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If the stuffed peppers of the past had any resemblance to our Stuffed Poblano Peppers of today, my persnickety food heart might have warmed up to them much sooner.
We roast mild poblano peppers until smoky and tender, hollow them out and then fill them with a cumin-scented ground beef, sweet corn, and black bean mixture. In a chile relleno mimicked move, we blanket the stuffed peppers in a seriously addictive poblano cream sauce (see our poblano chicken and poblano pasta comments here to believe the hype) and finish them off with melty jalapeño cheddar cheese.
Ingredients in Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Poblano peppers. If you’ve never cooked with poblano peppers, I hope I’m turning you on to a very delicious path. Mild in heat, a little sweet and a tad smoky when roasted, I keep coming back to these guys again and again. We use them for the vessel and we use a poblano pepper for the sauce.
Beef. Our stuffed poblano peppers lean on the side of rich so to keep calories and fat down I like to use ground sirloin.
Onion + garlic. Always a necessary combo in tex-mex cooking.
Spices. My holy trinity of tex mex spices here is ground cumin, oregano and garlic powder.
Water. I always add water into ground beef taco filling. It adds a little bit of moisture and created an almost sauce-like consistency.
Corn + black beans. You could add a variety of veggies here but corn and blacks beans in my perfect combo.
Cheese. You could really use any kind of cheese here. I love the flavor of a spicy jalapeno cheddar but monterey jack, co-jack or anything similar will work great.
The Poblano Cream Sauce
Pepper. As mentioned before the poblano peppers are working double duty in this recipe.
Chicken stock + cream. I like this combo to keep the sauce nice and light with a hint of richness. The cream also helps to thicken the sauce while it simmers.
Cilantro. When cilantro is pureed with cream, chicken broth and peppers, something truly wonderful happens.
Lime + honey. I often finish off my sauces with a hint of acid and sweetener. It helps to balance out the flavors and add a nice final touch.
Let’s make Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Roast the peppers. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Place all six poblano peppers in a 9×12 baking dish and lightly spray with olive oil or avocado oil spray. Roast for 10 minutes, flip the peppers, and roast another 5–10 minutes until blistered and slightly blackened.
Slice the peppers and steam. Remove one pepper and place it in a zip-top bag to steam. Slice the remaining five peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds, and leave them in the baking dish.
Make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks.Add the onion and cook 2–3 minutes, until slightly softened. Stir in garlic, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. Add water, black and corn. Simmer for a few minutes.
Stuff the peppers. Divide the beef mixture evenly among the roasted poblano peppers. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
Make the sauce. Remove the steamed poblano from the bag and discard the stem and seeds. Add it to a blender with 1/2 cup chicken stock, cilantro, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until completely smooth.
Wipe out the skillet used for the beef. Pour in the blended sauce, remaining 1/4 cup chicken stock, cream, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 3–4 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and honey. Season to taste.
Assemble and serve. Spoon the sauce over the baked peppers. Sprinkle with cheese and bake again until the cheese is melted and the filling is hot.
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success
- Don’t over roast the peppers you are going to stuff. If they get too soft, they won’t hold the filling in.
- If you are sensitive to spice, wear gloves.
- All poblano peppers are different in their heat levels. If you are intolerant to heat, make sure to taste a little bit before.
- Always shred your own cheese!
- If your sauce thickens too much, add a little bit more chicken stock. On the other end if it doesn’t get thick enough, strangely, adding a little bit more cream and simmering longer will thicken it.
- Always season to taste with salt and pepper!
Storage and Reheating
- Reheat: Warm in a 350°F oven or microwave until heated through.
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: The filling freezes well, but the cream sauce is best fresh.
Substitutions
- Swap out ground sirloin for ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken
- Shredded sweet potato would be a great addition or sub for corn and black beans. Just make sure to add it when you are browning the beef.
- For extra heat, add in a roasted jalapeno pepper or cayenne pepper to the sauce or filling.
Serve Stuffed Poblanos with…
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Ingredients
- 6 large poblano peppers
- 1 lb lean ground sirloin
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- 8 oz jalapeno cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup cilantro
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500°F. Place all six poblano peppers in a 9×12 baking dish. Spray with non-stick olive oil or avocado oil spray. Place the baking dish in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Turn the peppers over and roast another 5-10 minutes until the peppers are starting to blister and blacken. Once the peppers are roasted, remove one pepper and place in a plastic ziplock bag and let it steam while you prep everything else. For the other five peppers, use a pairing knife to vertically slice the peppers down the middle so you can stuff them. Remove all seeds. Leave in the baking dish. REDUCE THE HEAT ON THE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.
- While the peppers roast, start to make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground sirloin and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks. Add diced onion and cook 2–3 minutes until slightly softened. Stir in garlic, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and 1 tsp kosher salt. Add water and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in corn and black beans. Remove from heat and fold in 1 cup shredded jalapeño cheddar cheese.
- Spoon beef mixture evenly into each roasted poblano. Place the baking dish with the stuffed peppers in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes while you make the sauce.
- While the peppers heat in the oven, remove the steamed poblano pepper from the ziplock bag. Remove seeds and stem. Add the steamed pepper to a blender along with 1/2 cup chicken stock, 1 cup cilantro, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth.
- Wipe the pan clean you cooked the beef mixture in. Pour the pureed pepper mixture into the skillet along with remaining 1/4 cup chicken stock, cream, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes. until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- After the stuffed peppers have baked for 10 minutes, pull the pan out from the oven. Pour the cream sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and filling is hot, about 15 minutes. Serve with extra chopped cilantro and lime.
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