Served piping hot, this poblano sauce is an amazing addition to burritos, tacos, enchiladas or your favorite fish, chicken or beef dish.
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What is a Poblano Cream Sauce?
We do love all of the great cold salsas and sauces with our favorite Mexican and Tex-Mex style foods. In this case, though, we've created a sauce using a favorite pepper, the poblano, and it's designed to be served hot.
Poblanos are readily available in most groceries year round these days, so you can make it anytime you like. We've also found them to be easy to grow in the garden and we're always looking for ideas of what to do with all those poblano peppers.
Why you'll love this Creamy Poblano Sauce
- It has a refreshing taste- Use this sauce on any Mexican-style dish to brighten it up and give it a punch of poblano and cilantro flavor.
- Use up those poblanos- If you're growing poblano pepper in your garden like we are, you're probably running out of ways to use them.
- It goes on everything- I love this poblano cream sauce on tacos and burritos, but it's also perfect for drizzling over nachos or enchiladas. You can even serve it as a dip- it makes a much lower calorie alternative to queso.
Ingredients for Creamy Poblano Sauce
- Poblano Peppers - 2 to 4 depending on their size
- Butter - Salted or unsalted is fine. Just adjust your salt accordingly
- Onion - We recommend sweet onions
- Garlic - Freshly diced
- Flour - Plain all purpose
- Chicken stock - use vegetable stock if you want to be this poblano cream sauce vegetarian
- Half and Half - you can use whole milk but your sauce will be less creamy
- Salt - plain table salt
- Cumin - ground
- Lime juice - freshly squeezed is always best
- Cilantro
Exact measurements are in the recipe card below.
How to make Creamy Poblano Sauce
- First you'll roast your peppers, let them cool, and then peel them. They can be roasted over an open flame (like a gas cooktop), on a grill, in the oven at 425 degrees or under a broiler. Just turn them to get an even char like in the photo below. The roasted peppers will be easier to peel if they're steamed by cooling in a zip loc bag or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
- Cut the pepper flesh away from the ribs and seeds and then dice it.
- Melt the butter in a deep pot and then add diced onion and the peppers, cooking and stirring until the onions are soft.
- Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute.
- Mix the stock and cream and whisk in the flour, until there are no lumps.
- Slowly stir the stock mixture, salt and cumin into the pot and keep stirring until thickened.
- Stir in the lime juice and cilantro.
- If a smooth sauce is desired it can be blended with an immersion blender or briefly in a food processor.
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Expert Tips
- For easy peeling of poblano peppers that have been roasted and cooled, scrape lightly with a small paring knife.
- If using an immersion blender, make your poblano cream sauce in a deeper saucepan.
Substitutions and Variations
You could try some jalapenos for some extra kick. You can have fresh peppers ready year round when you freeze them.
Vegetable stock may be substituted for chicken stock if a vegetarian sauce is desired.
Storage
Refrigerator
This sauce will keep very nicely, refrigerated for 3-4 days if tightly covered.
Freezer
We have not tested freezing it, but creamy sauced generally have an unpleasant texture change when frozen.
What to serve with Poblano Cream Sauce
This recipe has a Mexican-inspired, southwestern type flavor, so you'll find it a natural with Fish Tacos with Baja Sauce, Low Carb Enchiladas- Beef & Bean, or any other Mexican dish.
However, it also makes an interesting topping for fish or grilled shrimp skewers and this poblano cream sauce is excellent over grilled blackened chicken or anything made with our slow cooker shredded beef.
If you love sauces like we do, you'll want to check out these 10 Best Sauces and Saffron Cream Sauce.
Want more poblano recipes? Check out these:
- Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers
- White Cheddar Poblano Soup
- Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder
- 15 of the Best Recipes with Poblano Peppers
Recipe Video
Recipe FAQs
Typically, they are not. They have a unique taste that adds a great level of flavor to any dish. Unless you are using a very small, one you will most likely find the heat to be minimal. That being said, 'spicy' is a term that means different things to different people, so we advise nibbling a tiny bite to check.
They can be roasted over an open flame (like a gas cooktop), on a grill, in the oven at 425 degrees or under a broiler. Just turn them to get an even char. The roasted peppers will be easier to peel if they're steamed after roasting by cooling in a zip loc bag or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Poblano Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 poblano peppers (2-3 if large size peppers)
- 2 Tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- ⅓ cup diced onion about ½ of medium onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 4 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian version)
- 1 cup half and half could substitute whole milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice about ½ lime, juiced
- 12 leaves cilantro approximately
Instructions
- Roast peppers until charred and blistered over open flame, grill, in 425 degree oven, or under broiling, turning for even roasting.
- Place hot peppers in plastic bag or in bowl covered with plastic wrap until cool enough to handle.
- Peel peppers and then cut flesh away from stem, ribs and seed. Dice.
- Melt butter over medium heat and then add onion peppers, stirring frequently until onions are limp.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Mix the stock and cream (half and half) and whisk in the flour, whisking until all lumps are gone.
- Slowly stir in the stock mixture, salt and cumin to the pepper mixture and keep cooking and stirring until thicked.
- Stir in the lime juice and cilantro and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
- If a smoother sauce is desired it can be blended with an immersion blender or briefly in a food processor before serving.
Notes
- Use a small paring knife and scrape peppers to peel.
- Vegetable stock may be substituted for chicken stock if a vegetarian sauce is desired.
- If using an immersion blender it's helpful to make the sauce in a deeper saucepan.
Nutrition
Andrea says
Oh my, this sauce is bursting with such great flavors. I'm already thinking of ways to use it. Yum!
Charles says
Hi Pam,
I love poblanos! Your recipe is so versatile on everything. Thanks for sharing!
Lily (GastroSenses) says
I make something similar on the regular. So tasty.
Ieva says
Delicious! Served it with simple baked cod last night and we loved it! Cannot wait to try it with enchiladas too!
Pam says
Yay! Happy to hear that.
Sami says
Absolutely delicious... modify the amount of cilantro to your liking but this is superb!! #yummm
Pam says
Yay! Thanks so much Sami!
Ann says
I make to serve over a medium rare whole beef filet, to die for! My adult children always ask for if they know I’m making the filet for Sunday dinner. Thanks for sharing!
Pam says
Thank you for letting us know, Ann!