Ham and bean soup is one of my favourite cold weather comfort food meals and it’s sometimes nice to replace the ham with bacon (my favourite food)! When I was getting ready to make a batch of bacon and bean soup a while ago I thought that it would be so easy to add jalapenos and cheese and make a jalapeno popper version! This recipe is a pretty simple bacon and bean soup with the addition of jalapenos and a cheese sauce made with cheddar cheese and cream cheese! I like to use dried beans which are soaked overnight but you can also use canned beans to make it even easier. I like to make this soup on the stove top but it’s also great in the slow cooker and who doesn’t love placing something in the slow cooker before leaving for work in the morning and coming home to a meal that is almost complete? This soup is so nice and smooth, creamy and good with all of the flavours of jalapeno poppers including the perfect amout of heat! Yum! Perfect for cool winter days!
Jalapeno Popper Bacon and Bean Soup
A creamy bean and bacon soup done jalapeno popper style with cream cheese and cheddar along with jalapenos!
ingredients
- 1 pound bacon, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 6 cups ham broth or chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1 pound (~2 cups) dried white beans (such as navy), soaked in water overnight
- 1/4 cup jalapenos (pickled or fresh), sliced or diced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
For the soup:
For the cheese sauce:
directions
- Cook the bacon in a large sauce pan before setting it aside on paper towels and drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease form the pan.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook over medium-high heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the broth, beans and half of the bacon, bring to a boil , reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1-2 hours.
- Optionally puree some or all of the beans, add the cheese sauce, jalapenos and remaining bacon before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and serving!
- Heat the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat until it starts to foam.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook, mixing, until it turns a light golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the milk and simmer until it thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese and cook until it melts into the sauce before pouring into the soup.
For the soup:
For the cheese sauce:
Option: Use 2 (14.5 ounce cans) of white beans instead of the dried beans, using 3 cups of broth instead of 6.
Option: Throw a ham bone in to simmer with the soup for even more flavour!
Option: Feel free to skip making the sauce and just add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese to the soup and cook until they have melted. (Making the cheese sauce help prevent the cheese from curdling in the soup.)
Ham and Bean Soup
Pumpkin, Chorizo and Black Bean Soup
Maple and Bourbon Ham and Baked Bean Soup
Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup)
Spinach, White Bean and Turkey Sausage Soup
Jalapeno Poppers
Bacon Wrapped Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Soup
Jalapeno Popper Dip
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken
Jalapeno Popper Corn Fritters
Jalapeno Popper Dressing
Jalapeno Popper Pizza
Jalapeño Popper Quiche
Cheese Covered, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Burgers
Southwestern Grilled Chicken Jalapeno Popper Salad
Jalapeno Popper Potato Gratin
Jalapeno Popper Skillet Chicken
Cheesy Bacon Black Bean Dip
Bacon and Bean Soup
Jalapeno Popper Creamed Corn
Could you use goat cheese instead of cream cheese?
Yes you can and it would be good! Enjoy!
What an awesome idea!! I love Jalapeno popper ANYTHING!
Made this last night and it was delicious! Sprinkled some crumbled Doritos on top. Yummy!
I’m glad you like it and I love the crumbled Doritos on top!
At what step to you add the jalapeños? And do I cook this all for a few hours and THEN make the cheese sauce and just pour it in before serving?
Add the jalapenos in step 5 along with the cheese sauce, after simmering until the beans are tender. Enjoy!
The cheese sauce part…step 9 add cheese. Would that be both the cream cheese and chedder cheese? I’m assuming yes. Also how would you suggest adding chicken to this?
Yes that is both the cram cheese and the cheddar cheese. The easiest way to add chicken would be to add shredded rotisserie chicken (or other cooked chicken) near the end. Otherwise you could cook some raw chicken in the pan after the bacon and before the veggies. Enjoy!
Holy shitballs. I used two Serrano’s and two jalapeños, mistake. I’m still sweating
I really like how you add notes, suggest options and alternatives, and think a bit outside the way you probably originally set up a recipe. I do it that way, myself, as I make a recipe. I have a sister who needs to follow what is written, and having a recipe with the options written is a big help for many people, and even may spark some creativity for the rest of us. Thanks for doing that!
It looks like there is some kind of leaf in the soup. What is that?
I like to garnish this soup with fresh cilantro if I have some on hand!
hi! is this recipe hot? i’m breastfeeding but it looks delicious & i really want to make it! could i even make it without jalapeños?
This soup has some heat and it all comes from the “1/4 cup jalapenos” so you can easily control it! If you are concerned with the heat, you can try using less jalapenos (say 1 tablespoon), taste test, and add more to get the soup to the level of heat that you desire! Enjoy!
Ours turned out absolutely horrible. Cheese sauce didn’t melt right and came out greasy and clumpy. Soup looked absolutely nothing like pictures at all.
I’m using can white beans instead of dried. Should I reduce the broth to half?
Yes you should! I have updated the recipe to indicate that. Thanks and enjoy!