This soup is just the perfect thing to warm your bones during the cold weather that we seem to be getting too much of. If brings the classic flavors of one of my favorite dishes together…jalapeno poppers. I wanted to recreate it in soup form so that we could all enjoy the flavors at lunch or dinner time without having to deal with all of the prep time and cook time of the real thing.
Just throw everything into a pot, and really enjoy the delicious flavors that come out. The underlying heat of the jalapenos really combined well with the creamy and rich texture of the soup. The salty, slightly sweet bacon really brings this dish to the next level – and when you need just a little more crunch, you can always dip some roasted chicken skin into the soup and eat it like a tortilla chip.
The great this about this is that it’s just as fantastic cold as it is hot. Though if you want to be warm, I definitely suggest heating it up first. It seems like the longer it has to sit in the fridge, the spicier it gets from the jalapenos really marinating in all of that creamy broth. Since most of the ingredients are cheap, this is one heck of a bang for your buck!
Note: If you’re not a fan of too much heat, make sure you de-seed the jalapeno peppers before adding them to the pan. Keeping the seeds inside of the pepper will add much more heat.
Note 2: If you don’t have chicken fat on hand, you can use bacon fat or butter instead.
Yields 6 servings of Jalapeno Popper Soup
The Preparation
- 32 ounces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, deboned
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 medium jalapeno pepper, diced
- 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces bacon, for garnish
The Execution
1. Preheat oven to 400F. De-bone chicken thighs, then season on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Lay to rest on a cooling rack while you cook in the oven.
2. Bake chicken thighs for 50-55 minutes at 400F.
3. In the mean-time, heat 1 tbsp. chicken fat on the stove over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken bones to pot and fry for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add diced jalapeno peppers and garlic to the mixture. Let this cook for 3-4 minutes or until soft.
5. Add broth and spices to the mixture and stir until pan is deglazed. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer until chicken thighs are cooked.
6. Once the chicken thighs are cooked, remove the crispy chicken skin from the meat and keep to the side. Remove chicken bones from the broth and discard.
7. Add excess chicken fat to the pot, then use an immersion blender to puree the jalapenos and garlic into the broth. Shred chicken meat and add to the pot. Let this simmer for 10-15 minutes.
8. Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese to the soup and stir while simmering for 5 minutes, or until all cheese has dissolved.
9. Cook sliced bacon under medium-high heat until crisp. Lay to rest on paper towels to crisp up.
10. Serve soup up with pieces of bacon. Add crispy chicken skin on the side.
This makes a total of 6 servings of Jalapeno Popper Soup. Each serving comes out to be 690 calories, 61.7g fats, 3.4g net carbs, and 32.2g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 32 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 2268 | 202.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 113.4 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | 119 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 medium jalapeno pepper | 13 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| 2 teaspoon fresh garlic | 8 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| 3 cup chicken broth | 45 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 0 | 3.3 | 4.8 |
| 1 teaspoon onion powder | 8 | 0 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon ground coriander | 5 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning | 4 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| 6 ounce cream cheese | 582 | 57.8 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10.5 |
| 4 ounce cheddar cheese | 458 | 37.8 | 3.5 | 0 | 3.5 | 25.9 |
| 4 ounce bacon | 604 | 52.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30.2 |
| Totals | 4115 | 366.7 | 22.2 | 2.7 | 19.4 | 186.2 |
| Per Serving (/6) | 686 | 61.1 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 31 |
Jalapeno Popper Soup
Ingredients
- 32 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs deboned
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 medium jalapeno pepper diced
- 2 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 3 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 6 ounce cream cheese
- 4 ounce cheddar cheese
- 4 ounce bacon for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Debone the chicken thighs (reserving the bones), and season on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Place them on a cooling rack that is placed over a baking sheet lined with foil.
- Bake the thighs for 50–55 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the reserved chicken bones to the pot and fry for 5–10 minutes.
- Add the diced jalapeño peppers and garlic to the mixture. Let cook for 3–4 minutes or until soft.
- Add the broth and spices to the mixture and stir to deglaze the pan. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer until the chicken thighs are ready to remove from the oven.
- Once the thighs are cooked, remove the crispy chicken skins and set them aside for later. Discard the bones from the broth.
- Add any excess chicken fat to the pot. Using an immersion blender, puree the jalapeños and garlic into the broth. Shred the chicken meat and add it to the pot. Let this simmer for 10–15 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese to the soup and stir while simmering for 5 minutes, or until all the cheese has melted and is well incorporated.
- Slice up the bacon and cook over medium-high heat until crisp. Let rest on paper towels for a few minutes to crisp up.
- Garnish the soup with pieces of bacon. Serve with the crispy chicken skins on the side.
