oven to 350℉

Grease your pie dish and line it with a rolled out flaky pie pastry. Trim the edges with a sharp knife. 

Flute the edges, or leave it rustic.

Prick the whole bottom with a fork.

Put the pie plate with crust back into the fridge or freezer while you prepare the ingredients. This will keep the butter from getting soft and melty.

Grate the cheeses and slice or dice the jalapenos.

Fill the crust with the following layers in that order: 

4 oz grated cheddar cheese

4 oz grated mozzarella cheese

Sliced jalapeños

4 oz grated cheddar cheese

Now beat the eggs in a small bowl and pour it over the pie ingredients. 

Put the pie into the oven in the lower half.

If you’re using a BBQ grill, elevate a sheet above the grate by a few inches and line the bottom with aluminum foil to diffuse the flame. I also partially close the back opening with some aluminum foil. I used two burners below on med-low. Baking takes a little longer than a regular oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until it’s puffed up and turning golden on top. Press on the center, it should just be getting firm and resist. 

Serve hot or at room temperature. I love it hot from the oven. 

Tips And Serving Suggestions:

• This pie can be frozen.

• Use mild jalapenos or sweet peppers for a mild pie, or mix spicy and sweet ones to make it just mildly spicy. Increase the amount of peppers when using sweet peppers for more flavor.

• When reheating, don’t use the microwave, it will make the crust soggy. A toaster oven is perfect or stick it into the grill on a parchment lined baking sheet. That’s what I do. The crust will get all nicely flaky and crispy again.

• Make this into single serve mini pies, using muffin tins. This recipe should make about a dozen. Use 4″ circle cutouts for the mini pie crusts.

• Use leftover pie crust to decorate the top with fall leaves or stars, or whatever you fancy.

• Serve with a tasty salad for lunch or a snack.

• Make skinny slices and serve as an appetizer.

Enjoy Your Jalapeño Pie! 

I hope you’ll love jalapeño pie and this easy recipe as much as I do. It’s just a great little treat that features the perfect well-loved combination of jalapeños and cheese. It’s easy and quick to make if you use all store-bought ingredients, perfect if you need a last minute dish to take to a party or for tonight’s football game. And it’s fantastic with a flaky, buttery homemade crust for a special occasion. Enjoy this tasty, zesty jalapeño pie!

Have you made this recipe? I’d love to get your feedback and your ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating! And I’d love to hear your favorite ways to use jalapeños. And please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments if you have any questions!

Join the Food For Life Garden Community for more great recipes and homestead tips and ideas. I’m always adding new content. Don’t miss any new posts and learn more about my off-grid farm life.

Other Recipes You Might Like

Best Flaky Pie Crust – Check out my best flaky pie crust recipe. Perfect for all your harvest and holiday pies! Lost of options for customizing.

Zwiebelkuchen a German onion pie – Delicious German fall tradition. Make some today, you won’t regret it!

Grow Peppers From Seeds – Your complete guide to growing peppers. From selecting seeds to planting, growing, companion planting, and harvesting. Find out the benefits of growing your own peppers and how to preserve them.

Mushroom Risotto – delicious gourmet flavored rice dish that’s easy to make and it’s a perfect way to highlight the rich flavor of mushrooms.

Hearty Mushroom Chowder – A delicious, rich and flavorful chowder that can easily be adapted to any ingredients you have in your pantry!

Pepper Uses And Benefits – Learn about all the awesome benefits and uses for sweet and hot peppers and how to use peppers to improve your health.

Fermented Chili Paste – Here is a great way to preserve your end-of-the season harvest of green peppers. This paste will last all year in your refrigerator to use as a condiment, seasoning, or topping.

Fermented Jalapenos – Spicy, Easy, Tasty, Convenient. Keep a jar of sliced probiotic pickled jalapenos on hand for every day use.

Fermented Hot Sauce With Cantaloupe – How to make a delicious fermented hot sauce that is great with meat, fish, eggs and on sandwiches. What a great way to use some cantaloupe and spicy peppers. 

Foraged Wild Weeds Pesto Recipe – Make a delicious Pesto with dead nettles and other wild weeds with this guide to foraging wild greens.

Salt-cured herbs – Preserving delicate herbs for the cold season, using either fermentation or salt-curing. Keep a jar of your favorite herbs in the refrigerator. It preserves the fresh flavor and nutrients for a year or more.

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9″ pie dish
Knife 
Cutting board
Grater
Azure Standard for organic ingredients such as jalapeños and organic cheeses.

Grow Your Own Peppers

Jalapeños
Mild Jalapeños