Roasted Poblano Quesadilla

This Roasted Poblano Quesadilla recipe is the perfect example of the rich, otherworldly flavor that Mexican cuisine can generate by using just a few simple ingredients.

And in this case, it’s the poblano peppers that are mostly to blame for producing love at first bite.

Roasted Poblano Quesadilla with Avocado Salsa Verde Recipe

But not just poblano peppers straight from the market.  Roasting them first helps build a unique flavor that you’ll come back to time and time again, so we’ll start by doing that.  (Are poblano peppers spicy?)

Rinse two poblano pepers and add them to the oven at 400F.  Yes, you could skillet roast them on the stovetop, but lately I just use the oven for simplicity.  In about 25-30 minutes they’ll be slightly charred (and infinitely more delicious).

When the skin chars or separates I tend to pull it off, but don’t worry about getting every last bit as it won’t affect the flavor too much.

Cut the stems off and de-seed the poblanos, then chop them into strips.

Roughly chop 1/2 an onion and saute on medium-low heat in a dollop of oil.

Once the onion is tender (4-6 minutes) add the poblano strips to the skillet along with a healthy dash of salt and freshly ground pepper.  Saute on medium heat for a few minutes.

Your quesadilla building station will have the following:  1 cup refried beans, the poblano-onion mixture, shredded cheese, and plenty of diced cilantro.

Feel free to overbomb the cheese and cilantro the first time you make them, you can always dial back for the second round 🙂  For this batch I shredded 2 cups of Monterey Jack cheese and chopped 1/2 a bunch of cilantro.

We’re going to add ingredients to only half of the tortilla so we can fold it onto itself; they cook easiest this way.

Put your skillet or comal on medium heat.  I warm up the tortillas for a few seconds so we’re not adding warm ingredients to cold tortillas.

Each tortilla gets a layer of beans, cheese, poblano-onion mixture, cilantro, and a final layer of cheese.

Fold onto itself and cook on your skillet/comal until each side starts to turn golden brown.

These poblano quesadillas are good enough to be eaten on their own (or with a bit of Valentina), but since you’re looking at 25-30 minutes to roast the poblanos you’ve also got time to build an Avocado Salsa Verde to dip the quesadillas in.  This could potentially endear you to your partner for life and beyond, but consider it optional.

The above pic is the quickest way to make an authentic salsa verde.  I’ll put instructions for this in the recipe box below.  Note:  you can use canned tomatillos and still get a salsa verde that outperforms anything you can buy at the market.

Then it’s just a matter of blending an avocado with the salsa verde.

And you’ve got a heavenly green sauce that would love to be paired with your piping hot roasted poblano quesadillas….

Not pictured is the slightly burdensome request you’ve been putting off asking your partner about.  Until now.

Don’t forget, roasting the poblanos is the most important step.  It’s all downhill from there.

Let me know how your version turns out, I’d love to hear about it.

Buen Provecho.

Roasted Poblano Quesadillas

This Roasted Poblano Quesadilla recipe is a great example of the rich, otherworldly flavor that Mexican cuisine can generate by using just a few simple ingredients. And it's served with Avocado Salsa Verde!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2 -3 quesadillas

Calories: 726kcal

Author: Patrick Calhoun | Mexican Please

Ingredients

• 2 poblano peppers
• 1/2 onion
• 3-4 flour tortillas
• 1 cup refried beans
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro approx 1/2 a bunch
• salt
• freshly ground pepper

Avocado Salsa Verde

• 4-5 tomatillos
• 1 serrano (or jalapeno)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 10-12 sprigs cilantro
• 1 avocado
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Start by rinsing 2 poblano peppers.  Roast the poblanos in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 400F.
• If you are building the Avocado Salsa Verde, you can also roast 4 tomatillos in the same pan as the poblanos. But remember that the tomatillos will need less time roasting. Take them out when they start to turn army green, approx 10-15 minutes.
• Add the roasted tomatillos to a blender along with 1/2 onion, 1 garlic clove, 10-12 sprigs cilantro, and 1/2 of a serrano pepper (or 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper). Pulse blend and taste for heat, adding the additional 1/2 of the serrano (or jalapeno) if you want more heat. Add the avocado to the blender and combine well. Salt to taste.
• Once the poblanos have roasted, let them cool and then pull off any loose bits of skin, but don't worry about getting rid of every last piece.
• De-stem and de-seed the poblanos, cutting them into thin, bite-sized strips.
• Saute 1/2 an onion in a dollop of oil over medium heat.  When the onion is tender (4-6 minutes) add the poblano strips along with a generous pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper.  Let this mixture saute for a few minutes. 
• Heat up a wide skillet over medium heat.  Warm up the tortillas before building the quesadillas (I usually give them 30-60 seconds in the skillet right before building).
• Each quesadilla gets a layer of refried beans, cheese, poblano-onion mixture, cilantro, and cheese.  Fill only half of the tortilla so you can fold it onto itself.
• Cook the quesadillas for 2-3 minutes per side or until the cheese is melted and they start to turn golden brown.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

You can get away with using canned beans for this recipe because you'll be getting most of the flavor from the poblanos.

Flipping the poblanos halfway through the roasting period will give them a more even char.

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