Just looking at this heavenly carb-tastic and cheesy goodness is making me swoon. So what if it’s super early in the morning? I’ve never been one to shy away from eating dinner for breakfast or breakfast for dinner anyway. I’d gladly (OK I DID gladly) eat leftovers from this meal with an egg on top – and it’s amazing!
I remember my first jalapeño popper experience, and truth be told in hindsight it was pretty lackluster, but at the time I thought I had died and entered some kind of junk food lover’s paradise. It was in the local Sam’s Club when I was in high school; like any good high schooler I went with my mom to the bulk store to eat a “lunch” of samples from sweet old ladies in foodservice caps.
You guys know what it’s like, right? Where you see a new sample and you literally STAND IN LINE behind people to try something you know you’ll never buy? Yep, totally me. Not scared. I even think I remember pushing someone out of the way for the last one…maybe? Who knows… 😉
As I took my first bite I tasted all things cheesy, gooey, warm, crunchy, salty and a little spicy. If you know me at all you know that’s basically what I look for IN EVERY BITE OF FOOD I TAKE. And since we’ve all been well aware of my mac and cheese addiction I just couldn’t get the idea out of my brain. When I was asked to join up with some of my favorite food bloggers for a Mac and Cheese Mania (sponsored by Door to Door Organics and OXO) it was a no-brainer and I filled out the form with all of the intentions of a face-rocking jalapeño popper version.
One of the great things about mac and cheese is that you can totally make a huge dish of it to share family-style, or you could make it fancy in little ramekins for individual servings. Whatever. Do what you have to do to just get some of this in your dinner menu ASAP. Mmmmmk? No foodservice cap required!
Y’all enjoy!
P.S. Not only is there a huge list of IN-CRED-I-BLE recipes from some of my favorite gals on the internet, but there’s a giveaway too! You can head over to either Rachel’s blog or Brandy’s blog and link up your favorite mac & cheese recipe – and you don’t have to be a blogger to do so! Prizes up for grabs include Door to Door Organics Gift Cards, OXO Gift Baskets, Zak Designs Prize Pack, a year’s supply of Cabot cheese, a Vermont Creamery gift basket, a risotto kit from Marx Foods, Barilla pasta, Anolon Advanced Bronze 4.5 Qt. Tapered Stockpot, Rachael Ray Stoneware Casseroval, Wusthof CLASSIC Studio Block Set, Microplane Graters and Kitchen Tools, a SavorX Starter Block with spices and Le Cordon Bleu by Swissmar oven to table roasters. All giveaways open to US residents over the age of 18 only.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta of choice (I loved using these medium shells!)
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 cups milk
- 4 ounces fire-roasted and peeled chopped green chiles
- 4 ounces pickled jalapeños
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large heavy-bottom pot.
- When the butter has melted, whisk in the flour to form a roux; cook for about 1 minute.
- While whisking continuously, stream in the milk until the mixture is smooth.
- Stir in the green chiles and jalapeños.
- Let the mixture come to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese and cream cheese.
- Fold in the pasta and mix until evenly coated with the cheese sauce.
- Pour into a greased 9- x 13-inch pan (or individual ramekins).
- Toss together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan, then evenly sprinkle on top of the mac and cheese.
- Broil for about 60-90 seconds, or until the top is browned and crisp.
- Serve hot!
Want more fabulous mac & cheese recipes?! These bloggers have got ’em! Enjoy!
Buffalo Cheddar Mac and Cheese by Eats Well With Others
Creamy Spinach Artichoke Macaroni and Cheese with Gouda by Sarah’s Cucina Bella
Light Sweet Potato Mac ‘n Cheese Recipe by Cookin’ Canuck
Macaroni and Cheese Fritters by Amuse Your Bouche
Skinny Chicken Mac and Cheese Casserole by A Zesty Bite
Creamy Pancetta + Leek Macaroni and Cheese by Simply Scratch
Smoked Bacon Mac and Cheese by Cravings of a Lunatic
Pizza Mac and Cheese by Very Culinary
Crab Mac and Cheese by Dine & Dish
Bacon & Eggs Breakfast Mac & Cheese by Sweet Remedy
Fried Mac & Cheese Balls by The Little Kitchen
Sweet Pork Macaroni and Cheese by Oh, Sweet Basil
Butternut Squash Quinoa Mac n’ Cheese Bake by Queen of Quinoa
Lightened Up Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese by Prevention RD
Butternut Mac and Cheese with Pretzel Crust by Healthy. Delicious.
Skinny Greek Mac and Cheese with Crunchy Pita Chip Topping by The Law Student’s Wife
Potato Skin Mac and Cheese by Eat Your Heart Out
by Pocket Change Gourmet
Bacon Mac and Cheese Egg Rolls by Miss in the Kitchen
Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese by Crunchy Creamy Sweet
Blue Cheese Bechamel Mac and Cheese by Sweetphi
Korean Mac & Cheese by Cooking with Books
Black and Blue Mac and Cheese by Fabtastic Eats
Tomato and Leek Mac and Cheese by Susie Freaking Homemaker
Healthier Mac & Cheese with Chipotle Peppers by Go Gingham
Mac and Cheese Ice Cream by Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body
Blue Cheese & Bacon Macaroni & Cheese by Gimme Some Oven
Poutine Mac and Cheese with Andouille Gravy by Climbing Grier Mountain
Double Smoked Chicken Mac and Cheese by Girl Carnivore
Creamy Greek Yogurt Mac and Cheese with Peas and Bacon by Running to the Kitchen
Nudel Gratin by Crumbs and Chaos
Mushroom and Truffle Sea Salt White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese by Big Bear’s Wife
Roasted Poblano and Goat Cheese Mac by Daisy at Home
Creamy Cauliflower ‘n Cheese with Bacon by Barefeet in the Kitchen
Wisconsin Cheese, Brats, and Onion Macaroni and Cheese by a farmgirl’s dabbles
Spinach Queso Mac & Cheese by Bake Your Day
Roasted Garlic Mac and Cheese with a Pancetta Parmesan Crust by Mountain Mama Cooks
French Onion Mac & Cheese by Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
Healthier Macaroni and Cheese by Texanerin Baking
Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese by CafeTerraBlog
Macaroni and Cheese Stuffed Peppers by Cook the Story
Jack Daniels Mac and Cheese by The Slow Roasted Italian
Lobster Mac and Cheese by FoodieCrush
Green Chili 5-cheese Baked Mac and Cheese by A Southern Fairytale
Homemade Elbow Noodle Tutorial + a Recipe for Roasted Veggie Mac by Bakeaholic Mama
Salsa Verde Mac-n-Cheese (two ways) by Eat2Gather
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese with Crispy Panko Topping by The Lemon Bowl
This looks amazing, but I’m afraid I can’t see the recipe! In its place is ‘[ amd-zlrecipe-recipe:27 ]’, which I think might be some kind of odd coding error? I planned to try this for a family dinner on Saturday and the recipe was visible on Tuesday when I did my grocery shopping for it, but now I can’t see it. Maybe there’s just something wrong with my browser? Any help would be so appreciated!!
Hi Daisy! I updated my blog with WordPress and the recipe plugin I was using didn’t update with it. If you can send me a quick email I can get the recipe to you while I wait for this to be fixed!
I’m now just circling back, this looks amazing. You had me at jalapeño popper!
This looks so amazing. I love the heat in this one. Right up my alley.
Oh this is incredible!! So creative. I’ll take a bowl Heather 🙂
My favorite bar snack, in pasta form. Love this!
The first time I ever had a jalapeno popper, it was pretty revelatory as well…though looking back, I’m not sure my obsession was deserved…in actuality it was pretty lackluster! But I do love me some GOOD poppers, and I’m pretty sure I would much rather have them in mac and cheese form!
I do love this and I’d love to serve a huge bowl of this to anyone that stopped by for dinner! I’m with you, I could eat mac and cheese for breakfast any day!!
Because we all know that macaroni tastes better in shell form (really, it does!)… and with a little heat!
Yes, more mac and cheese flavor mash-ups! Loving it.
Heather, this looks fantastic!! Love the jalapeno twist!
Yum! What a great idea for a mac n’ cheese. My jalapeno loving husband would be all over this!
Oh girl, I am all over this. Carb-tastic…that’s my new favorite word!
YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!! Love everything Jalapeno Popper 😉
Going direct to my happy place Heather. Love me some jalapeno popper, and it’s a brilliant addition to mac and cheese!
This looks super yummy! I love Jalapeno poppers, and this is super creative, can’t wait to try it.
Yum yum! Pinning this for later!
Definitely an easy dish to make in individual ramekins which is not only cute but necessary so the kiddos can skip the jalapeños and I can load them up into mine!
Oh my! I love jalapeno poppers and mac and cheese but never thought of combining them. What a great idea!
Oh boy – my hubby would looooove this!
I also did a spicy mac for this Mania! Love something cheesy and spicy, and your recipe sounds fab! Mm Mm Mm!!
I’ve made jalapeno popper chicken and jalapeno popper chili in the last month, I think it’s only fair that I give this mac and cheese a shot too 😉
Oh-my-goodness! Love that I can have a jalapeno popper in mac and cheese form! Looks glorious Heather!
Oh wow! I love things spicy and macaroni and cheese is a favorite around here!
Loving this creation! YUM! Thanks for helping us kick off mac and cheese mania!
Not sure I’ve ever had a spicy macaroni cheese before but this sounds amazing! Love crunchy breadcrumb toppings 🙂