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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Cathy
I make soup for myself most every day. I had 1 poblano pepper needing to be used looked up the recipe and believe it or not was able to make soup for one. Roasted the pepper in my air fryer and just used smaller amounts of everything in the recipe. I wish I had 2 peppers so I could have leftovers. It was very tasty.
Patrick
Ahh good news, thanks for your note Cathy! Cheers.
Janice Kay Short
Hi Patrick, what a timely post! I just bought beautiful poblanos yesterday and plan to make soup today. I make a chunky version and also roast the peppers first, but I add two serrano peppers, add diced Yukon Gold potatoes and corn, and add a lot of cilantro and sliced green onions as a garnish. I have never found this too spicy, but then again I like it Hot. I also like to chew my soup. I find it easy to thicken by taking my wooden spoon and smashing half the potatoes against the side of the pot. I add just a bit of heavy cream at the end and add fresh lime juice to taste. I just cannot stop eating it! Yours sounds great, but I thought you might like to know of another version to try. I found the recipe on Rancho Gordo and added some of my own touches.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for mentioning your adjustments Janice, that is super helpful. Cheers.
Barb
This is a wonderful soup, but I would suggest grilling the Poblano Peppers instead of baking them. The oven cooked them too much, where as grilling leaves the peppers more firm, and easier to peal.
Patrick
Thanks Barb!
Wild
Of all the soups I've made over the last 12 months or so this is by far my favorite. This is not complicated but the results are wonderful. The flow of the recipe had me feeling as though I were in a well used, experienced Mexican kitchen. So as I finished the process there was a bit of a swagger………….
Patrick
Oooh nice, when the final garnish is swagger that is a good sign 🙂 Cheers.
Kay
Amazing, recipe is perfect! I first had it on a cruise ship and was craving it at home. I finally found Mexican oregano, which added a good flavor. I use the plastic bag trick a few min after the poblanos are done roasting , the membrane peels off effortlessly! The soup turns out perfect every time! Thanks
Patrick
Thanks Kay! Now craving this soup 🙂
Jim
With a hard freeze at my house I harvested all of my Poblano peppers and roasted them for use! This is the second time I have made this as written. One thing I will suggest folks - use an immersion blender!!! To make this more of a meal I cubed a pound of pork tenderloin and pan seared it and added this to this soup. I hold back a 1/2 cup of chicken stock to deglaze the pork tenderloin pan. Outstanding and the cilantro stems make an excellent addition!!
Patrick
Ooh sounds delicious, thanks Jim!
Virginia
This was one of the best dishes I’ve ever made!!! I used 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth that I had, and at the end I added 1 cup of heavy cream. I used minced parsley because I didn’t have any cilantro. I roasted a fresh ear of corn and cut it off the cob and added it as a garnish on top, more salt, and what made it really sing was fresh squeezing a sprinkling of lemon or lime juice! Wow, it was hard to stop eating it!!!
Patrick
Ahh good news, thanks much for mentioning your adjustments Virginia! Cheers.
Janet
Could you add roasted chicken?
Patrick
Sure! I haven't tried that combo yet but it's worth a go if you want to turn it into a more hearty meal. Cheers.
Kim
I made this soup a few weeks ago and am making it again tonight . I seriously crave this stuff. The heat makes you want to go back for more. It's so dang delicious. Definitely squirt some of that lime juice in and crema! ohhhhh boy... my mouth is watering already!
Patrick
Thanks Kim! So glad to hear you are embracing the heat 🙂 Cheers.
Kelly
Can you thicken the soup with anything else besides flour? My husband does Keto and I would love to make this!
Patrick
Hey Kelly! Yeah you could use cornstarch to thicken it -- similar proportions as flour and will work just as well. I hope you try this one out, it's one of my favs on the site. Cheers.
BK
You can use tortillas to thicken the soup
Regina L Teeters
You could try gelatin. I have a recipe for stew which calls for that as a thickener.
Teri
I don’t know much about the diet; I used chick pea flour.