Mercadona's Jalapeño Hot Cheese Bites: A Quick Summer Snack

Summer dinners follow their own rules — they happen more spontaneously, drag on without a glance at the clock, and the appetizers in them become almost as important a part of the meal as the main course. That's why the choice increasingly falls on products that don't require much cooking time but still look appetising.

It's precisely this category that the jalapeño cheese bites, Hot Cheese from Mercadona's own brand, Hacendado, fall into. This is breaded processed cheese with jalapeño, pre-fried and frozen.

One of their advantages is that they cook in just 6–7 minutes. You can prepare them either in an air fryer, to get a golden, crispy crust without using a lot of oil, or in the oven according to the instructions on the package.

Another plus of this snack is the combination of flavours: the processed cheese gives a creamy texture that contrasts with the mild spiciness of the jalapeño and the crispy breading on the outside. They can be served in different ways — on their own or with a light sauce, in the company of olives, salad, or a meat board.

The Hot Cheese Hacendado cheese bites are sold in a 300-gram package, and their price is 2.30 euros.

If you're looking for what else you can buy at your favourite store, the La Cotorra team has put together a selection of summer products from Mercadona — from light snacks to desserts and seasonal fruit that are best suited to the Spanish heat.