Bacon Jalapeño Mac & Cheese
with Philadelphia Cream Cheese & a Crispy Panko Topping
- Wheat
- Milk
So long ordinary mac and cheese! Here, we combine the gooey, melty goodness of a classic mac with the rich, spicy flavors of a bacon-wrapped jalapeño popper. The result? The comfort food you never knew you needed. It’s got it all: twirly cavatappi noodles tossed in a creamy, cheesy sauce. Salty crumbles of bacon. A crispy, spiced panko crust for crunch. Jalapeño slices for heat. And to top it all off, it’s all ready in just 35 minutes—what more could you want?
Ingredients
6 ounce
Cavatappi Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
4 ounce
Bacon
4 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Jalapeño
¼ cup
Monterey Jack Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 cup
Mexican Cheese Blend
(Contains: Milk)
2 tablespoon
PHILADELPHIA® Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon
Flour
(Contains: Wheat)
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
1 clove
Garlic
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
2 unit
Scallions
Not included in your delivery
1 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil (use a large pot for 4 servings). • Heat a large, dry pan over medium heat. Add bacon*; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes. • Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. • Carefully discard all but a thin layer of bacon fat from pan (you’ll use this to cook the aromatics later).
• While bacon cooks, wash and dry produce. • Halve jalapeño crosswise, removing ribs and seeds for less heat; thinly slice one half into rounds and finely dice remaining. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Peel and mince garlic.
• Once water is boiling, add cavatappi to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water (2 cups for 4 servings), then drain. • While pasta cooks, place 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave until melted, 30 seconds. Stir in panko. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat pan with reserved bacon fat over medium-high heat. Add sliced jalapeño; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a second small bowl and set aside. • Add scallion whites, diced jalapeño, and garlic to pan. Cook until slightly softened, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add flour to pan with aromatics; whisk until thoroughly coated. • Whisk in cream sauce base, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, half the Southwest Spice Blend (all for 4 servings), and ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water (1 cup for 4); reduce heat to low. Simmer, whisking, until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. • Whisk in Mexican cheese blend and Monterey Jack until melted and creamy.
• Heat broiler to high. • Roughly chop bacon. Stir bacon and drained cavatappi into pan with cheese sauce. (TIP: If your pan is not large enough, carefully transfer everything into pot used to cook pasta.) If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until cavatappi is coated in a creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer mac & cheese to an 8-by-8-inch baking dish (for 4 servings, use a 9-by-13-inch baking dish). Sprinkle with panko and sliced jalapeño. • Broil until panko is browned and crispy, 2-3 minutes. (TIP: Watch carefully to avoid burning.) Sprinkle with scallion greens. • Divide between plates or serve directly from baking dish.
Bacon is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the creamy, cheesy taste with a kick from jalapeños; some found the Southwest spice overwhelming.
- Ease of prep: Several noted it was more involved than expected, but worth the effort for the delicious result.
- Suggestions: Consider adding extra bacon and jalapeños for more flavor; adjust spice level to taste.
- Portions: Generous servings; some found it filling as a main dish, while others preferred it as a side.
- Texture: Customers praised the creamy sauce and crunchy panko topping, though a few found it dry.
Reviews from our home cooks
This is one of my favorites! I dropped jalapeño to 1/3. Also, sub a Tbsp of the rendered bacon fat into a dry skillet with Panko. Toast it and sprinkle over top at end, it eliminates the broil stage. I also pre chopped the uncooked bacon prior to cooking. It cooks faster and is ready to go. Simply remove the bits as they reach desired level of crispness into a paper towel. At the mixing stage, put everything into the bacon skillet and combine there, it's perfect if you start with a large enough skillet.
This is always so good and very filling. Super easy to make too. I use all of the jalapeno in the mac and cheese mixture and add red chili flakes to the panko crumble. Since I have broil proof pans, I skip putting the mixture into another dish and just serve it from the pan for my husband and myself.
We felt the 'Business jala 🥓 mac' recipe was good, but if this is a redo then Bravo! Wow this was creamy and delicious. The only thing I did was put the sw spice in the panko as in the business recipe. I did make a note for myself to salt the pasta water lighter than usual, because the bacon is going to add salt. Would you please offer the cream sauce base for purchase or at least a recipe to make?
Rich, decadent, full of flavor. The jalapenos being cooked in this manner really tames the spice. The bacon is really nice and overall this mean is truly fantastic!
Soooo rich and creamy and delicious! I omitted quite a few things so my son would eat it (scallions, sw spice, garlic) and baked it separated so the bacon was only on my portion. I can not imagine how delicious it would have been with all the ingredients. (I left out the jalapeño as well because I do not like their flavor.) And this made so much! I only ate half a portion and felt full! Can not wait to have the leftovers for lunches at work!
It makes a good-size portion. The first few bites were tasty, but after that, even though I added the extra pasta water, it just seemed heavy, thick, & dry. I liked the jalapenos in it. The bacon provided was terrible. It was fatty, and it didn't crisp up, but was chewy & practically inedible. Also, neither the panko nor the scallions add anything to this dish, and could be eliminated (in my opinion).
This was really good but in hindsight I would have actually worn gloves when cutting the jalapeño & garlic in this recipe. Both were strong on the hands and breathing in. I also think this is better suited as a side, there's not enough meat to call it a meal in my opinion & a few hours later we were hungry again.
This was outstanding - fun to make and very indulgent. Crispy, creamy, punch of heat, and gourmet with the thick cut bacon and fresh pasta. Thanks!
The first time we tried this, we didn't get the bacon and my husband slightly messed up the recipe so it was just ok. This time we had all ingredients and I made it and it was delicious!! We got mexican mac & cheese vibes and ate it along side some grilled ribeyes and will be ordering again.
This was so delicious! The combination of jalapeño and Southwest spices was incredibly scrumptious! I wish we could order 2 of the same recipes at one time, I would order this twice!
