Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Baked Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese
A forkful of this mac and cheese has the creamy, peppery appeal of a jalapeño popper, with bacon tucked into the pasta and scattered over the top. Toasted panko adds a little crunch. It's a good pick when your appetite is firmly on the rich-and-cheesy side.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 8
- Ingredients
- 17 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Pork
- Cuisine
- American
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
A few quick notes
1. Toast the panko
Stir the panko in olive oil until coated and beginning to brown, then set it aside for topping.
2. Stop the pasta early
Cook the pasta one minute shy of al dente before draining it and combining it with the cheese sauce.
3. Whisk the milk mixture
Whisk the cream and milk into the cooked flour mixture until the lumps are gone, then stir often.
Get to know the ingredients
Prepared jalapeños
Remove the seeds and ribs from the fresh jalapeños, then dice them for cooking with the onion.
Cream cheese
Soften and cube the cream cheese so it is ready to stir into the thickened sauce.
White cheese choice
White American cheese is listed with white cheddar as an option; reserve some for the casserole topping.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 8. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 7 steps completeMake room for Baked Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Hot from the dish
Serve hot, adding the optional sliced jalapeños and parsley or cilantro if you want the listed garnish.
A little more help as you go
Reserve the topping
Keep some mozzarella, white cheese and bacon back when mixing the pasta so they can finish the top.
Watch sauce thickness
If the cheese sauce becomes too thick, the directions allow a splash of milk stirred into it.
A few questions you might have
When does the garlic go in?
Add the minced garlic after the jalapeños and onion have cooked for two minutes, then cook another minute.
Do the breadcrumbs go on raw?
Toast them in olive oil first until they begin browning, then sprinkle them over the assembled casserole.
Can I use half and half?
Half and half is listed as an alternative to heavy cream for the sauce, alongside the whole milk.
Does all the bacon go into the pasta?
Stir most of the cooked, crumbled bacon into the pasta and reserve the remainder for the topping.
Is there an extra-creamy option?
For more sauce, use one and a half times the ingredients from butter through cumin, then bake as directed.
Any more cooking tips?
For an ultra creamy version, 1.5x the sauce ingredients (butter through cumin), and bake as directed.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: thechunkychef.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
