Jalapeno fans will love this Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole. It’s super creamy and in addition to bacon and chicken it also has pasta and plenty of cheese, both Cheddar and Monterey Jack.
So it’s really like a kicked-up mac and cheese. For grown-ups.
Or Jalapeno loving kids.
I know there are a few of those out there. I think spicy, cheesy food is the best. But you really can tone back the jalapeno and you’re left with a super creamy chicken casserole.
Super Creamy Texture
The creaminess comes from Challenge Cream Cheese. It’s a super high-quality cream cheese and I love to use it in everything from cheesecakes to dips. Made with real milk, cream, and natural ingredients, Challenge Cream Cheese is totally smooth and silky in texture and it really gives whatever you use it in a superior taste. It’s all about quality ingredients.
Jalapeno Popper Cicken Casserole Recipe Tip
I use rotisserie chicken for convenience and penne for the pasta, but you can really use any pasta shape.
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole is perfect comfort food for fall weather.
More Mac and Cheese Recipes
Watch the short video below to see how to make Jalapeno Popper Casserole.
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 jalapenos, 2 diced and 1 sliced
- 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 8 ounces penne pasta, cooked
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large nonstick pan. Crumble bacon and set aside.
- Add onion to bacon grease and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Add butter to pan. When melted, sprinkle flour into pan. Stir and cook 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk.
- Add cream cheese and stir until melted.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in half of Monterey Jack cheese and half of cheddar cheese until smooth.
- Stir in diced jalapeno, chicken, pasta, and half of bacon.
- Pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining bacon, cheese and the sliced jalapeno.
- Return to oven and bake 10 more minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally published October 14, 2016.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I appreciate the opportunity to share products I love and use in my own kitchen.
This recipe was amazing! Everyone had seconds and there was none left over. I doubled the recipe and cooked in a 9X13 casserole dish. I used real bacon bits (1 tbsp. for each slice), dry (moistened with water) minced onions (1 tbsp. per onion), and jarred jalapenos (1 tablespoon per jalapeno). I am sure the fresh ingredients would have been tastier. It was simple to make and delicious. Would definitely make again.
Absolutely delicious.. but definitely not for the health conscious. My family loved it! It is definitely a keeper recipe. So much flavor. I used jalapeños from my son’s garden.. I love spicy so next time around I will be adding more and probably keeping in the seeds along with some cayenne pepper as another post suggested. Can’t wait to make again!
Made this tonight and received so many compliments. Made it exactly as written. My family says it’s a keeper! We used fresh jalapeños from our garden. We have enough leftover for another meal. Great great flavor! Will save this for a football Sunday comfort food. We ate it today when the temperature was 90 degrees!!!!!!! Still delicious!!!
This was delicious! Is it okay to use your picture in my post? I just started a blog and didn’t realize I still needed permission even if I credited the original poster. https://inaileditorfailedit.com/jalapeno-popper-chicken-casserole/
What size dish does this go into? There is only my hubby and I and was wondering about cutting in half. Looks delicious!
Delicious… tweeked this recipe a tad bit. Left out jalapeños (not spice tolerant) and used turkey bacon instead of pork. This casserole was a hit with my husband who is very picky . Very tasty!
Also added spinach and baked covered for a half an hour and uncovered for twenty minutes.
Made this for Sunday dinner and it came out great! I added a can of cream of chicken and cayenne pepper to add some heat. Thanks for sharing!
Has anyone tried to freeze this and reheat? My husband and son love it! Would be awesome to have it in the freezer to heat up on busy nights! Thanks for sharing!
Made this last night. My husband said the recipe is a keeper. He loves jalapeños & bacon so this is a winner for him. I used 8 oz cream cheese, 2 cups of milk & 1 cup of chicken stock instead of broth (for more flavor). I also doubled the amount of bacon crumbles. I used 2 cups Mexican blend cheese & it worked perfectly. I baked mine for one hour covered & then following the directions for the topping. It was not dry at all & the flavor was wonderful.
Really good but a bit heavy. Perfect for a potluck!
Made this for dinner tonight and we liked it a lot. As a swap I used turkey breast instead of chicken as I had a monstrous amount of leftovers after Thanksgiving and we needed something different. We’ve eaten a lot of turkey recently.
I added red peppers and spinach to this, used a rotisserie chicken. It’s SO GOOD!!!
Made this delicious casserole – thank you for a great recipe. Only change I made was double the jalapenos to 6 because we love them.
I had some left over chicken to use up and had a guest over, so this was great to throw together for a filling meal!
I made this with minor modifications and it turned out great!
– Used 2 left over baked breaded chicken thighs. Skin peeled off, Diced/shredded.
-Used some cooked, then frozen bacon I always keep on hand.
– Didn’t have fresh or canned jalapenos, but did have jalapeno powder. Used about 1 T of it, Wasn’t enough- jalapenos as the recipe calls for would have been much better!
-Used cheese I had on hand, combo of colby jack, cheddar jack, and motz. About 1 1/2 cups IN the sauce, then sprinkling on top of sauce.
-Added crushed ritz crackers and melted butter to the top as another reader suggested! I like a bit of crunch on my casseroles.
I cooked everything (except the noodles) in a stainless steel skillet w/ stainless handles, then added cooked noodles and put it right into the oven. Much less cleanup!
I had enough that I scooped some of the sauce/chicken/noodle mixture into an 8″ round pan and froze it. I think it should be fine froze! I’ll add the cracker crumbs when i cook it!
It turned out really good, not quite enough spice- but that’s completely my fault for not having the correct ingredients on hand! Yum!
I am super excited to try this delicious looking recipe. I have some homegrown jalapeño’s that I want to use in recipes. and this looks amazing. My husband will live this. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Tried it and it turned out great! Of course it’s a little heavy with all of the pasta and dairy, but it is definitely delicious! Not something I will cook too often because I just try to eat dairy and pasta moderately as well as my family, but it is definitely in my recipe book and will definitely cook again.
I love this recipe! With mine i add crushed ritz cracker with melted butter on top. My family Loves this casserole.
I made this recipe for my family tonight and I was delicious! The shredded chicken seemed a little out of place, I would probably serve with grilled chicken or none at all. I added salt for a little extra flavor. I would definitely make it again, but probably make a few little tweaks to my liking. Thanks for sharing!!
Awesome! I made this tonight adapting it to our LCHF (keto) lifestyle.. amazing! Super easy, wicked flavorful! Thanks so much for the inspiration! 👍😉
How did you adapt it.? I just started LCHF..
My family LOVES kick–we’ve added 2-3 habaneros along with the jalapenos’… We are looking forward to playing with chipotle’s with this recipe!
I love chipotle’s. Bet it would be great with that smoky flavor!