Hot and creamy Jalapeno Cream Cheese is easy to make with simple ingredients in under 10 minutes. This hot cream cheese dip tastes delicious with a hint of heat—better than store-bought.
Hello, jalapeño season, and welcome back to our kitchen!
Are you looking for a recipe loaded with jalapeño pepper flavors? I highly recommend trying this jalapeno cream cheese—it's one of my favorite finds.
It works as a dip, a spread, or even a filling for jalapeño poppers(like this holiday's favorite cranberry jalapeno dip).
So, why wait? Make this easy-to-put-together spicy cream cheese, and you'll thank yourself for trying it.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
⭐️Make-ahead and crowd-friendly recipe!
⭐️No reheating necessary; it tastes delicious when served chilled.
⭐️Save some money by whipping it at home!
Ingredients
- Cream cheese: Choose plain, low-fat, or regular cream cheese; it works fine in this recipe.
- Onion and garlic powder: Contributes and compliments the savory elements of this jalapeno cream cheese.
- Jalapeño peppers: Jalapeños pepper's heat is on its ribs and seeds. Depending on your heat tolerance, you may leave or remove them altogether.
How To Make Jalapeno Cream Cheese?
- Cut the jalapeño in half, remove the seeds and white membrane (save them to adjust the spice level), and place the cream cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and deseeded jalapeño in a food processor.
- Pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust the heat by adding reserved seeds if needed. Serve with chips or crackers.
Storage & Reheating
Store the leftover jalapeno cream cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. And in the freezer for up to six months.
To thaw, refrigerate them overnight. Gently whip up and serve(reheating is not needed, as they taste great when served chilled).
How To Use
- Slather it over a slice of bread or a bagel as a spread.
- As a dip, serve with crackers, pita chips, or vegetable cuts like broccoli florets or celery.
- Use as a pasta sauce: Toss with mac and cheese sauce to make a quick dinner.
- Enjoy as a stuffing for wontons, jalapeño poppers, or stuffed shells.
♨️How To Adjust The Heat Level?
For this recipe, I discarded about 70% of the seeds, as I wanted the cheese sauce to be mildly hot but with bold jalapeno flavors.
Reserve the seeds if you're unsure how much heat you want while chopping the jalapeños. When done, taste jalapeno cream cheese and add the seeds in small quantities until they match your heat preference.
FAQ
This jalapeno cream cheese dip is excellent stored in the refrigerator. You can make and refrigerate it five days ahead. Whip it up again just before serving for the best results.
Yes, you can use bell peppers for mild variations. For hot variations, try habanero. You can also experiment with other peppers.
Yes, this recipe is highly adaptable. Feel free to infuse the flavors and textures with sour cream, cheddar cheese, lime juice, or herbs.
More Recipes To Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know your thoughts in the 📝 comments section below the recipe.
📖 Recipe
Jalapeno Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 jalapeno
Instructions
- Cut the jalapeno into half. Remove the seeds and the white membrane and reserve them to add later according to our personal preference.
- In a food processor jar, add cream cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, deseeded jalapeno.
- Pulse until all the texture becomes smooth.
- Taste and check the heat, if you want to increase the spice level, you may add in more seeds(that you have reserved already).
- And serve with chips or crackers.
Notes
- Adjust the spice level by reserving and adding jalapeño seeds according to your heat preference.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to six months; no reheating is required, as they taste great chilled.
- Whip it again to return the creamy texture before serving, if necessary.
Aimee Mars says
I love your idea of mixing this in with some pasta for an easy weeknight meal! I love a good spicy pasta too, but I think most of all it's going to make an appearance at my Super Bowl party too for a delicious dip.
Pepper Bowl says
Glad to hear it, Aimee Mars.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
This is my husband's favorite cream cheese to smear on his bagels and I can't believe how simple it is to make it. I will now be making different flavors of cream cheese at home. Thanks for the inspiration.
Suja md says
Yay! So happy to hear that, Sandhya Ramakrishnan
Deborah L Dennis says
I put a pretty good slather of this on a grilled hamburger. I do use a little more jalapeno, but I like spicy. Best hamburger I've ever had!
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Thank you Deborah, Spicy cream cheese with hamburger is our favorite too! Glad you liked this recipe!
Tim says
I tried this at a bagel shop and immediately knew I had to recreate it at home! I love my heat real spicy, so I went all in with three jalapeños and a Serrano—seeds and all. Let me just tell you… WOW. This stuff is incredible! I’ve been putting it on everything: burgers, tacos, crackers, chips, and my ultimate favorite—bacon, egg, and cheese on a steamed, then lightly toasted everything bagel. GOOD LORD, it’s next-level delicious!
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Thank you so much Tim, for sharing your experience—I'm excited and so glad you're loving it, especially on that bacon, egg, and cheese bagel—sounds absolutely next-level!