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

4 from 77 votes
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 8 bagels worth
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
A quick, but flavorful cream cheese spread jam-packed with roasted jalapeno peppers and grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 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: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 260mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 211IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 301mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Course: Breakfast & Brunch, Side Dishes

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crunchtimekitchen

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.

Four is ambitious - Jalapeno Cream Cheese
Four is ambitious.

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.

A nice char - Jalapeno Cream Cheese
A nice char.

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!

Seeded and chopped.
Seeded and chopped.

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.

Various cheeses of deliciousness - Jalapeno Cream Cheese
Various cheeses of deliciousness.

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

Stir it up.
Stir it up.

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.

Lots of black pepper please - Jalapeno Cream Cheese
Lots of black pepper please.

Stir this all up really good.

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

Nice and chunky Jalapeno Cream Cheese
Nice and 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.

Jalapeno Cream Cheese - roasted jalapenos and cheddar mashed in with cream cheese is the perfect savory topper for toasted bagels!

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

Jalapeno Cream Cheese ~ Macheesmo