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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Dangereuse
I made this with Anaheim peppers and rich homemade chicken stock and MAN OH MAN did it go down smooth. The Anaheim peppers I got were not very hot, I ended up adding sriracha sauce, along with lime, cilantro, and a drop of sour cream. I'll be making this if we can ever have guests over again
Patrick
Hey thanks much for your note, so good to know this recipe worked for you using Anaheims! And thumbs up on homemade stock 🙂 Cheers.
Sara
Omg that was amazeballs! I’ve never reviewed anything ever but had to let you know how much we loved this. I had a similar soup at our favorite Mexican restaurant and when I got their recipe and realized it had a TON of cream in it, I just couldn’t bring myself to make it since we eat pretty healthy. This didn’t even need cream! I’ll admit I added a drop as a garnish but that was mostly to even out the few drops of habanero hot sauce I added. It was so good we didn’t have leftovers (a first in this house!). Next time I’ll double the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Patrick
Thank much Sara! Yeah just a drop of cream on top is all it really needs. I've tried mixing cream into it and didn't like it nearly as much. Cheers.
Gina
I made this tonight it was deliciously spicy. I used 6 peppers would probably use 5 if making for guests and have the cream. The lime and cilantro finishes it off perfectly!
Patrick
🙂
Rick Barthel
Terrific soup, great favor, but as Patrick says, SPICY. I used four poblanos and will only use three next time. Heavy cream worked great as a substitute for creama.
Patrick
Thanks Rick!
Jenny
This was fantastic. I used poblanos from our garden, which were quite spicy. Therefore, I sauteed fresh corn in butter and added it after blending the soup. The pops of sweetness were fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Patrick
Thanks much Jenny, adding in some corn sounds delicious!
Melissa D Parish
Excellent recipe. Next time, I will add only half an onion, I found that the onion made the soup too sweet. I'll also only add 1/2 tsp Mexican Oregano, I used 1 tsp before. A pinch of roasted cumin was perfect. I did not have crema but I used a little buttermilk, wow. We had it last night for dinner: rave reviews. I just finished the last of it COLD for lunch and it is delicious.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for mentioning your adjustments Melissa, so glad this one is a keeper for you! Cheers.
Jason
Made this today, delicious! Shared it with my extended family, the soup was a hit!?
Patrick
Thanks Jason, so glad it was a hit with the fam! Cheers.
Laura Bracken
Before I opened my computer to see your Saturday post, I was staring at the last of the poblanos on. my kitchen counter. Thank you! Now we've got dinner plans...
Patrick
Ha...destiny 🙂 Cheers Laura.
Penny
This looks absolutely fabulous! Can't wait to try it!
Patrick
Thanks Penny!
Kris
I made this for the second time on a grey, gloomy midwest fall day and it definitely brightened my spirits. So yummy I went back for seconds.
I used both black and white pepper. White pepper gives another dimension to the heat that I like.
Next time I may try to stem and de-seed the poblanos first and just cut them in half to roast as I think it will be easier and less messy, but, I do wonder if I'll lose some flavor in doing so. Will experiment because I'll definitely be making this again.
Patrick
Hey Kris thanks much for your feedback! I rarely use white pepper but will experiment with it based on your note, thanks for mentioning that.
And I think you could de-stem/de-seed and then roast just the chile pieces if you want as it shouldn't affect the flavor much. When roasting traditionally over an open flame it's much easier to keep the stem on, and I think that's just become custom when using other roasting methods (oven, stovetop). Or maybe I'm just speaking for myself 🙂 Cheers.