Let's combine the miracle that is No Knead Bread with the power of jalapeño and cheddar and create the discovery of the century shall we! This Instant Pot Whole Wheat Jalapeño Cheddar No Knead Crusty Bread is going to seriously rock your world!
I can't even get over this bread. I'm not even much of bread lover, but I found myself eating this bread with abandon one night over a steaming hot bowl of Veggie Lovers Tomato Basil Soup. The combination was absolutely magical. I have a vague memory of my kids looking at me like I was a total psycho as I exclaimed again and again, “This is the best meal I've ever had in my entire life!”
My anti “anything remotely spicy” children were even so intrigued by the pockets of melty cheddar and crispy cheddar bits on the outside, that they overcame their fear of jalapeños and devoured it right along side my husband and I.
My husband even said, “How do you make Whole Wheat taste so good!?” It's that 3rd Instant Pot you “let” me buy dear. By “let” I mean, I have to hide at least one Instant Pot at all times so you don't realize there are 3 . . .
To make this bread I started with the Whole Wheat Crusty Bread recipe, took away the seeds and oats, added pickled jalapeños and a ridiculous amount of cheddar . . .
wrapped it up like a baby . . .
and magical bread was born.
So get together with friends and family this weekend for a soup extravaganza and go ahead and be the hero that brings this amazing Whole Wheat Jalapeño Cheddar Crusty Bread. And maybe bring 2 . . .
Tools Used to Make Instant Pot Whole Wheat Jalapeño Cheddar No Knead Crusty Bread
Don't miss these other Soups and Sides
- Baked Potato Soup
- White Chicken Chili
- Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Triple Bean Chili
- Veggie Lovers Tomato Basil Soup
- Whole Wheat Cranberry Pecan No Knead Crusty Bread
- Whole Grain Crusty Bread
- Sun-dried Tomato, Spinach, and Feta
Instant Pot Whole Wheat Jalapeño Cheddar No Knead Crusty Bread
Sharp Cheddar and Pickled Jalapeños take this Whole Wheat Crusty Bread to dangerous new level! You will never again need a spoon for your tomato soup.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (or 9 oz) white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (or 4.25 ounces) white flour
- 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature water
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cut into cubes (about the size of a dice, will be about 3/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeno rings, cut in half
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together wheat flour, white flour, wheat gluten, salt, and yeast. Add the water and with your hands, mix until the majority of the flour is incorporated, but the dough is still a slightly shaggy looking ball. If the dough is still quite wet and sticky, sprinkle an extra tablespoon or 2 of flour on top and gently fold it in. You want the dough to be tacky, but not so wet and sticky that it coats your hands when your working the flour in.
- Place on top of a piece of parchment paper and put inside the Instant Pot liner.
- Secure the lid. Press yogurt, then adjust until the screen reads 24:00 low. Adjust time to 4:30 and wait for the beep to indicate the cycle has started.
- After 4 hours the dough will have puffed up a bit and have small bubbles on top. Grab the sides of the parchment to lift the dough out of the pot.
- Pat the dough into a square/rectangular shape. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese cubes and jalapeños all over the surface. Pull the edges of the dough over the jalapeños and cheddar cubes, tucking and folding until the ad-ins are mostly incorporated into the dough. Note: The dough will be quite sticky. Just scrape it from the parchment with your finger tips and fold it towards the center of the dough until you form a ball. Place back in the center of the parchment paper and again put inside the pot. Secure the lid.
- Place a 6 – 8 quart cast iron pot inside the oven with the lid on. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- After 30 minutes, the oven should be preheated and the dough will be slightly risen. Remove the pot from the oven and place the lid to the side.
- Holding on to the sides of the parchment, carefully lift dough from the pressure cooker pot and place inside the cast iron pot (parchment paper and all). Place lid on top and put inside the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid of the ceramic pot and allow the bread to cook 10 -15 minutes longer until the bread is nicely browned.
- Remove from the oven, hold the corners of the parchment paper and place bread on top of a cooling rack. If you can handle the heat, pull the parchment paper away from the bread before placing it on a cooling rack. This helps to keep the bottom of the bread nice and crisp.
- Technically it’s best to let it cool slightly so it doesn’t smash while its hot, but if you lack self control like myself, grab a sharp knife and start cutting uneven chunks of bread. Slather with butter and go to your happy place
Notes
- For an even lighter loaf you can increase the amount of white flour to wheat flour. If you want 100% whole wheat, replace the white flour with more whole wheat flour. It will be a bit denser, but is still amazing hot out of the oven.
- Caution! There have been reports of bread rising so high that it pushed the pin up in the lid making it impossible to remove the lid. If you follow the directions in this recipe, that won’t be a problem with this bread, but it’s something to keep in mind with proofing in general. If there is a chance your dough could rise that high, use a glass lid instead of the pressure cooker lid.
Keywords: no knead bread, crusty bread, jalapeño cheddar bread

I really want to try this recipe! Does it make a difference if I only have a regular cast iron dutch oven or do I need an enamel one?
Brittney, the dutch oven will work great!
I’m going to try some buckwheat flour too!
Karen, I’ve used spelt before but haven’t tried buckwheat yet. That’s a great idea!
Holy mackerel, this is the best bread I’ve ever made! My kid is even eating it, not realizing there’s jalapeno in there! Lol
★★★★★
Torrie, isn’t it good! I’m not a big bread eater but when I make this it basically turns into my meal. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My MIL, Barb just sent me your new book in the mail and I’m in love. I made the Cilanto Lime Rice the very day I opened it! So tastey… and I’m such a fan of cheddar jalapeño bread! Can’t wait to try. I just taught a friend to make No Knead Bread today. I hope to meet you in person sometime ???? oh, I’m Brandon and Lynn’s SIL.
Courtney! I’m so glad you sent me a message. My kids think Brandon is the coolest person in the entire world. You will love that bread then, It is so so dang good. Make the Mac and cheese from the book, you’ll just die, in a good way 😉
I see that your bread recipes typically have vital wheat gluten as an ingredient. Is this necessary? Will it affect the outcome of the bread if not used?
Stacy, It helps keep them lighter and not so dense because of the whole wheat flour. You could try using 50:50 white and wheat flour to keep it from being heavy.
Thank you. I’ve done away with white/bleached flour, so I guess dense bread we’ll have. 🙂
Stacy, Haha, I like you’re style. I make it often with 100% white whole wheat flour and it might not be as tall, but it’s still delicious. The wheat gluten helps a lot.