This poblano soup recipe is loaded with roasted poblano flavor and the perfect blend of seasonings, so creamy and easy to make! Break out the bowls!
What's up, my friends! Now that we are well into soup season - at least we are were I live - I'm excited to post this recipe because I already know it's going to be one of your new favorites.
This soup is luscious! It's creamy and smooth and earthy and just the right amount of spicy for my spicy food loving friends.
It's Roasted Poblano Soup!
YES!
Oh my, just take a look at it. So vibrant and inviting. I want dive in again.
I grew poblano peppers in my garden this year, hybrids actually - Tiburon Hybrid Chili Peppers - and DANG were those plants productive!
I got a TON of poblano peppers this year, so lucky me, I get roasted poblano soup as much as I want this year, along with all sorts of other wonderful poblano pepper recipes.
This particular recipe is perfect for you if you're garden is exploding with poblanos, or if you simply love the delicious, earthy flavor of poblano peppers, that taste like no other pepper.
It's very easy to make by roasting your poblano peppers, then simmering them with onions, carrots, garlic, and spinach with chicken stock, a bit of milk, and lots of wonderful seasonings.
I think you're going to love this one, my spicy food loving friends.
Let's talk about how to make roasted poblano soup, shall we?
Roasted Poblano Soup Ingredients
- Poblano Peppers.
- Olive Oil. For cooking.
- Vegetables. Onion, carrot, celery, garlic cloves, spinach.
- Seasonings. Ancho powder, guajillo powder, Mexican oregano, cumin, salt and black pepper.
- Chicken Stock. Or use chicken broth.
- Milk. You can also use heavy cream for a creamier version.
- Mexican Crema. Or use sour cream.
- For Serving. Spicy chili oil (or olive oil), chili flakes, pepper slices, fresh chopped cilantro or parsley.
How to Make Roasted Poblano Soup - the Recipe Method
The first thing we want to do is roast our poblano peppers.
First, set your oven to broil. Slice the poblano peppers in half lengthwise and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, skin sides up.
Broil the poblanos about 10 - 15 minutes, until the skins char and blacken. They should puff up. Check on them after 5-7 minutes
Remove, cool slightly, then peel off the skins and discard them along with the seeds and removing the stems. If needed, you can set the poblanos into a bowl and cover with plastic to let them steam.
This helps to loosen the skins, making them easy to peel.
Rough chop the poblanos and set them aside. Learn more about How to Roast Poblano Peppers here.
While the poblanos are roasting, heat a large pot to medium heat and add the olive oil.
Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook them down about 5 minutes to soften.
Add the chopped roasted poblano peppers, garlic, spinach, Cajun seasonings and salt and pepper. Cook another minute, stirring. I use my own Homemade Cajun Seasoning Blend for this recipe.
Add the chicken stock and milk and bring to a quick boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer about 30 minutes to let the flavors develop.
Remove from heat and stir in the crema or sour cream until it is completely incorporated.
Use a stick blender to blend the soup into a thin consistency, or transfer it to a food processor or blender in batches.
Serve in bowls and garnish with chili oil, chili flakes, pepper slices and fresh chopped parsley.
That's it, my friends! Roasted Poblano soup! It's so crazy good, I hope you love it as much as I do!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Feel free to vary up the spices used in this recipe. I love it with Mexican chili powders, but try a good Cajun seasoning blend for a southern US flair, or use your favorites.
- This recipe is called Roasted Poblano Soup, but you can make it with other peppers. Consider using Anaheim peppers, any of the Hatch chile varieties, even bell peppers, or a mix of your favorite green chilies.
- Up the heat and spice factor of your soup by using hotter spices or red chili flakes when you add the seasonings, or you can add hot peppers to the mix when cooking down the vegetables. Don't forget the hot sauce!
- Add a protein to your soup to simmer for a more complete meal. Some great options include chicken, pork, chorizo, tofu, or shrimp.
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Roasted Poblano Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound poblano peppers about 8-10 poblano peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped (white or yellow)
- 1 medium carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 cup chopped spinach loosely packed
- 1 tablespoon ancho powder
- 1 teaspoon guajillo powder
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- FOR SERVING: Spicy chili oil, chili flakes, pepper slices, fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Set your oven to broil. Slice the poblano peppers in half lengthwise and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, skin sides up.
- Broil the poblanos about 15 minutes, until the skins char and blacken. They should puff up.
- Remove, cool slightly, then peel off the skins and discard them along with the seeds and stems.
- Rough chop the poblanos and set them aside.
- While the poblanos are roasting, heat a large pot to medium heat and add the olive oil.
- Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook them down about 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the chopped roasted poblano peppers, garlic, spinach, seasonings and salt and pepper. Cook another minute, stirring.
- Add the chicken stock and milk and bring to a quick boil. Reduce the heat and simmer about 30 minutes to let the flavors develop.
- Remove from heat and stir in the crema or sour cream until it is completely incorporated.
- Use a stick blender to blend the soup into a thin consistency, or transfer it to a food processor or blender in batches.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with chili oil, chili flakes, pepper slices and fresh chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: The color of your finished soup can vary based on the types and amounts of seasonings used. Here is a photo of the same soup with Cajun seasonings used instead.
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 10/14/22 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 11/14/18.
Mandi says
Would this be good with shredded cheese mixed in?
Mike Hultquist says
It's great without cheese, but sure, you can mix in some cheese. It might get stringy, though. Personally, I would change up the whole recipe if I wanted to add cheese. I would start with a roux.
Alexa says
Can you freeze this?
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, it freezes perfectly.
Lisa says
I made this recipe to be. I mostly followed the recipe. When done for some reason I had a very strong bitter pepper flavor from my poblanos. To alleviate this problem, I used Salvadoran crema, And some sugar. That helped to alleviate the bitterness. I think next time that I make this I will add some avocado at the end and blend it as well as using roast corn to top it with.
Mike Hultquist says
Yikes, sorry to hear about the bitterness, Lisa. Do you think you over-roasted the poblanos? Burned them a little? Or did you neglect to remove the charred skins? Those are the only reasons I can think of for the poblanos being bitter. Glad you found a solution to the issue. Cheers.
Lisa A Combest says
No, the peppers were not burned and they didn't have skins. I hate finding skins in my soup, so I'm kind of nutty about that. I have no idea where the bitterness came from. It has completely vanished, now that it has set a day in the fridge. My husband and I were flummoxed too.
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, weird. I hope you enjoyed more!
Lisa A Combest says
I'm adding a comment to say that his recipe is amazing the next day. SOOOO much more melding in the flavors. YUM
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! Thanks for sharing, Lisa.
Lucia smith says
I am impressed by the Roasted Poblano Soup recipe and immediately tried it after reading the recipe details. However, I have used ghee in place of olive oil because ghee vs olive oil comparison shows me that ghee's nutrition and flavor is better than olive oil. I am happy with my decision of ingredients alteration. I prefer using Milkio grass-fed ghee for all culinary purposes.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Lucia. Thanks for sharing.
Robert Longeill says
So good! We loved it the first day. Charred some corn and added it on day two…even better!
Mike Hultquist says
I love the charred corn addition! Nice.
John Parker says
Hi Mike.
We tried this recipe yesterday and it turned out delicious. My wife Fran was also making chicken soup around the same time, and we decided to add some shredded cooked chicken breast into the poblano soup and that was delicious as well. Then, not leaving good enough alone, today Fran bought some fresh shrimp, added it to the soup with the shells on while it heated up, then removed the shrimp, took off the shells, diced up the shrimp and added it back into the soup to finish cooking them. Absolutely great!
Thanks for the recipe. John
Mike Hultquist says
I love the additions! Very nice! I love how versatile this soup can be.
B00 says
So very rich, spicy, full of flavor. I used chopped Spanish Onion and upped the cumin, used the crema .M-M-Mmmm. Used my own home made broth to control salt, was delish.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome to hear! Glad you enjoyed it! Definitely a favorite here.
Jamie says
Love this recipe
Be careful though—my Cajun spice had a lot of salt! Neutralized the salt with lemon juice and raw potatoes
Drizzled Mexican crema on top before serving
Lovely
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Jamie! Yes, some brands can be pretty salty, which I why I usually make my own. Thanks for sharing!
Erin Prosser says
This recipe is phenomenal. I’ve been into spicy food my whole life but only recently tried poblano soup? Go figure. We’ve made this probably 5 times already and it’s our go to when my boyfriend or I feel like we need an immunity boost. All the peppers and spinach make me feel so good! We put in extra jalapeños and up the veggies just to make the soup bigger because the first time we made it we ate the whole pot in one sitting LOL thank you! All the recipes we have tried so far are amazing. We change them all to vegetarian if they aren’t already (by using meat substitutes) and it’s been fire. You’re an Angel.
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent!! Glad you enjoyed it, Erin! We love this dish!
Kara says
Fantastic!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Kara! We love it!
aida says
I just made this and was amazing! The depth of flavor was amazing 🙂 Thank you for this recipe, it is a definitely a keeper.
At the end I added some chopped roasted chicken for added protein, and I some sautéed mushrooms for texture.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Very nice! Thanks, Aida! Glad you enjoyed it.
Charles Koopmann says
Very good recipe although it is quite spicy. I added yellow squash and mushrooms to the sautéed vegetables. Next time I will add mild salsa.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Charles. You can cut back on the Cajun seasonings to half to ease the spice levels. Glad you enjoyed it! I think a mild salsa would be great here!
Pamela Hartman says
Loved this soup - I added corn at the end !!- loved this - remember to kick it up a notch with some homemade salsa instead of Cajun spices - I prefer the salsa
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Very nice! I love the idea of the salsa.
Nancy A Wood says
I love this soup. As it is, it's awesome. It also makes a great framework for a mixed vegetable soup.
Your site is on my "speed dial" as EVERYTHING that has come from your recipes has been great.
Keep it up!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, Nancy. Thanks! I appreciate your comments. Glad you are enjoying the site and recipes!
Dave says
What is the serving size?
Is a cup 194kcal?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Dave, this will serve up 4 small bowls, or 2 good sized bowls (double portion) for some hungry people.
Gonefission says
Absolutely great. My only problem is finding relatively fresh poblanos. The old wrinkled ones don't peel very easily.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks. Yes, I think this would be more difficult with older poblanos.
Lizzie says
Looks fabulous! There's enough going on on Thanksgiving, so I'm going to make this tomorrow and stash it away to really let those flavors get happy. I'll steep a couple of split Thai Bird chilis in the chicken broth tonight, being super careful to strain the broth before adding to the soup. Thanks for a great inspiration! Happy Thanksgiving from Idaho!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Lizzie! Making my mouth water here!
Lizzie says
It was wonderful! But not as bright green as your pic, so the next time I make it, I'll add the spinach when I blend the soup, so it won't be cooked, and hopefully will be brighter green. Big hit!!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Outstanding! Glad you enjoyed it!
Soraya says
Looks fantastic !
Thank you for the recipe , I will cook it today .
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Soraya!
Jeremie says
Hi Mike!
There are too many amazing recipes on your site, this is heaven for chili peppers lovers!
This one seems a great recipe, I want that for tonight! unfortunately, this year, my Poblano plants did not grow. Can I make the recipe with rehydrated ancho chilies, without betraying the recipe?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jeremie! I would use fresh peppers for this recipe. You CAN use rehydrated anchos and it would be very delicious, but it won't have the same flavor. But still super tasty! Let me know how it turns out for you.
Jeremie says
Great soup! The ancho I have was worst that I thought, because it was not whole desiccated ones but just flakes. Soup color wasn’t nice, too dark because of the ancho solution.
But the soup was full of flavor, yummy and well-balanced. I add Golden Cayenne slices in it. What the ancho seeds bring, I think, is some roasted hazelnuts flavor, but I definitively look forward to test the soup with fresh poblanos!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds great, Jeremie! Thanks for reporting in!
Michelle says
I haven't tried this yet but I'll bet one or two reconstituted ancho peppers would add a lot of flavor to this soup. I'd also add some crushed red pepper flakes when cooking the onions and other aromatics. I'd also add a little cumin and Mexican oregano to spice up the flavor a bit!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds great, Michelle. Give it a go and let me know how it turns out for you! I love it.