This poblano cream sauce is full of flavor and ready to add to your favorite Mexican dishes! Creamy, lightly spicy, and completely addictive. Drizzle over tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and more.
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Have you ever cooked with poblano peppers? If not, you're in for a real flavor treat!
I love the spicy flavor poblanos give, which is a little different than you'll find in jalapeños or mild bell peppers, my usual go-to. In this recipe, we're balancing out that spice with lots of creamy goodness, so don't worry about this being too spicy!
There are a couple steps to this poblano cream sauce recipe, which creates a thick, creamy sauce. First you'll want to puree the veggies, next we'll make a roux (butter + flour), and then we'll add in the pureed veggies along with some vegetable stock and cheese.
What you end up with is a delicious creamy poblano sauce that will be right at home on tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, sandwiches, and maybe even pasta. Use your imagination and see where this sauce takes you!
My very favorite way to use this recipe is in my vegetarian enchiladas with poblano cream sauce! The best part is when the extra cheese meets with the sauce on the edges of the pan and turns into a creamy, spicy, slightly crispy bite. Mmmmm!
Ingredients
- Poblano peppers
- Yellow onion
- Cilantro
- Garlic
- Heavy cream
- Sour cream
- Butter
- Flour
- Vegetable stock
- Monterey jack or cheddar cheese
How to make poblano cream sauce
- Cut the poblano peppers into a few large, flat pieces, discarding the ribs, stem, and seeds. Place them on a baking sheet and broil, skin side up, until charred.
- Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes.
- Using your fingers, remove the skin from the peppers.
- Place roasted peppers, onion, cilantro, garlic, heavy cream, and sour cream in a food processor and process just until smooth.
- Heat butter over medium heat until melted. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, for one minute.
- Add the poblano mixture and cook a few minutes, whisking frequently.
- Add vegetable stock and ½ cup of cheese. Let cook 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Top tips and questions
How to find poblano peppers
When I first started cooking with different kinds of peppers I found that my grocery store didn't label them very well and it was difficult to know if I was choosing the right one. Poblano peppers are easy to identify because they're longer and skinnier, sometimes curvier or more irregularly shaped than bell peppers.
They have a dark green color and and are usually about the size of my hand. They can be found by the other peppers in the produce section.
How to peel poblano peppers
To peel poblano pepper, you'll first need to char the skin. Do this by slicing the pepper into a few large, flat piece and laying them on a baking sheet.
Broil the pepper skin side up a few inches from the heat source until bubbled and charred. Transfer the peppers to a heat-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. The steam will help make it easy to remove the skins.
To remove the skins, simply rub the charred skin with your fingers until you're able to pull it away from the pepper. Discard the skin, and save the pepper for continuing with the recipe.
It's ok if you aren't able to remove every tiny bit of skin, just get off as much as you can. Removing the skin helps make the sauce smooth.
You could also roast the whole peppers over the flame on a gas stove, but I don't have any experience with that and I think broiling is easier to manage.
Don't over mix
Because of the heavy cream in this recipe, you'll want to avoid letting it all blend in the food processor for too long. If you do, it will be fine, but you may end up with more of a "whipped cream" consistency than a flowing sauce.
Tips for customizing
- Swap the poblano peppers for red bell peppers to make a creamy red pepper sauce
- Leave in some of the ribs and seeds on the poblano for extra heat
- Use as enchilada sauce or drizzle on tacos or tostadas
- Serve over beans, or meat eaters can spoon it over chicken or shrimp
- Roast the garlic before adding to the sauce
FAQ
You could puree the vegetables in a blender instead of a food processor, or in a small smoothie appliance like this ninja bullet (affiliate link). I would not recommend chopping by hand because the sauce would turn out too chunky.
This sauce is really more creamy than spicy. It still has lots of flavor, but all the dairy helps balance out the heat.
More Mexican recipes
- Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
- Green Avocado Sauce
- Healthy Guacamole
- Oven Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa
- Mango Avocado Salsa
- Veggie Stacked Enchiladas
- Crispy Baked Black Bean Tacos
- Fajita Veggies
- Black Bean Patties
- Vegetarian Enchiladas with Butternut Squash
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Poblano Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 poblano peppers
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¼-1/2 cup vegetable stock
- ½ cup Monterey jack cheese, or cheddar, or a combination of the two
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to broil on high and place a rack in the highest position.
- Remove stem, seeds, and ribs from the poblano peppers. Cut the pepper into large pieces that will lay flat on a baking sheet. I do this bu cutting off the top, then cutting the body of the pepper into about four large chunks. You can press down on any pieces sticking up and it should crack the pepper enough to flatten it out. You just don't want any pieces sticking up a lot higher than the rest of them.
- Broil the flattened peppers skin-side up until blistered and charred, about five minutes. Immediately transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam for about ten minutes. The skin should peel off easily Remove the skin from the peppers. It's ok if a few bits remain.
- Place the roasted peppers in a food processor along with the onion, cilantro, garlic, heavy cream, and sour cream. Process just until smooth.
- In a 2 quart saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, for one minute. Add the poblano mixture and cook for a few minutes, whisking frequently.
- Add vegetable stock and cheese. Let cook 5-10 minutes, until thickened, stirring frequently.
Notes
Tips for customizing
- Swap the poblano peppers for red bell peppers to make a creamy red pepper sauce
- Leave in some of the ribs and seeds on the poblano for extra heat
- Use as enchilada sauce or drizzle on tacos or tostadas
- Serve over beans, or meat eaters can spoon it over chicken or shrimp
- Roast the garlic before adding to the sauce
Angie says
Can I freeze this sauce?
Lindsay Moe says
I don't think it would freeze very well because of the cream/sour cream.
Christina says
How long does this keep in the fridge?
Lindsay Moe says
3-4 days
Danny says
Can you make it without roasting the peppers..
Lindsay Moe says
I think you probably could, but this would affect the texture and flavor a lot. If you don't mind the change, go for it!