Jalapeño Popper Chicken Soup with Cheddar Bay Biscuit Topping

This is one of those recipes that I created on a whim and it immediately became one of my family's most requested dinners. The biscuit topping is the detail that takes it completely over the edge.

Jalapeño popper chicken soup is exactly what it sounds like and it is every bit as good as you are hoping. You start by sautéing jalapeños and onion in butter, building a roux, and adding chicken broth and seasonings. Then the cooked chicken and bacon go in, cream cheese gets whisked in until the soup turns silky and smooth, and shredded cheddar and half and half finish it into something rich and deeply creamy. Then you ladle it into oven-safe bowls, drop Cheddar Bay biscuit dough on top, and bake until the topping is golden and the garlic butter from the seasoning packet is soaking into every biscuit. It is the most satisfying bowl of soup my family has ever had and that is not an exaggeration.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• The Cheddar Bay biscuit topping baked directly onto individual soup bowls takes this from a very good creamy soup to something genuinely show-stopping. The biscuit absorbs the steam from the soup below and produces a bottom that is slightly soft and flavorful and a top that is golden and garlicky.
• All the flavors of a jalapeño popper, the cream cheese, the bacon, the cheddar, the jalapeño heat, are running through every spoonful of a deeply seasoned, creamy chicken soup base.
• This works equally well without the individual bowl biscuit topping if you want to serve it straight from the pot with the biscuits baked right on top.
• The soup itself is excellent on its own if you want to skip the biscuit step entirely and just serve it with toppings.

Ingredients Needed to Make Jalapeño Popper Chicken Soup

The Soup Base

Butter, diced seeded jalapeños, diced yellow onion, and minced garlic build the aromatic base. Flour cooked into the butter produces the roux that gives the soup its body. Chicken stock or bone broth is the liquid base. Onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper season throughout.

The Filling

Cooked shredded or chopped chicken is the main protein. Bacon bits stirred through add a smoky, slightly salty element in every spoonful. Softened cream cheese whisked into the simmering soup produces the creamy, slightly tangy base that makes this taste specifically like a jalapeño popper. Freshly shredded mild cheddar and half and half finish it into something rich and silky.

The Cheddar Bay Biscuit Topping

One box of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix prepared according to box directions with extra shredded cheddar folded in. Dropped by spoonfuls onto each filled bowl and baked at 425°F until golden. The garlic butter seasoning packet included in the box goes over the hot biscuits the moment they come out of the oven.

How to Make Jalapeño Popper Chicken Soup

Step 1: Build the Base

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the jalapeños and onion until softened. Add the garlic for another minute. Add the flour gradually stirring constantly until a roux forms.

Step 2: Add the Broth and Chicken

Pour in the broth and add all the seasonings. Add the cooked chicken and bacon bits and bring to a gentle simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 3: Add the Cream Cheese and Cheese

Whisk in the softened cream cheese until completely smooth. Reduce to low heat and add the shredded cheddar and half and half. Stir until melted and creamy. Simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Taste and season.

Step 4: Add the Biscuit Topping and Bake

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare the biscuit dough with the extra cheddar folded in. Ladle soup into oven-safe bowls without overfilling. Drop 1 to 2 tablespoons of biscuit dough on top of each bowl. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until golden. Brush immediately with the garlic butter packet. Garnish with green onions and serve.

Storing and Reheating

Store the soup and any unbaked biscuit dough separately. The soup keeps in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat stirring occasionally or microwave on medium power in 60-second intervals. Add a small splash of broth if it has thickened too much. The biscuit topping is best made fresh each time rather than stored on top of the soup.

How to Serve Jalapeño Popper Chicken Soup

Serve immediately straight from the oven while the biscuit topping is still golden and the soup is hot and bubbling underneath. Extra shredded cheddar, sliced green onions, a dollop of sour cream, and extra bacon bits on the table for topping make every bowl feel complete. For another creamy soup that rotates beautifully with this one, this Cowboy Butter Chicken Gnocchi Soup covers a completely different bold flavor direction with the same satisfying creamy one-pot format.

Alexandrea

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Soup with Cheddar Bay Biscuit Topping

5 from 1 vote

This jalapeño popper chicken soup combines cream cheese, shredded cheddar, bacon, and jalapeños in a creamy chicken broth and tops individual bowls with Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuit dough baked until golden for an easy impressive dinner.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  

• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter ½ stick
• 3-4 jalapeños diced and seeded
• ½ yellow onion diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken stock or chicken bone broth
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 cups cooked chicken
• 2 packs bacon bits 4.3 oz pack
• 8 oz mild cheddar 2 cups, freshly shredded
• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 1 cup half and half
• Green onion for garnish
• 1 box Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuit mix
• ½ cup cheddar cheese
• ¾ cup cold water

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (for biscuit topping)
2. In a dutch oven or large pot, add 4 tablespoon butter.
3. Once the butter has melted, add diced onion and diced jalapeños. Cook until softened and onions are translucent. Then add minced garlic. Mix until well combined.
4. Next, slowly add ¼ cup all purpose flour into the pot in small increments. Continue stirring until all the flour has been mixed together.
5. Next, add 4 cups chicken stock or bone broth and seasonings listed above.
6. Then, add cooked chicken and bacon bits. Stir and bring to a simmer.
7. Once it has been simmering for 5-10 minutes, add 1 block softened cream cheese. Whisk until the cream cheese is well incorporated and no clumps are present.
8. Once the cream cheese is well combined, turn heat down to low, and add 1.5 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 cup half and half. Mix until well combined.
9. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper as needed based on preference. If you are not adding the cheddar bay biscuit dough on top, serve soup with bacon, cheese, green onion or sour cream for garnish.
10. For biscuit dough topping, prepare as listed on the box instructions.
11. Once the dough is mixed together, add soup to (microwave and oven safe bowls), then gently add 1-2 tablespoon of biscuit dough to the top of the soup bowls. I recommend not overfilling the soup bowls to prevent it from spilling while the dough bakes.
12. Assemble each soup bowl the same. Bake uncovered for 14-16 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.
13. Once it is cooked, remove from oven and brush with garlic butter seasoning that's provided in biscuit mix.

Notes

If you do not have individual soup bowls, you can add the biscuit dough to the top of the cooked soup in the dutch oven/pot. Add 1-2 tablespoon size scoops around the top of the soup making sure it is evenly distributed. Cook uncovered for 14-16 minutes or until biscuit dough is golden brown. **Dutch oven or large pot must be oven safe to do this step**