A creamy, cheesy side dish made in a slow cooker, Bacon Jalapeno Cauliflower Mac and Cheese has all the flavors of a jalapeno popper!
Today’s recipe is one of my favorites – it’s such a great, low effort side dish made in the slow cooker. And since I’m usually just feeding Kevin and I, we have leftovers to go with meals all week.
To make this recipe, all you have to do is dump everything but the salt, pepper, pepper jack and bacon in a slow cooker, cook, dump the rest, cook and serve!
Because this is a slow cooker recipe, if you’re making this on a weeknight the 3+ hour cook time may not be ideal. I like to make it on Sundays and meal prep the rest. I’ve also successfully doubled this recipe, although I found I needed to stir it periodically to make sure everything cooked evenly.
But the flavors are just awesome. Spicy, smoky, creamy, cheesy – all the flavors I love in a jalapeno popper!
So give this a shot and let me know what you think. Did you make any changes? I’d love to hear!
Until next time. X
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Bacon Jalapeno Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Bacon Jalapeño Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

A creamy, cheesy side dish made in a slow cooker, Bacon Jalapeno Cauliflower Mac and Cheese has all the flavors of a jalapeno popper!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 - 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite size florets
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1 serrano, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz cream cheese
2 TB butter
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
6 slices of bacon, fully cooked and chopped
Instructions
Grease a 4 to 6 qt slow cooker.
In it, place the cauliflower, onion, jalapeno, serrano, cream cheese, butter and heavy cream. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
Stir in the salt, pepper, cheese and bacon. Continue to cook on low for another 30 minutes or until the cheese has fully melted. Stir everything together to form a cheesy, creamy sauce.
Serve immediately or keep the slow cooker on warm until ready to serve.
Notes
Save extra bacon to top the cauliflower mac and cheese, or garnish with chopped Italian parsley. It doesn’t have a huge effect on the dish, but don’t we all love more bacon?!
Serving size is based on side dish. If an entree, it serves more like 3-4
Keywords: cauliflower mac and cheese, slow cooker cauliflower mac and cheese, crock pot mac and cheese, crock pot cauliflower, bacon jalapeno cauliflower mac and cheese, jalapeno popper cauliflower mac, slow cooker side dish, low carb side dish, keto side dish, keto cauliflower mac and cheese
Recipe adapted from A Sweet Life
Melissa says
This was DELICIOUS! I made it as a casserole and baked it because I didn’t have time to slow cook it. It is a definite favorite 💕
★★★★★