If you find yourself not being able to get enough jalapeno poppers on game day, you will love this family favorite, one pan creamy jalapeño popper chicken casserole. Jalapeños, chunks of chicken, pasta, and a cheesy cream cheese mixture come together in under an hour for a delicious meal the whole family loves.
There are so many delicious ways to highlight the combination of spicy jalapeños and cooling cream cheese. We love stuffing our favorite jalapeno poppers appetizer into sandwiches to make jalapeño popper grilled cheese. We also love piling on the bacon with our air fryer jalapeño poppers..
Casseroles are some of my favorite recipes to make, particularly when I have little time and want to prep an all in one meal for the family that will be a huge hit. Be sure to also try my Sour Cream Noodle Bake or Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole.
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🌶️ Ingredients:
- Cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise – bring these creamy ingredients to room temperature for combining evenly and easily.
- Spices: onion and garlic powder
- Peppers: Pickled and fresh jalapeños add a ton of flavor, both tanginess and spice!
- Meat: Rotisserie shredded chicken (or cooked shredded boneless skinless chicken breasts and cooked bacon)
- Cheese: shredded cheddar (mild and/or sharp cheddar cheese) and monterey jack cheese – pepper jack would also be really good, but would add some spice so take that into consideration, especially if you’re feeding a crowd.
- Pasta: I like to use rotini, but macaroni, shells, bowtie, or cavatappi could all work.
- Green onions – chopped chives also work
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Garnish the jalapeno popper casserole with sliced jalapeños and fresh sliced green onions. Crunchy bacon on top is good also.
Substitutions and Variations
- Leave out the pasta for a low-carb keto casserole version – keto jalapeño popper chicken casserole tastes just as delicious, in my opinion!
- If preferred, you can use all sour cream instead of mayonnaise.
- Instead of rotisserie chicken, you can use cooked chicken breast or chicken thighs. We have an easy instant pot chicken breast recipe or air fryer boneless chicken breast recipe that will provide you with flavorful, moist chicken in a snap.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat the oven to 350°F. On medium-high heat, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, spices, and diced fresh jalapeño peppers. For quick blending, use an electric mixer.
Step 2: Stir in a cup of each kind of cheese.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, chicken, and most of the crispy bacon.
Step 4: Combine cream cheese mixture to the pasta and gently stir until combined.
Step 5: Transfer the mixture to a 9×13 casserole dish or baking dish, spreading into an even layer.
Step 6: Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, bacon, and a few fresh jalapeño slices. Bake until the cheese has melted and the top of the jalapeño popper casserole is slightly golden brown.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Top with green onions just before serving.
Tips for Making Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole
- Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water to season the pasta before it goes into the casserole. Use 1 tablespoon kosher salt per 4 quarts of water.
- Using diced, pickled jalapenos is both extremely convenient and also infuses more of that delicious jalapeño flavor into the dish.
- You can substitute 3 freshly diced jalapeno peppers for the jarred jalapeños – remove seeds and ribbing for a milder dish.
- Popular pasta options include rotini (as we used here), bowtie, or penne. Wide egg noodles also work well, like in our family’s favorite tuna noodle casserole.
- Lower Carb Option: Omit the pasta and serve by itself or over cauliflower rice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat, dish out your portion onto a microwave-safe dish and heat for 1-2 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
While it is a one pan meal, you can serve it with a simple side salad, broccoli, brussel sprouts, green beans, or vegetable medley.
To make this meal in advance and make this a freezer meal: Bake it in an aluminum pan and allow it to cook completely. Then wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat, place it in the oven at 350 degrees until warmed all the way through.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
If you tried this delicious Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole recipe or any other of my easy recipes on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 – 8 oz. package cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 7.4 oz. jar diced pickled jalapenos, drained
- 3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken meat
- 1 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups grated jack cheese divided
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese divided
- 1 lb. rotini pasta cooked and drained
- Fresh jalapenos for garnish I used 1 whole
- 3 green onions green parts only, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, and diced jalapenos. Use a hand mixer for quick blending.
- Add 1 cup each of cheddar and jack cheeses and stir to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss together pasta, chicken, and most of the bacon (reserve about ½ cup to sprinkle over the top.)
- Add the cream cheese mixture to the pasta mixture and stir gently until the mixture is evenly combined.
- Spread filling into a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Top with remaining cheeses. Sprinkle reserved bacon and fresh jalapeno slices over the cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and top with freshly sliced green onion. Serve hot.
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Notes
- Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water to season the pasta before it goes into the casserole. Use 1 tablespoon kosher salt per 4 quarts of water.
- Using diced, pickled jalapenos is both extremely convenient and also infuses more of that delicious jalapeño flavor into the dish.
- You can substitute 3 freshly diced jalapeno peppers for the jarred jalapeños – remove seeds and ribbing for a milder dish.
- Popular pasta options include rotini (as we used here), bowtie, or penne. Wide egg noodles also work well, like in our family’s favorite tuna noodle casserole.
- Lower Carb Option: Omit the pasta and serve by itself or over cauliflower rice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat, dish out your portion onto a microwave-safe dish and heat for 1-2 minutes.
Nutrition
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