Dairy-Free Jalapeño Popper Soup

This jalapeño popper soup is perfectly creamy, savory and a little spicy. This soup is inspired by the classic jalapeño popper appetizer, made into a warm and comforting soup! It’s dairy-free and gluten-free, made super creamy with coconut milk and partially blended potatoes, and spiced up with jalapeño, cayenne pepper and chili powder.

Jalapeno Popper Soup Ingredients

Onion, Garlic & Celery: Onion, garlic and celery add lots of flavor and texture to this soup. This trio is a common staple in soup recipes for that reason. I like to use yellow onion because they are sweet and aromatic, but you could also use white or red onion.

Ground Spices: Spices in the jalapeno popper soup include salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper. Each of these spices play a role in the flavor of the soup and contribute to its spice and smokey flavor. If you’d like to reduce the spice, you can omit the cayenne pepper.

Russet Potatoes: Peeled and cubed russet potatoes make this soup hearty and filling. You’ll want to cook them until they are tender when pierced with a fork to ensure they are fully cooked.

Jalapeno: Using a de-seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper adds additional spice and a bit of a crunch to the soup. I also like to use another jalapeno pepper and slice it up as topping for the soup.

Chicken Broth: Low-sodium chicken broth is best to use for this recipe, but you could also use vegetable broth. Any kind of chicken broth works great, but for extra protein you can try some chicken bone broth.

Chicken Breast: The recipe also calls for about 1 pound of cooked and shredded chicken breast. Be sure to fully cook the chicken before shredding it for the soup. I like to season it with salt and pepper and bake on 400ºF degrees for 30 minutes.

Light Coconut Milk: Coconut milk is a key component of the soup as it adds the creaminess. You won’t taste any coconut but if you prefer something different, you could also use whole milk or 3/4 cup of light cream, plus some additional broth or water.

Bacon: Crispy bacon is the finishing touch to the soup. The recipe calls for 6 ounces of bacon, and you can reserve a bit of it for topping as well. Turkey bacon works great too.

Dairy-free jalapeño Popper Soup

Recipe by Jenn Lueke

4.5 from 39 votes

Servings

Adjust servings

+

–

4

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

This jalapeño popper soup is perfectly creamy, savory and a little spicy. This soup is inspired by the classic jalapeño popper appetizer, made into a warm and comforting soup! It’s dairy-free and gluten-free, made super creamy with coconut milk and partially blended potatoes, and spiced up with jalapeño, cayenne pepper and chili powder.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breast

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• 6 ounces uncured bacon slices (about 4 slices)

• 1 large yellow onion, small dice (about 1 ½ cups)

• 3 celery ribs, small dice (about 1 ½ cups)

• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk (one 13.5-ounce can)

• Thinly sliced green onion, to garnish

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a large sheet pan with parchment (if needed). Place the chicken breasts on the sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper on both sides. Bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF, about 25 minutes. Once cooked, shred with two forks, a food processor, or a stand mixer.
• Meanwhile, combine the chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in 6-quart Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the bacon slices in a single layer and cook until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Remove all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pot.
• To the pot, add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent and browning, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the jalapeño, garlic, and spice mixture, and continue cooking until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Add the diced potatoes and mix well to combine. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are lightly brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the broth and coconut milk, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. One boiling, lower the heat to medium-high, and lightly boil until the potatoes are fork tender, about 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the cooked bacon into small pieces.
• Reduce the heat to low and stir in the shredded chicken and chopped bacon. Reserve some bacon for garnishing, if desired. Simmer, covered, on low until serving.
• To serve, divide the soup between four bowls and top each with green onion, chopped bacon, and a few thin jalapeño slices (if desired).

Notes

• Store it: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
• Reheat it: Microwave until warm, about 2 minutes or transfer to a saucepan and heat over medium-low until warm, about 10 minutes. From frozen, thaw in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours then follow reheating instructions.
• For an extra creamy soup, use an immersion blender to blend about half of the entire soup mixture after before moving on to Step 7. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer about half of the mixture to a blender, blend on high speed with the vent open until smooth, and return to the pot.
• To reduce spice, omit the cayenne pepper and half the amount of jalapeno.

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