One Pot Jalapeño Popper Pasta

On Wednesdays, we cook dinner with whatever we have in the fridge. Today, it turned into this one-pot jalapeño popper pasta because I had jalapeños that were on their last leg, and we try not to waste food around here.

Here's what you'll need:

7-8 jalapeños
1 small onion, chopped
1 TB or so of bacon fat 
1/2 C of chopped cooked bacon
8 ounces of penne or other short pasta
3 C chicken stock
pepper 
garlic powder
Cajun seasoning
6 ounces of cream cheese
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
Optional: Chopped green onions for garnish

Here's how I made it:

I started by seeding and dicing about 7 or 8 jalapeños. Then, I chop a small onion.  In a large pot, I melted down a spoonful of bacon fat, just enough to give it that classic, smoky flavor, and sauteed the jalapeños, onions, and some leftover cooked bacon I had hanging out in the fridge.  

Once everything was nice and fragrant, I added 8 ounces of penne pasta and poured in 3 cups of chicken stock.  I seasoned it with a little pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Cajun seasoning. Since my stock was already salted, I didn't add any extra.  

I brought it to a boil, then lowered the heat, covered the pot, and let it simmer for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally until the pasta was tender and had soaked up all of that flavor.  

To finish it off, I stirred in 6 ounces of cream cheese and about a cup of shredded cheddar. Once everything was melted and creamy, I added an extra sprinkle of cheese and some chopped green onions on top.

Now, it didn't taste exactly like a jalapeno popper, but it was warm, cheesy, and absolutely delicious. We even looked forward to eating the leftovers the next day! Let me know what you think in the comments. What would you add?

#onepotmeals #easyrecipes #jalapenopoppers #cleanoutthefridgemeal #budgetfriendlymeals #pastadinnerideas #whatsfordinner #usewhatyouhavecooking #nofoodwaste #cozymeals

[skapunker]

whenever you look forward to eating the leftovers, you know the meal was good.

[bsouthmama]

I saw Jalapeño Poppers and stopped the video I was watching. This is right up my alley! Thanks again 😊

[MidnightValkyrie-gqvd]

This looks amazing. Gonna have to send this vid to my jalapeno loving friends (and my mom).

[Tabasco--Life]

@Rebecca Thank you for the idea~

Going to use this idea to make "Cream Cheese Hot Wing Chicken Pasta" I just made chicken broth today with rotisserie chicken bones. I have pulled chicken from the rotisserie in the frig, Wing Sause and cream cheese along with left over spiral pasta in the pantry. Edit: Will make the sauce separate from the pasta and pour it over.

[CupcakeFairy]

I like this idea 💡 it’s the creative mind going while using what you have in your fridge/pantry

[jami]

This looks amazing 🤩 I love jalapeno poppers, definitely gonna give this a try

[LiaCooper]

Mmm sounds delicious -- maybe a sprinkle of bread crumbs for garnish to help with that jalapeno popper connection

[-amosc.presley-]

Yourself, is so very Creative in the kitchen.
I know you and ya Hubby be eating good!

[billiegraham]

This looks good! Did you know, if you remove the seeds from peppers, you can freeze them? They work great in dishes like this one.

[mikaelalind]

Thank you for inspiration ! I used it as a base but swapped the jalapenos for broccoli from the freezer. Super tasty. I am looking forward to making the oroginal recipe as soon as I get to the store

[lamb_]

Thanks for all your uploads lately. I've been in an awful depressive episode. Can't wait to make this pasta dish when I'm able! 💝

[vinniemartinez]

You just gave me some great ideas. Much better 😌 👌

[sandhya]

This looks like something that the leftovers are better the next day 😊

[Purplefairybunny]

Loving these daily videos!! I bet this would have been great with some diced bell peppers. We like to make our cream cheese poppers with bell peppers as it adds more flavoring.

[swimdude]

breadcrumb topping would make this much more like a jalapeño popper. Still a great use of leftover ingredients!!!

[elizabethkendrick]

I hope this goes viral, sounds awesome!

[michellehankton]

just added to my meal rotation this month

[lauramaldonado]

That looks like a delicious dinner. What a great recipe. I’m definitely gonna try this.❤

[evedallas]

I definitely making this this weekend ❤❤❤❤

[joyceclark]

Looks great..Rebecca, when I am adding crispy bacon to my recipes..I wait until the end so hopefully it will maintain its crispness..but that's me because I don't like "floppy" bacon..