25 Jalapeño Recipes to Make for Dinner Tonight (2024)

Jalapeño peppers pack a delicious bite in these dinner recipes. And they're super versatile; from soups and salads to creamy casseroles and pasta dishes, these evening meals make the most of the pepper. Recipes like our Jalapeño Popper Burgers and Creamy Jalapeño Skillet Chicken are spicy, savory and soon to be in your regular dinner rotation.

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Creamy Jalapeño Skillet Chicken

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These easy chicken cutlets are perfect for a weeknight dinner. A creamy jalapeño sauce coats the cutlets for a flavorful bite with a good amount of heat. Serve over rice or pasta.

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BBQ Pork & Smoked Gouda Quesadillas

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These satisfying quesadillas get a smoky flavor from the cheese and pork, sweetness from the sauce, and a crisp crunch from the red onion. The pickled jalapeños offer a twist on a typical barbecue sandwich pickle and add a touch of heat.

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Jalapeño Popper Burgers

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We've taken a simple burger recipe and made it pop with an easy three-ingredient jalapeño cheese topping. Ground sirloin is lean ground beef made exclusively from the center loin cut. It has less connective tissue than regular ground beef for a super-tender burger.

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Sweet Heat Salmon

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Chef Vivian Howard's new book, This Will Make It Taste Good, is all about creating homemade condiments and seasonings, then using them to boost the flavor in other recipes. This salmon is from her chapter on fruit preserves. A glaze made from fruit preserves and jalapeño provides the perfect amount of sweet and spicy flavor to salmon. If you don't like a lot of heat, discard the ribs and seeds from your jalapeño before adding it to the sauce.

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Chicken & Kale Taco Salad with Jalapeño-Avocado Ranch

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This healthy, super-fast salad recipe swaps out romaine for kale, giving you more than 10 times the vitamin C. Easy flavor hacks like store-bought ranch and pickled jalapeños help make a creamy, tangy and spicy dressing you'll want to drizzle on everything from salad to sliced veggies and shredded poached chicken.

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Grilled Pork Tacos with Jalapeño-Lime Dressing

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Maximum flavor in each bite of these colorful tacos comes from tossing the pork and peppers in the dressing rather than just drizzling it on top. Use corn tortillas for their toasty flavor and hearty texture, which stands up perfectly to the grill. Plus, they generally have negligible amounts of sodium.

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Chili-Topped Sweet Potatoes

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Transform ordinary baked potatoes into a full dinner with these chili-topped spuds. In this healthy recipe, we use sweet potatoes for an added nutrient kick. Sprinkle on extra toppings as you see fit--sliced scallions, chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado and sliced jalapeños are all tasty choices.

Instant Pot Orange-Jalapeño Chicken Wings

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These sweet-hot tender Instant Pot chicken wings boast a balance of orange and lime. They're very tangy and very sticky, so be sure to serve with lots of paper towels!

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Jalapeño Popper Casserole

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In this jalapeño popper casserole, tender, juicy bites of chicken are slathered in a creamy, slightly spicy sauce with a crunchy topping of panko breadcrumbs and crispy bacon. Enjoy this casserole over rice for dinner or serve it with chips as a game-day appetizer.

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Spicy Black Bean Soup

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This healthy vegetarian bean soup recipe draws inspiration from Brazil's feijoada, a pork and black bean stew. Blackened jalapeños, fire-roasted tomatoes and smoked paprika give it plenty of flavor.

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Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Slaw

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A citrus-jalapeño slaw adds a zesty and delicious crunch to these fish tacos. Add some sweetness to each bite by serving with peach or mango fruit salsa.

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Indian-Spiced Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad

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Lime juice, ginger, jalapeño and parsley are the stars of this curried cauliflower and chickpea vegetarian, main-dish salad.

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Honey Mustard Salmon with Mango Quinoa

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In this 30-minute dinner recipe, grilled, honey mustard-coated salmon is served with a tasty grain salad made with quinoa, mango, jalapeño and almonds.

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White Chicken Chili Casserole

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This easy, one-skillet casserole is packed with heat thanks to two kinds of peppers, poblanos and jalapeño. If you want to increase the spice level, leave the seeds in the jalapeño. Finish with your favorite toppings like Cheddar, cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips.

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Fish Fillets with Pineapple-Jalapeno Salsa

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Serve simple sautéed fish fillets with jalapeno-spiked pineapple salsa for a Caribbean-inspired meal. Serve with black beans and brown rice.

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Pumpkin Curry Soup

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This easy soup recipe mixes in allspice, curry powder, spicy chiles and ginger to give this pumpkin curry soup a Jamaican feel. While habanero is traditional, jalapeños provide a mellower kick.

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Jalapeno Popper-Chicken Panini

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In this delicious grilled cheese recipe, jalapeño popper flavors are stuffed into a toasty chicken sandwich. Serve with a mixed green salad. P.S. Don't toss the jalapeño pickling liquid: use the flavorful brine in place of vinegar in dressings.

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Spicy Jalapeno-Shrimp Pasta

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Get dinner on the table in 30 minutes with this healthy, one-dish spicy shrimp and pasta meal.

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Vegan Jambalaya

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You won't miss the meat in this healthy jambalaya recipe. Vegan smoked sausage takes its place while the classic "trinity" of vegetables—onion, red bell pepper and celery—get a kick from jalapeño peppers. And everything is cooked in one skillet, which means cleanup is a breeze!

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Slow-Cooker Carne Picada Tacos with Avocado Salsa

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Loosely translated as "minced meat," the traditional texture of carne picada ranges from finely chopped to ground. Here we start with brisket, which becomes nice and tender in the slow cooker, then shred and chop the meat before serving. The seasoning is flavorful but not too spicy. Blistered jalapeños added at the end will satisfy the heat-lovers in the family. Pile the brisket into warmed corn tortillas, with lettuce, the jalapeños, cheese and avocado salsa for a healthy dinner that'll wake up your taco night routine.

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Pork Wrap with Lime-Jalapeño Slaw

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A leftover cooked pork cutlet and coleslaw from earlier meals make this lunch a breeze to put together.

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Sweet & Spicy Roasted Salmon with Wild Rice Pilaf

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Fresh jalapeños give this quick and easy roasted salmon dish its kick; honey and balsamic vinegar give it a sweet finish. A nutty-tasting wild rice pilaf completes this healthy dinner that comes together in just 30 minutes.

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Vegetarian Chili with Salad Beans

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This quick vegetarian chili relies on pantry ingredients like canned beans and canned tomato soup to create a fast and flavorful meal. Top with your favorite garnishes, such as jalapeños and avocado.

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Citrus Tilapia with Fruit Salsa

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Mild tilapia filets are marinated in an orange-cayenne pepper mixture in this sweet and spicy fish recipe. And because spice is nice--chopped jalapeños are added to the fruit salsa to kick it up the heat just a bit more. Serve over brown rice to round out the meal.

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Jalapeño-Popper Stuffed Chicken

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Stuff all the flavors of fried jalapeño poppers into a creamy filling for stuffed chicken breasts. This healthy baked chicken recipe is great with a side of green beans for an easy dinner.