Cheesy Roasted Poblano Pepper Soup is easy to make and full of flavor. Chicken can be added to make it extra hearty, but it’s perfection in a bowl as a vegetarian dish.
This poblano cheese soup stirs up in just minutes and is a meal in itself whether you add chicken or make the vegetarian version. Serve it in smaller portions as a first course for any meal – especially those with a southwestern flair.
Everyone seems to enjoy hearing where recipe inspiration originates, so here’s the story on this soup: In 2017 I accompanied Buddy (hubs) on a business-related trip to Arizona.
We attended a rodeo-type event for Caterpillar equipment (those huge yellow trucks and tractors) and yes, I got to drive a bulldozer!
More important to this story, though, they served us the most delicious poblano pepper soup. Now we have a Roasted Poblano & Corn Chowder on the blog already and it’s just great, but it has potatoes, lime and corn. The new soup I had was cheesy – really cheesy. Yum!
Enter this year’s bumper crop of poblanos. We roasted, stuffed and diced those peppers and still had more in the garden. And then I remembered that cheesy soup and got to work recreating it.
Roasted Poblano Pepper Soup is so versatile!
Like so many of our recipes this one can be tweaked lots of different ways according to what you have on hand or your family’s preferences.
When making this poblano soup I had a tomato, so I diced it up and added it, but it’s totally optional. I also had some cooked chicken. I wanted this to be a meal in a bowl, so I chopped up the chicken and tossed it in.
If you want to keep it lighter or vegetarian, leave the chicken out and use vegetable broth instead of the stock. The same goes for Butternut Squash Soup with roasted red peppers and that one is super light.
I remembered the original soup having white cheddar cheese, so that’s what I used, but you could certainly use yellow cheddar, or monterey jack. The world is your soup pot!
Roasting Poblano Peppers
The skin of these peppers can be a bit thick and tough, so for most recipes I will roast the peppers first. It’s easy to do, and I’ve given you step by step instructions below:
- Preheat broiler or grill to medium-high to high heat.
- Roast whole peppers until charred and blistered, turning with tongs to roast other side.
- Remove from heat and place in plastic bag or covered bowl for 10-15 minutes.
- Cut slit down one side of pepper. Skin should peel off easily.
- Scoop seeds out with spoon.
The photo below will show you about how the peppers should look after roasting. They could even be charred a bit more if desired. If you’re a fan of poblano peppers, try Creamy Poblano Sauce and Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers.
Garnish ideas for Cheesy Roasted Poblano Pepper Soup
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- Tortilla strips – we were so excited to find these Fresh Gourmet Tortilla Strips. Order from Amazon here.
- Fresh cilantro
- More grated cheese
- Additional poblano pepper, either diced or cut into strips
Cheesy Roasted Poblano Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1-½ cups cooked chicken, diced optional
- 1 medium tomato, diced optional
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup chicken stock use vegetable broth for vegetarian
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups half and half
- 2-3 medium poblano peppers, roasted and diced
- pepper to taste
- 5 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Melt butter in medium sauce pan over medium heat.
- Add onions and cook 8-10 minutes, or until tender.
- Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Add tomato, chicken, cumin, salt, pepper, poblano peppers and stock and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Whisk flour into half and half and add slowly to pan, stirring constantly until thickened.
- Add cheese and stir until melted and incorporated.
- Garnish individual servings as desired with tortilla strips, cilantro, additional grated cheese and poblano pepper.
Be sure to tag us on Facebook and Instagram with a shot of your soup when you make it!
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Whitney says
The poblano peppers look so good, can’t wait to try this!
Pam says
Thanks so much, Whitney!
Jacque Hastert says
Poblano peppers are my favorite peppers to cook with. I never thought about creating a soup with them. I can’t wait to make this when the weather starts cooling down.
Pam says
If you love them you’ll definitely love this soup, Jacque!
Angela says
What a perfectly gorgeous recipe that’s so full of flavor! This was a huge hit with my family and great for the colder months ahead. Will definitely make again. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Pam says
Thank you, Angela. Glad that you enjoyed!
Kushigalu says
What a creative and delicious looking soup. A must rry?
Pam says
Absolutely! Thanks Kushigalu.
Taylor Kiser says
Incredible flavors going on in this soup! Can’t wait to try it!
Pam says
Hope you enjoy it, Taylor. Thanks!
Reena says
I actually made this and it was awesome…I used about 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. We will definitely make this again,
Kim says
This was amazing! I added a few things to it. Cream cheese, cilantro, pepper Jack cheese, cayenne and crushed red peppers!
Mary says
Phenomenal!! It needed more heat so added a few shakes of red pepper & a little more salt. Will mike this again & again!!
Pam says
So happy to hear you loved it. Thanks, Mary!
Jenny Troisi says
This soup is absolutely delicious. My 70 year-old father said it was the best soup he has ever had. Kudos for this recipe.
Pam says
Yay! Thanks so much for taking the time to let us known and leave a star rating. We really appreciate it!
Kelly says
This is one of the best soups I’ve ever had, the flavor is wonderful!! I used homegrown poblanos and garlic from our garden. Amazing!
Pam says
Yay! We love it too. Thanks for taking the time to rate our recipe and give it a star rating. We really appreciate it.
Danielle says
This soup was AMAZINGGGGG!!!! We chose not to use tomato and just used rotisserie chicken 10/10. Thank you!
Sarah says
The BEST soup!! We just love it and add different items depending on what day clean out the fridge is! We’ve added grilled peppers ( with the poblanos), cooked shrimp,grilled chicken cooked bacon, grilled corn … get the idea. That said , the recipe as written is spot on and delicious!!!
Pam says
Wow! Thank you so much for letting us know. We really appreciate it. If you could take the time to give us a 5 star rating as well it would really mean a lot and lets others know how much you loved it.
Margaret says
Amazing. I used peppers and tomatoes from my garden. It’s better than a restaurant that we get this soup at.
Thanks for sharing.
Pam says
Yay! Thanks for much for the 5 star rating and the nice comment!
Bill says
Awesome recipe! Tastes exactly like Chipotle’s Queso Blanco, which I love.
Pam says
Yay! Thanks so much Bill!