Jalapeño Popper Chicken Pasta (Printer-friendly)

Spicy creamy pasta with diced chicken, jalapeños, cheeses, and a crunchy breadcrumb topping.

# Required Ingredients:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz penne or fusilli pasta
02 - Salt, for boiling water

→ Chicken

03 - 10 oz cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded

→ Vegetables & Aromatics

04 - 2 fresh jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
05 - 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
06 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ Cheese & Dairy

07 - 4 oz cream cheese, softened
08 - 1 cup whole milk
09 - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
10 - 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
11 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter

→ Topping

12 - 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
13 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
14 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

→ Seasonings

15 - 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
16 - 1/2 tsp salt
17 - 1/4 tsp black pepper

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
03 - Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and jalapeños; cook for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more.
04 - Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth.
05 - Add cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, stirring until melted and creamy. Season with smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper.
06 - Fold cooked chicken and pasta into sauce, coating evenly.
07 - Place mixture into prepared baking dish.
08 - Combine panko breadcrumbs, melted butter, and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle evenly over pasta mixture.
09 - Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until topping is golden and pasta is bubbly.
10 - Optionally garnish with extra chopped jalapeños and serve hot.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It tastes like comfort food meets that fancy appetizer you'd order at a restaurant, all in one bowl.
  • The spice builds gradually instead of hitting all at once, so even people who think they don't like heat usually surprise themselves.
  • Everything comes together in the time it takes to get the oven preheated—no fussing or multitasking disasters.
02 -
  • Don't skip seeding the jalapeños unless you're cooking for people who specifically want serious heat—the flavor is better when the spice isn't overwhelming the creaminess.
  • If your sauce breaks or looks greasy, you added the milk too fast or the heat was too high; low heat and patience are what keep it silky and integrated.
  • The pasta will keep cooking in the oven, so cooking it to just barely al dente is the difference between creamy and mushy.
03 -
  • Keep the Monterey Jack shredded fresh from the block—pre-shredded cheese has additives that sometimes make the sauce separate instead of emulsify smoothly.
  • If you're using rotisserie chicken, pull off the skin and shred it yourself instead of using just the white meat; the flavor difference is noticeable and worth the thirty seconds of extra effort.
Go back