Jalapeño Popper Smoked Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
Soup:
12 ounces thick-cut bacon
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
3 large jalapeño peppers, de-seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup all purpose flour
24 ounces chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups freshly shredded cheddar cheese
1 ½ cups freshly shredded pepper jack cheese
1 lb baby red potatoes, washed and halved
3 cups pulled smoked chicken
Bread crumb topping (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
Toppings (optional):
Bread crumb topping
Cooked chopped bacon
cheddar cheese
fresh jalapeño slices
Instructions:
Soup:
Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces and fry it in batches in the bottom of a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Once all the bacon has been cooked, set the bacon on paper towels to drain. Pour the leftover bacon grease from the soup pot into a heat-safe dish and set aside for later. I like to use a mason jar.
Return the soup pot to the stove over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, chopped jalapeños, and a couple teaspoons of the reserved bacon grease to the pot. Sauté the vegetables over medium to medium-high heat until they begin to soften and caramelize.
Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease along with the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the pot.
Mix everything together and cook on medium heat while stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes.
Pour the chicken broth and lemon juice into the pot while stirring continuously. Cover and let simmer.
Add the potatoes to the pot of broth.
Bring the soup to a simmer, cover and let it cook, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender.
Reduce heat to a low to medium-low. Add the heavy cream and softened cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese has melted completely and is fully combined with the broth.
Slowly add the freshly grated pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, a little at a time, letting it melt into the soup before adding any more.
Add the pulled smoked chicken to the soup.
Just before you are ready to serve, add the cooked bacon as well, reserving a little of the bacon to use as a garnish.
Serve the soup with the bread crumb topping, reserved bacon pieces, sliced fresh jalapeños, and additional cheese if you would like. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
Hit the easy button and use rotisserie chicken if you want this for a quick weeknight meal
If you don’t want to use the reserved bacon fat, you can replace that with butter or your choice of oil. But using the bacon fat will give you a great bacon flavor in the soup.
I like to wait to add the bacon until the very end, that way it keeps its texture. If you add it too early it will get soft.
PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOK TIME 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME 45 minutes