This is as good as comfort food gets in a bowl! Using the bacon fat until the last drop to our advantage to flavor the jalapeno peppers and the soup itself. At the end we take an immersion blender to the base of the soup to emulsify the liquids and fats together – creating a velvety, creamy, and delicious mixture that doesn’t separate.
The thyme, celery seed, onion and garlic really work wonders in this soup – so make sure you don’t leave them out! The cumin comes along just toward the end of each bite, giving off its well-known intense and smoky flavor that really accentuates the bacon. Everything works together in harmony, leaving you with a bacon-y, smokey, and mellow heat with each and every bite you take. Not to mention the cheesy goodness that brings the texture of this soup to another level.
Word of warning: If you don’t like your soups to be very spicy, make sure you de-seed the jalapeno peppers. This was quite spicy, which I really enjoyed – but if you’re not much of a heat seeker try de-seeding at least half of the jalapenos.
If you’re looking for another variety of soup for the cold weather we’re having, feel free to check out my:
- Bacon Cheeseburger Soup (an all-time favorite)
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Spiced Pumpkin Soup
So, what’s your favorite soup? Got a challenge for me to make your favorite low-carb? Let me know in the comments below!
Yields 5 Sevings of Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Soup
The Preparation
- 8 ounces bacon
- 4 medium jalapeno pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
The Execution
1. Slice or cut bacon into 1 inch pieces. Place into a pan and cook until all pieces are crisp.
2. Remove bacon from pan while reserving as much bacon grease as possible in the pan. Place bacon on paper towels to dry and become crisp.
3. Dice 4 jalapeno peppers. Slice in half, then slice the half into half and dice appropriately. If you aren’t much of a heat seeker, you might want to remove the seeds before doing this.
4. Season and sautee the jalapenos in the bacon fat until lightly browned and aromatic.
5. Remove jalapenos and preserve as much bacon fat as you can in the pan. Set jalapenos on bacon to dry off.
6. In a food processor, process 8 oz. cheddar cheese using the grating attachment. Set aside. If you don’t have a food processor that can do it, feel free to check out the one I use – it’s awesome!
7. In a new pot, add bacon fat, butter, broth, and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for at least 15 minutes.
8. Using an immersion blender, blend together all ingredients well. You want the fat and broth to emulsify so that they don’t separate. Once you’ve done this, add cream and cheese and season again with salt and pepper.
9. Add bacon and jalapeno back into the soup and stir well. Let simmer for 5 minutes before serving.
This makes a total of 5 servings of Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Soup. Each serving comes out to be 657 calories, 60.4g fats, 4.8g net carbs, and 27.8g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 8 ounce bacon | 1209 | 105.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60.5 |
| 4 medium jalapeno pepper | 17 | 0.2 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.6 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 ounce cheddar cheese | 916 | 75.6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 51.9 |
| 4 tablespoon butter | 407 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 3 cup chicken broth | 45 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 0 | 3.3 | 4.8 |
| 1 teaspoon dried thyme | 3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 1 teaspoon garlic powder | 10 | 0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 2 | 0.5 |
| 1 teaspoon onion powder | 8 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| 1/2 teaspoon celery seed | 4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| 1/2 teaspoon cumin | 4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream | 607 | 64.4 | 4.9 | 0 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| Totals | 3231 | 294.2 | 24.9 | 3 | 21.9 | 124.5 |
| Per Serving (/5) | 646 | 58.8 | 5 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 24.9 |
Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 8 ounce bacon
- 4 medium jalapeno pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounce cheddar cheese
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 3 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Slice or cut bacon into bite-sized pieces. Heat in a pan and cook until crisp.
- Remove the bacon, leaving as much bacon fat in the pan as possible. Place the bacon on paper towels to dry and crisp up.
- Dice the jalapeño peppers. To do this, slice them in half, then slice into quarters and dice. If desired, deseed the peppers before dicing, for a less spicy soup.
- Season and sauté the jalapeños in the bacon fat until lightly browned and aromatic.
- Remove the jalapeños, leaving as much bacon fat in the pan as possible. Place the jalapeños on top of the bacon to dry off.
- Shred the cheddar cheese using a grater or a food processor with a grating attachment (pictured: Cuisinart Pro).
- In a separate pot, add the bacon fat, butter, broth, and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for at least 15 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, blend all of the ingredients together well. The fats and broth need to emulsify to keep them from separating. Once done, add the heavy whipping cream and grated cheese, and season the soup again with salt and pepper.
- Add the bacon and diced jalapeño back into the soup and stir well. Let simmer for 5 minutes before serving.
