Name: Poblano Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 7 - 10 Poblano pepper; 1 Tbsp Butter ((14g)); 1 large Onion (diced); 4 cloves Garlic; 1 handful Cilantro (chopped); 1 tsp Cumin (ground); 48 oz Chicken stock ((1.4L) (add more if you want to make more soup)); 2 Bay leaves; Salt, to taste ((use less if adding cheese)); 1 cup Heavy cream ((237mL)); — or —; 12 - 16 oz Mexican cheese (such as Chihuahua, Asadero, Queso Quesadilla, or even Monterey Jack) ((340g - 454g) freshly shredded); 1/2 slice American cheese (for the sodium citrate (melting salt)); 1 Tbsp Flour ((8g) for roux); — or —; 1 tsp Cornstarch ((4g) whisked with water to create slurry)

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A creamy and vitamin-packed poblano soup that could also be used as a sauce for enchiladas, chilaquiles, or pasta.

Originally Posted: Sept. 23, 2024

Soup garnished with fresh cilantro and cotija cheese — A bowl of poblano and cream soup, garnished with fresh cilantro and *cotija* cheese.

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

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Intro

Poblano is my favorite chile pepper. It’s the main feature of so many dishes that it’s part of, from salsas, to chile relleno, to rajas con crema.

Initial Inspiration

In Issaquah, Washington, there’s a restaurant called Levitate that has one of my favorite soups ever, a creamy poblano soup. For the last several years, I’ve ordered at least a cup of it most times I go there, but I was never sure that I could recreate it. It took another experience for me to decide to try.

Further Inspiration in Mexico

In 2023 I went to Cabo San Lucas for a friend’s birthday, me and my girlfriend had an amazing plate of chicken poblano enchiladas at the hotel we stayed at and I became obsessed with recreating the flavor profile myself. Back in our room, I looked up as many poblano recipes as I could. Between those enchiladas and the poblano soup back home, I decided that learning to make a soup would be great because I could also use it as an enchilada sauce.

First Attempt

The first time I tried making a creamy poblano sauce, the plan was to use it as a spaghetti sauce, just to try it out. The recipe was for a yogurt-based poblano sauce. Unfortunately, while it was delicious, it didn’t have the silky texture that I was looking for. I decided that what I was looking for was closer to a velouté, meaning I needed to use stock instead of yogurt.

Settling on a Recipe

Finally, I came across this recipe, though there were several steps I disagreed with. I decided to change around the order of some things, such as adding cheese and then cornstarch slurry at the very end, to ensure the cheese properly melted. I also played around with amounts, added extra ingredients, and tried versions with cream instead of cheese or roux instead of cornstarch.

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

7 – 10 Poblano peppers, roasted, sweated, skinned and de-seeded
1 Tbsp/(14g) Butter
1 large Onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
1 handful Cilantro, chopped
1 tsp/(2.5g) ground Cumin
48oz/(1.4L) Chicken stock (add more if you want more soup)
2 Bay leaves
Salt, to taste (use less if you’ll be adding cheese)

Creamy Ingredients

12 – 16oz/(340g – 453g) melty Mexican cheese
- Chihuahua, Queso Quesadilla, Asadero, or even Monterey Jack if that’s easier to find.
- I’ve even seen recipes that use shredded Cheddar.
½ slice American cheese, for sodium citrate
— or —
1 cup/(237mL) Heavy cream

Thickening Ingredients

1 Tbsp/(~8g) Flour
— or —
1 tsp/(4g) Cornstarch in water to create a slurry

Equipment

Large pot
Immersion blender and/or regular blender (a Ninja works well)
Baking sheet or roasting dish
A sieve or a food mill (a very nice thing to have for making smooth soups and sauces)
Cheese grater (this one makes quick work of a block of cheese)

Cheese being grated — A cheese grater like this one makes quick work of large amounts of cheese. I bought this one after getting frustrated grating a large amount of cheese by hand for a mac and cheese recipe.

Food mill — A food mill really speeds up the making of smooth soups and sauces.

Written Instructions

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Roasting Peppers

Poblanos, roasted — Peppers, roasting and ready for sweating.

Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C). Roast peppers for 15 – 20 minutes, flip, and roast for another 10 minutes. Sweat roasted peppers in a Ziploc bag for 20 minutes, then remove the skins, stems, and seeds (I find that a bowl of cold water helps speed this up; I think I saw Josh Scherer do it on a Mythical Kitchen video).

A bowl of water is helpful — A bowl of cold water helps the seeds slide right off the peppers and helps keep the skins from sticking to your hands. It also cools the hot peppers and makes them easier to handle.

Making Base Soup

Place pot over medium heat. Melt 1 Tbsp (14g) of butter, then add diced onions, garlic, chopped cilantro, and cumin. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes until onions soften. If you’re thickening the soup with a roux, add flour now and stir until incorporated.

Onions sweated — Onions, cilantro, garlic, and ground cumin being sautéed. I chose not to mince the garlic this time, since everything would get blended later.

Add chicken stock and bay leaves, bring soup to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.

Poblanos added — Stock, poblanos, and bay leaves added. The soup is ready to be simmered now.

Use immersion blender and/or regular blender and blend until completely smooth. For added smoothness, pass the soup through a sieve or a food mill.

Soup blended smoother — For a lot of smooth soups, I like to give the an initial blending with an immersion blender, then pouring the soup into my Ninja for an even better blending.

Food mill in use — While passing soup through a sieve works just fine, using a food mill is quicker and easier.

Finishing Touches

Return base soup to pot. We’re now going to add cream or freshly shredded cheese.

If adding cream, just stir it into soup and add salt to taste.

If adding cheese, freshly grated will melt the nicest. Grate cheese and set to the side. Throw a half-slice of American cheese to the soup and stir it in (this will add enough sodium citrate to melt a large portion of cheese). Add shredded cheese a little at a time while stirring. If going this route, the cheese may add enough saltiness to the soup that you don’t need to add more.

If you want a thicker soup at this point, add cornstarch slurry or some roux.

Serve garnished with fresh cilantro and crumbled cotija cheese.

Poblano cheese soup, finished — Cheese version

Poblano Soup

A creamy and vitamin-packed chile pepper soup.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 20

Course Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

1 Soup pot
1 Immersion blender and/or regular blender
1 Baking tray or baking dish
1 Sieve or food mill A food mill is really nice to have for making smooth soups and sauces
1 Cheese grater

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

7 – 10 Poblano pepper
1 Tbsp Butter (14g)
1 large Onion diced
4 cloves Garlic
1 handful Cilantro chopped
1 tsp Cumin ground
48 oz Chicken stock (1.4L) (add more if you want to make more soup)
2 Bay leaves
Salt, to taste (use less if adding cheese)

Creamy Ingredients

1 cup Heavy cream (237mL)
— or —
12 – 16 oz Mexican cheese (such as Chihuahua, Asadero, Queso Quesadilla, or even Monterey Jack) (340g – 454g) freshly shredded
1/2 slice American cheese for the sodium citrate (melting salt)

Thickening Ingredients

1 Tbsp Flour (8g) for roux
— or —
1 tsp Cornstarch (4g) whisked with water to create slurry

Instructions

Roasting Peppers

Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C).
Roast peppers for 15 – 20 minutes, flip, and roast for another 10 minutes.
Sweat peppers in a Ziploc bag for 20 minutes, then remove skins, seeds, and seeds (a large bowl of cold water helps speed this up).

Making Base Soup

Place pot on medium heat, and add diced onions, garlic, chopped cilantro, and ground cumin. Sauté for 5 – 6 minutes until onions are softened.
If you want to thicken the soup with roux, add 1Tbsp flour now and stir until incorporated.
Add chicken stock and 2 bay leaves, bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
Use immersion blender and/or regular blender and blend soup until smooth.
For added smoothness, pass soup through a sieve or a food mill. Return soup to pot.

Choosing Cream

If you choose to add cream, add 1 cup cream and stir until incorporated. Salt to taste.

Choosing Cheese

If you choose to add cheese, add ½ slice of American cheese to soup and stir.
Grate cheese and add a little at a time while stirring until it’s all incorporated. You probably won’t need to add any salt in this case.

Thickening Soup

If you want a thicker soup at this point, add cornstarch slurry or some roux.

Serving

Serve garnished with fresh cilantro and crumbled cotija cheese.

Keyword soup

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Further Uses

I like to make large batches of soup and freezing them for later. (Soup freezing molds like these ones make it really easy to freeze 1-cup portions).

For this one in particular, I want to experiment with using it to make enchiladas, chilaquiles, and as a spaghetti sauce.

Poblano Soup