Macheesmo

I know the story… you can only find a real bagel in New York City. I get it. It’s in the water, or whatever.

And trust me, when I go to New York, I do my best to hunt out a good bagel and it usually is noticeably better than most other places.

But, I still like the occasional bagel even if it’s just a normal bagel. One thing I’ve taken to doing lately is changing up what I put on the bagel which can change a normal bagel into a pretty delicious breakfast.

This Jalapeno Cream Cheese is my most recent creation which is fairly basic, but packed with flavor. You also can’t buy it in the stores!

Cheddar Jalapeno Cream Cheese

A quick, but flavorful cream cheese spread jam-packed with roasted jalapeno peppers and grated sharp cheddar cheese.

4 from 77 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Course Breakfast & Brunch, Side Dishes

Servings 8 bagels worth

Yield 16 oz

Equipment

• 1 Baking Sheet

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 16 ounces cream cheese softened
• 4 ounces extra sharp cheddar grated
• 2-3 jalapeno peppers roasted
• 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• Bagels for serving

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Lay out jalapenos on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through until blistered and charred on all sides.
• Let peppers cool slightly, then cut the stems off each pepper, slice in half, and scrape out seeds. Dice roasted peppers.
• In a medium bowl, mash together cream cheese with roasted peppers, cheddar cheese, black pepper, and a pinch of salt. Stir together really well.
• Spread this immediately on toasted bagels or store in the fridge for up to a week.

Nutrition

Serving: 4tbsp.Calories: 119kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 12gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 491mgPotassium: 181mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 211IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 301mgIron: 0.2mg

Keyword Bagel, Bagel and Schmear, Cream Cheese, Jalapeno Cream Cheese

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Jalapeno Cream Cheese

Roasted.

Raw jalapenos would be a bit too intense in this Jalapeno Cream Cheese spread. Instead, by roasting them, they lose some of their intense heat and bite. Roasting also lets the flavor meld better with the cheeses.

It’s a win-win and definitely worth the few minutes it takes to roast them.

I actually roasted four, but ended up only using three which was plenty for a spread like this. Two would be fine if you want to turn down the heat a bit.

Remember though that the heat from the peppers will be massively tempered by a lot of cheese and a thick bagel.

Roast these guys at 450 degrees F. until they are blistered all over.

I didn’t even peel my peppers. Once they were roasted, I let them cool and then cut off the stems and scraped out the seeds. Then I just diced them up!

Getting Cheesy

Any cream cheese will work fine for this Jalapeno Cream Cheese recipe, but do find a really good extra sharp cheddar. You want to keep the ratio of cream cheese to cheddar at about 4-to-1 so it stays nice and spreadable so it’s a good idea to use a really flavorful cheddar.

It’s not totally necessary, but if you can let your cream cheese soften a bit, it’ll be easier to stir everything together.

Shred your cheddar and stir that in also. You should end up with about a cup of the stuff.

Go heavy on the pepper also. It adds a good punch to the spread.

Stir this all up really good.

I thought about processing this to blend the flavors more but decided to leave it chunky.

You can use this Jalapeno Cream Cheese spread right away or it will keep for at least a week in the fridge.

Probably won’t last that long if you’re a bagel eater though!

For a few basic ingredients, this is a much more flavorful spread than you can find in the store.

If you’re a bagel lover (even if you don’t live in NYC), try out the cheddapeno spread!