Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese

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This easy jalapeno popper mac and cheese puts a fresh twist on a classic appetizer! An easy baked mac and cheese with white cheddar sauce, crispy bacon, and toasted bread crumbs.

Two small ramekins, filled with mac and cheese and topped with bread crumbs.

This homemade mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. It's perfect for game day, date night, or a cozy weekend dinner!

We're taking the classic components of a jalapeño popper appetizer and swirling them into a creamy, cheesy pasta sauce with plenty of white cheddar cheese. Top things off with some crispy bacon, fresh jalapeno slices, and buttery panko breadcrumbs for a rich, creamy pasta that's sure to impress.

Looking for something a little different? Try our rosemary bacon mac and cheese →

Black spoon stirring mac and cheese in a white pot.

A few notes on ingredients

Prepping your jalapeño. We'll use one large jalapeño pepper in this spicy mac n cheese, but we'll cut it two different ways: First, trim about half of the pepper into thin, round slices (you'll use these slices as a garnish, to top the mac and cheese before baking). Dice the rest of the pepper into small pieces (the diced pepper will go straight into the sauce). Jalapeños can vary quite a bit in size and in spice level - feel free to adjust the amount of pepper you use here to suit your own tastes! We have a few tips on adjusting the spice level of this recipe in the "Riffs & Substitutions" section below.
Shred your own cheese for best results. Pre-shredded cheese is often coated with preservatives that prevent it from melting smoothly. For a smooth, creamy sauce, we recommend buying a block of white cheddar cheese and shredding it yourself.
Use a sharp cheddar cheese. Look for sharp or extra sharp white cheddar cheese (or use sharp yellow cheddar if you can't find white cheddar!) You want something with plenty of flavor and a bit of a bite to it to balance out the richness of the cream cheese and bacon in this recipe.
Don't skip the toasted bread crumbs! It's worth the effort to toast up some panko breadcrumbs to top this pasta - they give the final dish a ton of texture and really make a huge difference. We prefer panko bread crumbs here; they have the best texture.
Add salt at every stage. Seasoning is SO important (with anything, but especially with mac and cheese). Be sure to generously salt your pasta water. Also, add a pinch of salt to the cheese sauce right after you add the milk. Once the macaroni noodles are all mixed in, give it a taste and add more salt if the flavors still need to "pop" (just keep in mind that the bacon is also pretty salty, so you may need less salt here than you usually would!)

Jalapeno mac and cheese ingredients, organized into individual bowls on a white table.

How to make this mac and cheese

There are five main steps to this bacon jalapeno mac and cheese:

Cook the pasta.
Crisp up the bacon.
Build the sauce.
Toast the bread crumbs.
Bake!

First, cook the pasta

First things first: Cook the pasta noodles in very salty water until they're a few minutes less than al dente. You can handle this in one of two ways:

Cook and drain the pasta, then return the same pot to the stove to build the cheese sauce.
Cook the pasta in a separate pot of boiling water while you fry the bacon and make the cheese sauce. When the pasta is done, use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to transfer it directly to the prepared cheese sauce. *This is our preferred method. Timing suggestion: Fry the bacon while you wait for the water to boil, then build the sauce while the pasta cooks.

Crisp the bacon

Dice the bacon up (this helps it cook more quickly) and fry it in a large pot until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set it aside for later.

Leave the bacon fat in the pot

When the bacon is cooked, leave the bacon fat right in the pot - don't worry about draining it! We'll use this fat in our roux (a paste that will thicken our cheese sauce).

Fun fact: The roux in mac and cheese recipes is typically made with butter and flour, but since we're cooking up some bacon here anyway, we're using the leftover bacon fat instead of butter to build the base of this sauce. This gives us extra flavor and reduces waste!

Stirring milk into a roux in a large pot.

Build the cheese sauce

Add some diced jalapeño to the hot bacon fat. Keep an eye on it - the pot is already hot, so the pepper will cook quickly and may spatter a bit (turn the heat down if you need to!)

Once the jalapeño has softened a bit, add a bit of flour and stir everything together to form a loose paste (this is your roux!). Cook the roux for 30 seconds or so to cook out any raw flour taste, then slowly stir in the milk.

Stir well to work out any lumps, then bring the sauce to a simmer and let it thicken.

Stirring cheese, pasta, and crispy bacon into sauce.

Once the sauce is fairly thick, stir in a bit of cream cheese. Depending on the brand or style of cream cheese you use, it may not melt perfectly: that's ok! Stir until it's mostly melted, but don't worry if some small chunks remain at this point.

Next, add a few handfuls of shredded white cheddar cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy. Throw in your cooked pasta and half of the crispy bacon, then stir everything together until it's evenly coated.

Bread crumbs being toasted in a small silver skilllet.

Toast the bread crumbs

Melt a bit of butter in a small skillet. Add panko breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt, then toast for a few minutes until they're golden brown. Stir the breadcrumbs constantly and keep a close eye on them - this process will go pretty quickly!

Tip: If you have extra bacon fat from other recipes, you can use that instead of butter here.

To bake, or not to bake?

We wrote this recipe as a spicy baked mac and cheese: We just love the extra oomph you get from letting all these flavors melt together in the oven. But you have a few options here!

If you'd like to bake the mac and cheese, transfer it to an oven safe dish and add the toppings, then bake until the sauce is bubbling and the bread crumbs are browned. Be sure to undercook the pasta a bit (a few minutes less than al dente - it should still have a bit of crunch to it!) since it will finish cooking in the oven. We like to make the mac and cheese in an oven-safe pot (like this Dutch oven) so it can transfer from stovetop to oven with no extra dishes!

To save time, serve this as a stovetop mac and cheese: Cook the pasta until it's al dente, make the sauce as instructed, and top the creamy macaroni with the remaining crispy bacon, toasted bread crumbs, and jalapeño slices and enjoy!

A quick mac and cheese primer

There are two main styles of macaroni and cheese: The French-leaning version builds a creamy sauce using a basic stovetop béchamel sauce (a flour-and-butter base - called a roux - with lots of milk). Southern mac and cheese is typically baked and sometimes features eggs or evaporated milk in addition to a blend of cheeses and seasonings.

The "right" way to make mac and cheese is different for everyone. Our mac and cheese recipes have plenty of riffs and mix-ins, and they lean towards the French style: excellent right off the stovetop or baked with breadcrumbs or extra cheese on top.

Mac and cheese in a grey dutch oven, topped with bread crumbs, bacon, and jalapeño.

Riffs and Substitutions

This creamy jalapeño mac and cheese is quite forgiving: Mix it up to use whatever you have on hand! A few of our favorite swaps and additions:

Add extra protein. Stir some cooked shredded slow cooker chicken, andouille sausage, chorizo, or extra bacon into this mac and cheese if you like!
Swap some or all of the cheeses in this recipe for smoked gouda, havarti, parmesan, yellow cheddar, or fontina with good results.
Amp up the flavor by adding minced garlic, roasted garlic, diced onion (yellow/white onions, shallots, or green onions are all good) along with the jalapeño when you start building the sauce. You can also stir some diced tomatoes or chopped, canned green chiles into the finished sauce for extra flavor.
Use any pasta you like! We love twirly cavatappi noodles here, but this recipe also works with rigatoni, shell pasta, or classic elbow macaroni.
Swap the jalapeño for a poblano pepper or some diced bell peppers. Dial the amount of jalapeño up or down to make this mac and cheese more or less spicy.
For a milder flavor, remove the seeds from the jalapeño.
Pro tip: If you want the flavors of a jalapeño popper without the pasta (*gasp*, but it's ok we forgive u), these base ingredients are also excellent in a jalapeño popper dip.

A few FAQs

Can I reheat this mac and cheese?

We think this spicy mac and cheese tastes best the day it's baked, but the leftovers are still good and very easy to reheat! Scoop leftover mac and cheese into a clean, oven-safe dish and bake at 325° Fahrenheit until warmed through (the exact baking time will depend on how much you're heating up: usually 10-20 minutes is plenty for a serving or two).

Can I make mac and cheese ahead of time?

Yes - this recipe is easy to prep in advance! Make the sauce and pasta as directed, transfer to an oven-safe baking dish, and let it cool completely. Don't add the toppings yet! Cover mac and cheese with an airtight lid and store in the refrigerator (2-3 days) or freezer (2-3 months). If you freeze this mac and cheese, let it defrost overnight in the fridge before baking. When you're ready to bake, remove any lids or wrapping, top with crispy bacon and toasted bread crumbs, then place baking dish in a COLD oven and heat it with the mac and cheese inside. You may need to extend the baking time, so keep an eye on it. Never place a cold baking pan - especially if it's glass or ceramic - into a hot oven, as it can shatter.

Why toast the bread crumbs before baking?

You just get much more color and flavor this way! You can skip this step if you're short on time.

PS - Need a little help with your mac and cheese? Get our best tips for perfect sauces, toasty bread crumbs, marvelous mix-ins, and more in Mac and Cheese 101!

Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese

A few notes on ingredients