This Chile Cheddar Bread is a super easy to make quick bread that has the perfect kick. It’s packed with so much flavor, you won’t even need to add butter!
(This recipe for Chile Cheddar Bread was originally published in March 2011, but was updated with new photos in 2019).
Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty fabulous and involved a family dinner with my cousin John from Buffalo visiting. And then Sunday was our childhood friend Erin’s wedding shower. Oh, and some amazing Mix Bakery cupcakes were thrown in there, too. And now we’re in for another long work week. But I’m hoping to get some cooking/baking time in at some point. And Chris and I are hoping to start finalizing some wedding plans within the next couple weeks, which is actually a lot more work than I thought it would be! Venue hunting is tough. I will be SO relieved when that part is over and we know where and when the big event is going to be.
I’m still pretty obsessed with baking bread, but sometimes I want some bready goodness a little bit more quickly. You know, without all that rising time. That’s why this ChileCheddar Bread was initially so appealing to me. Quick? Easy? No rising? JALAPEÑOS? You don’t have to ask me twice. You know how sometimes you know what meal you want to make and then decide you want to make a bread to go with it? Well, I found this chile cheddar bread and knew I needed to find a meal to go with it. I’ll post about the meal later… But for now, the bread.
CHILE CHEDDAR BREAD RECIPE
I used the original recipe as a jumping off point and substituted 1 cup of all-purpose flour for 1 cup of whole wheat flour. And I think it worked out pretty fabulously. I might try all whole wheat the next time! I also added in some cayenne pepper for a bit of an extra kick. Chiles, jalapeños, AND cayenne pepper? I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. And so does Chris!
Start by whisking together the two flours, baking powder, sugar, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Then add the shredded cheddar and stir until it’s evenly distributed.
And chop your jalapeños. I always say, if you want your bread spicier, leave the seeds in. If not, scrape them out. As usual, I left all the seeds in, but the bread honestly wasn’t overly spicy. I think because there’s lots of other delicious ingredients involved!
Now, mix together the milk, oil, egg, green chiles, jalapeño, and bell pepper in a separate bowl.
Make a well in the center of the flour/cheese mixture and pour the milk mixture into the center. Gently combine with a spatula, mixing dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. You don’t want to over-mix or your bread will be too dense.
Pour batter into a greased 8×3 or 9×5 loaf pan.
Now, pop into the oven and bake at 375 degrees for about 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let cool for about 10 minutes before popping the bread out of the pan.
And slice it up. Of course, you could serve this chile cheddar bread slathered in butter. But you know what? You honestly don’t need any! It’s already moist and super flavorful, really not needing any spread. I mean, just look at that bread! Look at all the good stuff in there! I started to secretly call this “fiesta bread” because the bright vibrant colors make me think of a big happy fiesta. And obviously it has a little kick, too!
And I also do think it would make the most fabulous sandwich.
I made a delicious soup (coming soon!) to serve with the chile cheddar bread (of course, the bread was my first priority in this meal) and obviously enjoyed dipping the bread into the soup. Um, and the soup has jalapeños involved in it, as well. I’ve been a little bit obsessed with them lately; I hope you don’t mind (between that and my alcohol in desserts obsession, I think it might be time to switch things up… But I don’t want to!).
This loaf will give you bread and happiness for quite a few days. I haven’t tried freezing it, but I do think that if you’re worried you’re not going to eat the whole loaf, you could wrap it tightly and put it in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.
My next task will probably be to make a grilled cheese with this chile cheddar bread. I haven’t made a good grilled cheese in ages and this would take a regular grilled cheese sandwich to whole new levels.
What are you looking forward to this week?
Me? I’m looking forward to Friday. Trust me, I NEVER wish away the weeks, but I have zero plans next weekend and absolutely cannot wait to sit on my couch reading Martha Stewart Weddings and catching up on life. I need it!
If you like this bread, be sure to check out my other quick breads like this Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Bread and this Blueberry Lemon Bread. I also can’t wait to try this Strawberry Bread from A Gouda Life!
Chile Cheddar Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 4.5-oz can chopped green chiles
- 1/4 cup diced jalapeño (from 1 large jalapeño)
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped (from 1/2 red pepper)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a 8×3 loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, cayenne, sugar, salt, pepper. Add cheese and stir to evenly distribute.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together milk, oil, egg, green chiles, jalapeño, and bell pepper.
- Make a well in the center of the flour/cheese mixture and pour the milk mixture into the center. Gently mix with a spatula, until ingredients are just combined.
- Pour batter into a prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on cooling rack before slicing.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Pink Parsley.
oww! Looks yummy. Josh is a jalapeno freak- so he’d be thrilled to see it in some homemade bread!! Wedding planning can be totally overwhelming. Figuring out the whole venue/date is one of the harder parts though-things seem to start falling more into place once that is done. Hmm this week? I’m looking forward to a friend that is coming to visit from your neck of the woods 🙂
Wow, grilled cheese with that bread sounds amazing!!
oh what a fun bread! this looks great!
I have some spicy tomato and sausage soup in the freezer and I want to make some bread to go with it. This might be it!
This would be so good with black bean soup or chili, or maybe even cut in little pieces topped with cream cheese and hot pepper jelly for appetizers. I’m tagging this one to make later!
Ooh that looks goood. Perhaps with some chili? Hmm… ideas, ideas.
Laura
yummmmmmmmmmmmm! I like cheese in bread. Happiness for a good week indeed.
im not allowed to make this…
i would eat it over the course of an entire day…
so therefore, i am not going to make this.
Evil!
(AKA- HOLY YUM)
ooh, that looks scrumptious! i am looking forward to getting through the week and home for the weekend 🙂
I’ve been looking for something to make alongside some veggie chili other than cornbread – this will be perfect! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
That looks good, but I am not so sure it’s a good idea to substitute all of the flour with whole-wheat flour. I think the general rule is that it’s okay to substitute about half like you did. You might want to research a little on the internet and see what others say before you try it.
I love the added punch of color you get from the bell peppers. It makes for quite the pretty loaf. I agree with Andrea though, I don’t know that I would go all whole wheat generally I find that then you have to start tweaking the whole recipe.
I like it spicy too… I would throw a Serrano pepper in the mix for the “hurt me” factor.
Yummy! Weekends without plans are my favorite… and they don’t happen nearly often enough.
Sounds yummy. This would go great with a hearty chili.
Este blog e grande. Eu tina a certeza que as persoas van pensar iso interesante, porque eu certamente non.
I can’t wait to see the soup you paired with this bread! It looks so yummy. I’m looking forward to the cabin trip my friends and I are taking in the Poconos this weekend!
This would have been an excellent bread to serve with the Jambalaya I made tonight with Andouille Sausage and Shrimp! It was so good, I am using it as my Fat Tuesday post on my blog and this bread would have hit the spot with it! A little too late I guess! Next time!
That bread sounds so good, Susie……especially the thought of it as part of a grilled cheese! Can’t wait to get updated with the wedding plans!!
Oh! I love jalapeno and cheddar…specially in bread…SO SO tasty…nice loaf of bread 🙂
homemade bread is the BEST! I’m thinking about whipping up a loaf tonight to eat the rest of the week. 🙂
I love weekends with nothing to do !
I hope the venue search gets easier- for some reason that was the easiest part of wedding planning to me!