Have you tried this Roasted Poblano Soup yet?!
It's one of my favorite recipes on the site, and I've been gobbling it up over the past couple weeks.
It's bursting with flavor and yes, it's spicy so consider yourself warned! That's what keeps me coming back to it 🙂
How To Make Poblano Soup
Not pictured is the smell of roasted poblanos wafting through your house. But trust me, it's included with this recipe and it has the ability to instantly change your mood.
4-5 poblanos seems to be the sweet spot for this recipe. Poblanos don't have much heat, but when you use a bunch of them it adds up!
This photographed version used 6 poblanos and was right on the threshold of too spicy for most of us. If you want a milder version I would recommend roasting all of the poblanos but only adding half or two-thirds of them to the pan to start with. Once blended, take a taste, and if you want more heat simply add more poblano. Are Poblano Peppers Hot?
Give the poblanos a good rinse and roast them in the oven at 400F. 15 minutes later they'll look like this:
I usually give them a flip after the first 15 minutes and then put them back in the oven for as long as my stomach will wait:
So that's about 25 minutes total in the oven.
In the old days I would put these in a bag and let them steam up so the skin comes off easier, but not anymore! Most of the skin will come off as is, and I've found that it doesn't affect the flavor if you leave some behind.
Note: it can be beneficial to remove the skin when serving the Poblanos in strips like in Rajas, but mostly for texture purposes and not flavor.
Meanwhile, get a chopped onion sweating in 3 tablespoons of butter until softened.
Add 3 cloves of minced garlic and saute briefly.
To thicken up the soup, we'll add 3 tablespoons of flour and combine well. Giving this mixture a couple minutes over the heat will ensure you don't taste the flour in the final product.
Next we'll add:
4 cups stock
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano (optional)
pinch of cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
freshly cracked black pepper
Let simmer for 7-8 minutes or so.
You really don't need much beyond the poblano-butter-onion-stock combo, so you can consider the Mexican oregano optional if not available. More info on Mexican Oregano.
Once you've pulled off as much skin as you can, de-stem and de-seed the Poblanos.
Then roughly chop the Poblano pieces and add them to the simmering mixture in the saucepan.
Bring everything to a uniform temp and then combine well in a blender. Be sure to use caution when blending hot liquids!
Return the soup to the saucepan and give it a taste! I'm always amazed how complete it tastes given such a simple ingredient list.
I used a batch of zero-sodium homemade chicken stock so I added another 1/4 teaspoon of salt at this point. If you're using store-bought stock you probably won't need to add as much salt as I did.
You're left with a pan full of velvety goodness that already tastes good, but don't forget to garnish as it will give you an awesome bump in flavor.
It's amazing what a hint of acidity does to this soup.
I'm using a few drops of Valentina hot sauce, but vinegar or lemon/lime juice would have a similar effect. The acidity brightens up the flavor and makes everything pop.
So good!
I'm also using:
Mexican Crema
freshly cracked black pepper
finely chopped cilantro stems
The flavor burst from the cilantro stems is a real treat in this soup -- it also adds a bit of texture to each bite and that's something I'm more cognizant of lately.
I also wanted to mention that I've tried this recipe with cream mixed into the soup and found that it dulled the flavor of the poblanos too much!
But garnishing with cream and snagging a bit of it for each bite works wonders, so I always drizzle some on top.
That means that once you make your way through the top layer of garnish you have full permission to add another 🙂
Buen Provecho.
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Roasted Poblano Soup
Ingredients
- 4-5 poblano peppers
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 cups stock
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano (optional)
- pinch of cumin (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper
For the garnish (optional):
- finely chopped cilantro stems
- Mexican Crema (or heavy cream)
- hot sauce
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse the poblanos and roast them in the oven at 400F. Give them a flip after 15 minutes. They'll be mostly roasted in another 10-15 minutes, so 25-30 minutes total roasting time in the oven.
- Add 3 tablespoons butter to a saucepan on medium heat. Roughly chop an onion and add it to the saucepan, cooking for 5-7 minutes or until softened. Mince 4 garlic cloves and add to the onion, cooking for a minute or so.
- Add 3 tablespoons flour to the onion mixture and combine well. Add 4 cups of stock along with 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano (optional), a pinch of cumin (optional), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir well. Simmer for 7-8 minutes.
- Once the poblano peppers have cooled a bit, pull off as much skin as you can but don't worry about getting rid of all of it. Then de-stem and de-seed the poblanos. Roughly chop the poblano pieces and add them to the saucepan.
- Cook until everything is at a uniform temp and then combine the mixture in a blender. Be sure to use caution when blending hot liquids -- I usually just hold a paper towel over any openings just in case you get a geyser.
- Return mixture to the saucepan and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Salt to taste. I added another 1/4 teaspoon of salt but keep in mind the salt level will depend on which stock you use.
- Serve immediately but don't forget to garnish! I used Crema, finely chopped cilantro stems, freshly ground pepper, and a couple dashes of Valentina hot sauce.
- The acidity of the hot sauce pairs well with the poblanos so feel free to re-garnish once you make your way through the top layer. Other options for acidity: lemon/lime juice or vinegars.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
Got leftover Poblanos? Make some Rajas! Or check out these Poblano Pepper Recipes.
Our latest post is this delicious Avocado Soup.
Still hungry?!
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PAMELA LORD
Made this Roasted Poblano Soup last night.....It was amazing!!!! I used 6 polanos and Tapatio hot sauce... I will definitely be making this one again! Thank You!
Patrick
Thanks Pamela so glad it was a hit!
Yara
Made this today. It is tasty, but mine is super spicy! My tongue is on fire, even with topping with sour cream. Maybe my poblanos are just extra hot?
Patrick
Hi Yara! It's definitely supposed to be a little spicy but it sounds like you might have some fiery poblanos on your hands. Can I ask how many you used?
If it comes out too spicy for your palate you can always dilute it down a bit by adding more stock, but normally you shouldn't have to do that. It's also worth keeping in mind that poblano size can vary quite a bit so if using larger poblanos you can typically use less of them and get a similar result.
Okay, let me know how it goes, I think it's worth trying it again and tweaking it for your palate if necessary -- it's such a great dish to have in your arsenal and I come back to it on a regular basis.
Skye
Have you ever frozen this soup? I want to make a big batch and freeze it in smaller containers for convenient meals, but I don’t want to destroy the texture or flavor.
Patrick
Hi Skye! I've never frozen this soup before so I can't give a firsthand account. It has tremendous zip and vitality when freshly made and while you will probably lose a bit of that zip when freezing it, I think it's still going to have pretty good flavor. I would probably freeze it without the garnishes and cream and save those for when it's served. Hope that helps a bit. Cheers.
JIM
I have Hatch Chilies. I think I’ll try it with those.
Naina D
Hi. Love this recipe and tried it as well. Instead of flour I used cream as I had more poblanoes (8).
Wondering if. Can de-stem and de- seed before roasting? Seems it may be easier and less messier. Not sure though how much taste would be impacted? Has anyone tried it this way?
Thanks in advance
Patrick
Hi Naina thanks much for the feedback! Yup you should be able to de-stem and de-seed before roasting and it shouldn't impact the flavor much at all. Of course, that's assuming you are using the oven to roast the poblanos. Old school poblano roasting is done over an open flame and when doing it that way it's convenient to have the stem attached. Cheers.
Naina
Thank you Patrick. I plan to roast them in the oven 🙂
Jean
I made this today and it was delicious 😋
I added a bit of garlic powder in addition to the fresh garlic and a little bit of smoked paprica.I added a big dollop of plain whole yogurt on top.
Patrick
Awesome Jean! Some great adjustments -- now craving it!
JP
My backyard garden is starting to produce peppers en masse. I tried this recipe with a combo of two poblanos, three Havasu, five Cajun belles, and one jalapenos pepper. Also, only had homemade ham stock on hand, so used that as well. It's got a little heat to it, but that's fine by me. All in all, it was a success! Will definitely try this one again with different pepper mixtures.
Patrick
Wow awesome JP, would love to try this soup with a combo like that, thanks much for the inspiration!
Patricia Call
In the poblano soup recipe, which kind of stock are you referring to....chicken, beef, etc.??
Patrick
Hi Patricia, I typically use chicken stock but veggie stock is a good alternative if you want to make a vegetarian version. Cheers.
PAMELA LORD
I used Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock
Tammy
Can I substitute pasilla peppers for the poblano?
Patrick
Hi Tammy! It depends if the Pasillas are actually Poblanos. Let me explain...
In the States grocers will frequently mislabel Poblano peppers as Pasilla peppers. I don't think anyone really knows how this started but I see it quite frequently and it is massively confusing for peeps. A Pasilla is a dried Chilaca chili and would not be a good fit for this Poblano Soup recipe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasilla
But if the "Pasilla" peppers in your grocery store look like the Poblano peppers in this recipe then most likely they are officially Poblanos and you can definitely use those in this recipe.
Hope that helps a bit -- let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers.
Terry
I also made this soup and added fresh corn the flavor is superb and my husband ate so much for lunch that I’m not sure we have enough leftovers for dinner, which was my intention, oh well. Thank you for posting such great recipes, I really enjoy trying them and reading about them!
Sincerely, miss Terry
Patrick
Oh great thanks for the feedback Terry! I'm a huge fan of this poblano soup and some fresh corn is the perfect addition to it. Cheers.