Wondering what to do with poblano peppers? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 91 recipes to put it to work.

What are poblano peppers?

The poblano is a large, mild fresh green chile (Capsicum annuum) named for Puebla, Mexico, where it has been grown for centuries. It is the dark, glossy, heart-shaped pepper you see piled at the produce stand, usually 4 to 6 inches long with thick, meaty walls.

Heat-wise it sits low on the scale, roughly 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville units. That is hotter than a bell pepper but far gentler than a jalapeño, so you get real chile flavor without much burn.

The taste is earthy and faintly grassy, turning a little sweet once cooked. The catch is that heat varies plant to plant, and the odd poblano will surprise you with a genuine kick.

Dry a ripened poblano and it becomes the ancho chile, the wrinkled, raisin-sweet pod that anchors mole and a lot of homemade chili powder.

Cooking With Poblanos

Poblanos almost always want roasting first. The skin is waxy and tough, so charring it under a broiler or over a flame until blackened all over loosens that skin while the flesh turns silky and smoky.

Steam the charred peppers in a covered bowl for ten minutes, then rub the skin away and pull out the seed core.

From there they go in two main directions. Whole roasted poblanos get stuffed for chiles rellenos, the way Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers fills them with meat and cheese before baking.

Cut into strips, they become rajas, the soft roasted ribbons folded into tacos and quesadillas. Blend roasted poblanos with broth and cream and you have the green sauce behind Chicken Breasts in Poblano Sauce, one of the most-cooked poblano dishes on the site.

You do not have to roast them, though. Diced raw poblano simmers down beautifully in soups and stews like Poblano & Smoked Chicken Chowder with Hominy, where long cooking mellows the skin on its own.

What to Pair Them With

Poblanos belong to the corn-and-cream side of Mexican cooking. They love sweet corn, hominy, potatoes, and squash, and they turn rich against melting cheese and roasted chicken or pork.

A squeeze of lime and a handful of cilantro at the end keeps all that richness lively. You will find them in everything from Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas to Spicy Red Onion-Poblano Chile Relish.

The most common mistake is skipping the roast and peel on a dish that needs it. Left raw in a quick sauté, the skin stays papery and tough and refuses to break down, leaving little plastic-like shreds in an otherwise smooth dish.

The other trap is assuming every poblano is mild. Taste a sliver before you commit a whole batch, because an occasional hot one can throw off a dish meant to be gentle.

Substitutes

If you cannot find poblanos, the closest swap is the Anaheim pepper, which is similar in size and mildness though a touch sweeter and thinner-walled. Use it one for one.

Bell peppers give you the body and roastable flesh but none of the chile character. Add a pinch of ground ancho or a little jalapeño to make up the difference.

In a cooked sauce, a rehydrated ancho chile is actually the truest stand-in, since an ancho is just a dried poblano.

For raw heat without the size, a seeded jalapeño works, but you lose the meaty walls that make poblanos good for stuffing.

Buying and Storing

Choose poblanos that are firm and heavy for their size with tight, glossy, deep-green skin. Pass on any that feel soft or show wrinkling, which signals age. Larger, straighter peppers are easier to peel and stuff.

Stored loose in the crisper drawer, unwashed, fresh poblanos keep about a week to ten days. Do not bag them tightly, since trapped moisture turns the skin slimy.

Roasted poblanos freeze well, which is the real reason to roast a big batch at once. Char and peel them, pull the seeds, then freeze flat in a bag for up to a year and grab what you need for sauce or rajas.

You can also freeze them whole and unroasted, though the texture softens once thawed, making them best for blended sauces rather than stuffing.

Quick facts

Where to find poblano peppers: Poblano peppers are usually found in the produce section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

poblano辣椒

British (UK) term

Poblano peppers

en français

poivrons poblano

en español

chiles poblanos

Recipes using poblano peppers

There are 91 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 91 recipes

More poblano pepper recipes

• Backyard's Jalapeno Cheese Grits
• Black Bean Salsa
• Chicken Enchiladas in Green Mole
• Chiles in Walnut Sauce
• Chili of Penultimate Grooviness
• Corn & Grilled Sweet Potato Chowder
• Corn Stuffed Poblano Chiles
• Green Chili with Pork
• Grilled Shrimp with Tomatilla Salsa
• Hot & Garlicky Black Bean Soup
• Hot & Sweet Sausage Sandwiches with Grilled Peppers & Onions
• Island Red Beans
• My Favorite Curried Shrimp Dish
• New Mexico Green Sauce
• Poblano Soup with Broth
• Rice Poblano Soup
• Sausage Quesadillas
• Spicy Sausage Patties
• Verde Azzor