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
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Jump to RecipeIntro
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)
Written Instructions
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Roasting Peppers
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).
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.
Add chicken stock and bay leaves, bring soup to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
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.
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 Soup
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.
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.
