The Best Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Oh man! Can you say delicious too many times? Not when it comes to these stuffed peppers. They are so, so, so delicious. Poblano peppers are my favorite pepper, and they do not disappoint in this dish. It is delicious! (Three times, so far.) Maybe not a dish to make when you’re short on time, but I promise you, if you make this, you will not be disappointed.
When you hear ‘stuffed poblano’ you probably think of ‘chile rellenos’ (chee-lay ray-ay-noes) because this famous Mexican dish is made with poblano. This recipe is not ‘chile rellenos’, though that dish is delicious as well. I wanted to give a twist on the classic ‘stuffed peppers’ that uses bell peppers, rice and tomato sauce. In my opinion, stuffed poblanos take the everyday ‘stuffed peppers’ to a whole other level. Try this dish and you will see.
Poblano Pepper
What is a poblano pepper? A poblano (poh-bla-no) pepper is a dark green pepper with mild heat originating from the town of Puebla, Mexico. People hailing from Puebla, Mexico are called poblanos, hence the name for the pepper. There are many uses for the poblano pepper, including being dried and ground into a powder used for flavoring dishes; stuffed; made into a mole (mole-ay) sauce; and more famously, coated in whipped egg and fried, as in chile rellenos. Poblanos do have a tough outer skin, more so than the standard bell pepper, so they need to be cooked longer to soften up their skin.
In this dish, I chose to use quinoa rather than rice, which is traditionally used in stuffed peppers. Quinoa (keen-wa), is an edible seed from the flowering plant chenopodium quinoa, or quinoa as we know it, in the amaranth family. A nutritious grain high in protein, fiber, B vitamins and dietary minerals, it is native to the Andean region of northwestern South America. It is easy to cook and can go in a variety of dishes.
Ingredients
- Poblano– dark green, mild heat pepper found in most grocery stores.
- Italian sausage– bulk sausage works best. Doesn’t have to be Italian, any sausage will work.
- Quinoa– I like the tri-color quinoa as it adds a bit more color. Any quinoa will work though.
- Shallots– I love the mild onion-garlic flavor of shallots. An onion would work as well, if that’s all you have.
- Shredded cheese– so many different cheese could work in this dish. I chose a Mexican style four cheese blend. Manchego is a favorite of mine. It’s a bit pricey but it is so good. Well worth the cost.
- Garlic Cream Sauce– an easy, bechamel sauce with garlic. So delicious on top of this dish!
How to Make Stuffed Poblanos
As mentioned above, I wouldn’t make this dish after a long day when the last thing you want to do is stand in the kitchen. This is a dish for when you have a bit of time and are really in the mood to cook. That being said, it’s not a difficult dish, it just has a few more steps than a quick meal you can easily throw together (like my Easy One Pan Creamy Coconut Chicken, Easy One Pot Leftover Carnitas Soup, or my Salmon One Pan Meal with Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus).
Step One The first thing you’ll want to do is halve the poblanos lengthwise and put them cut side up in a 9×13 roasting dish and roast them in the oven for about twenty minutes to soften them up. Poblanos have a bit of a tough skin so they taste a bit better when they are roasted or sauteed. While the poblanos are roasting in the oven, set the quinoa on the stove to boil. I use one cup of quinoa to two cups water.
*Please note- when handling the poblanos, don’t touch your eyes or any open skin, it will burn. Poblanos aren’t spicy, but they do have capsaicin, the active component in chili peppers that gives them their spiciness.
Step Two Slice the shallots and saute them in about 1 tbsp of oil till they are translucent and soft. I like mine to be a little bit browned as well. Next, you’ll cook the sausage. Remove it from the pan and set on a paper towel lined plate to soak up the grease. Once the quinoa is done, you’ll mix that, the sausage, shallots and cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add the paprika and cumin and mix to combine.
Step Three Once the poblanos are done roasting in the oven, (leave the stove on, you’ll be using it again soon) let them cool a bit and then you’ll stuff them with the sausage mixture. I spread it evenly amongst each of the poblano halves. Pop em’ in the oven for fifteen minutes while you make the Garlic Cream Sauce.
Garlic Cream Sauce (Bechamel)
While the stuffed poblanos are in the oven, you’ll have time to make the cream sauce, which is basically a bechamel sauce. The basic recipe for a bechamel sauce is 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp flour and 1 cup of whole milk or heavy cream. This sauce also has 2 cloves of pressed garlic. I like to press the garlic ahead of time so it’s ready to go when you need it. To make this process easier, I suggest measuring out the butter, flour, milk and garlic ahead of time.
Step Four To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saute pan. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and stir constantly. You don’t want it to burn. Once the flour has been fully incorporated, add the milk in small batches. Between each addition, stir it until the flour is incorporated. If you add all of the milk at one time, it will be lumpy. Once you have added all of the milk, stir in the garlic. The sauce will start to thicken as you are stirring. This is what you want to happen.
Step Five Pour the garlic cream sauce over the stuffed poblanos once they come out of the oven and you have yourself one delicious meal. Make this for your friends and family and it’s all they’ll ever want you to make.
Why I Love This Recipe
Taste? Out of this world! It is so good! The sausage and garlic sauce and cheese all melted together. I make this at least a couple of times a month.
Smell? I love the smell of the peppers roasting in the oven. And I really love the smell of the garlic cooking in the cream sauce. So many good smells in this dish!
How easy is this to make? There are a lot of parts to this recipe, however, once you make it a few times, it comes together quite easily. Don’t make this if you’re short on time.
Would I make it again? I make this frequently. We love it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
You could pre-make the stuffing mixture and freeze that for up to two months. Store in an airtight, freezer safe container. I do not recommend freezing the peppers. You can prepare the peppers the day you want to make the dish.
No, you do not need to remove the skin. You will be doing an initial roasting of the peppers, then cooking them when they are stuffed so this will soften the peppers enough where they will be just soft enough yet sturdy enough to hold the stuffing.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this recipe, try a few of my other recipes with poblanos.
Easy One Pot Leftover Carnitas Soup
Quick and Easy Homemade Guacamole
The Best Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Ingredients
Stuffed Poblanos
- 6 poblano peppers
- 16 ounces ground sausage
- 2 cups quinoa, cooked
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- 3 shallots
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
Garlic Bechamel Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice poblanos in half lengthwise; remove stem, seeds, and ribbing. Arrange in a 9×13 dish with the cut side up. Bake the poblanos in the oven for 15 minutes to soften them up a bit before stuffing them.
- Cook sausage all the way through on the stovetop. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the grease.
- In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water. Set to boil. It should take about 15 minutes for the quinoa to cook.
- Slice shallots. Saute shallots in 1 tbsp of olive oil until translucent and slightly browning. Set aside on plate.
- The peppers should be done. Remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes before stuffing. Leave the oven in while you stuff the peppers. It shouldn't take too long.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the 16 ounces of sausage, 3 chopped shallots, 2 cups quinoa, 2 cups cheese, 1 teaspoon paprika, and 1 teaspoon cumin. Mix to incorporate everything.
- Distribute the stuffing mixture evenly amongst the peppers. Because of the shape of poblanos, some will hold more stuffing than others. If you have any leftover, sprinkle over the top.
- Put the stuffed poblanos back into the oven for 15 minutes.
- While the poblanos are cooking, make the garlic bechamel sauce.
Garlic Bechamel Sauce
- Measure out 1 cup of milk in a glass measuring cup with a pour spout and set aside. Peel and press 2 cloves of garlic into a small bowl, and set aside. Measure out 1 tbsp of butter and flour into separate, small bowls and set aside.
- In a medium skillet, melt 2 tbsp of butter completely. To the melted butter, add 2 tbsp of flour and stir consistently until fully incorporated. It is easy to burn, so be sure to keep stirring.
- Slowly add a small bit of milk to the butter/flour mixture. Stir until incorporated. Keep repeating this until you have added all of the milk. You want to stir in between each addition so the flour does not become too lumpy.
- Add the garlic into the sauce and stir to incorporate. The mixture should be thickening by now, which is what you want. If you want the sauce even thinner, you can add more milk, but be careful about adding too much or it will be too runny.
- The peppers should be done cooking by now. Remove from the oven. Drizzle the garlic bechamel sauce all over the stuffed peppers.
- Serve and enjoy. So delicious!
Notes
Nutrition
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