I first made this recipe after eating lunch at The Wild Grape Bistro in Salt Lake City. Thompson was a baby at the time, and we always ordered soup for him to eat when we ate at restaurants. After hearing their selection of available soups, I knew the tomato would be best for him, but they also had a roasted poblano and white cheddar soup that sounded amazing. I ordered both, telling Trevor I didn’t know which one Thompson would like the best. But really, I just wanted to try the poblano one.
Thompson ended up only eating the tomato (like I knew he would), and Trevor and I were left to fight over every spoonful of poblano deliciousness. We both loved it so much that Trevor insisted I figure out a way to make it so we could have it all the time. I experimented a little bit and came up with this, and it has been a family favorite ever since. It is easy to make, and components of the soup can be frozen for quick meals. Skip the chili oil if you don’t want the extra steps; it is a great addition, but also delicious without.
- FOR THE SOUP:
- 2 roasted poblano chiles, sliced (click for directions on roasting)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ cup yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ cup heavy cream (you can also use half and half)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- FOR THE CHILI OIL:
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add onions and sliced roasted peppers. Sauté until onions are beginning to soften, about 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and cumin. Simmer for 20 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender.
- Add cream. Heat gently until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Toss cheese with cornstarch. Add to soup, whisking slowly to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Serve with a drizzle of chili oil (see instructions for chili oil below).
- For the chili oil: heat olive oil and red pepper flakes in a small sauce pan over medium heat for 5 minutes (or even low-medium if your stovetop runs hot). Remove from heat, and let cool complete. Pour oil into jar and store in the refrigerator.
Oh this looks and sounds so delicious!!! You’re pictures are beautiful. They make me wish I had this bowl in front of me right now. 🙂
Thanks, Tammy! It really is pretty delicious!
Soup is right on my agenda at them moment as the weather here in Australia has turned VERY cold. I definitely need to try this recipe – I’ve never made a poblano pepper soup before!
This really is the perfect cold weather soup and one of my faves. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
This is our new favorite soup. love it.
Oh I am so glad. It has always been our favorite, too!
I made this soup last night for the hubby and I. We both LOVE it!! I doubled the recipe so we would have leftovers. Perfect amount of spice from the roasted poblano peppers and a nice kick from the sharp cheddar. (I used extra sharp white cheddar) I served it with tortilla chips crunched on top. This soup will be a staple in our house from now on!! Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Thanks for your comment–I am so glad you liked it! It is a staple in our house, too.
I don’t have white sharp cheddar handy at the moment, would regular sharp cheddar work just as well? Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
I am so sorry for the late reply, I must have missed your comment when you posted it. I think regular sharp cheddar would work just fine. If you try it, let me know how it is!
The soup is good, but I almost burned down my house making the Chili Oil…. At medium-high heat for five minutes (which is what the recipe called for), it WILL catch on fire. Ruined a good, deep saucepan as well.
Hi Teresa,
I am so sorry it didn’t work out for you, and I appreciate you letting me know. I have a pretty old electric stovetop and the burners don’t get very hot so my medium-high is probably different than other stovetops. I have made this many times and haven’t had the problem you had, nor have I heard of other readers having the issue, so I feel badly that it happened for you. I adjusted the recipe to say medium or medium-low heat.
This was great! Thanks
So glad you liked it! 🙂
I used to go to this one restaurant just to get their Poblano Cheese Soup, but they have since closed down and I have been looking for a recipe to make it myself. I found your and I just made this and it was super good and easy to make. My husband loved it. I will be making it again and again and will probably double the recipe too. Thank you.
This turned out so well, easy and delicious!! Thank you for this recipe.
I am so happy you loved it!
There’s a local deli near me that served Poblano & Chevre soup one day. I had to make it, but had no idea where to start. I used your delicious recipe as a base, but used chevre instead. Very tasty and an intriguing twist.
Omg this is so good, my work has it all the time and I wanted something like it and found your site. It is just as good. It initially was a little thick but just added more chicken stock and it was perfect
Has anyone tried dumping this all into a Crock-Pot after the puree step?
This is wonderful soup. I use smoked gouda, make 4 times the recipe (if I am peeling peppers I might as well do a bunch), only add half the chicken stock, then blend and divide into containers and freeze. When we want to use it, I use the frozen base, add the extra chicken stock, then the cheese and cream. I freeze the amount of cheese and cream I need too. Comes together quickly.
I had Roasted Poblano and White Cheddar soup at a local restaurant and immediately came home and searched on Pinterest for a recipe to make at home. Yours was even better than theirs! Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Delicious! 🙂
Excellent! Followed recipe as written and took the suggestion of another reviewer by adding crushed tortilla chips on top. Will definitely make again.