Last Updated on January 18, 2023 by Catrina
Roasting poblano peppers is a basic skill that will allow you to create delicious, traditional Mexican and Southwestern recipes like chile rellenos, chile en nogada, rajas, and arroz verde, just to name a few. The technique is simple and the peppers can be roasted ahead of time and kept refrigerated until ready to use (up to 5 days).
Roasting poblano peppers mellows their flavor and imparts a slight smokiness that brings depth to all sorts of traditional Mexican and Southwestern dishes. There are literally DOZENS of ways that you can use roasted poblano peppers (quesadillas, scrambled eggs, salsa, sandwiches, burritos, tacos, etc.) and since they keep well in the fridge, you can whip up a batch in advance and have peppers on hand whenever your poblano-craving strikes!
I have a gas stove, so I am able to place these directly onto the burner and roast away! When I lived in the US, however, I was stuck with an electric stove. So I resorted to roasting poblanos in our oven under the broiler. At first, I wasn’t exactly sure what steps would be needed to achieve an acceptable result by using the oven…would broiling yield a different undesirable texture? Did the chiles need to be prepared a certain way prior to broiling? I did a quick internet search and found a helpful how-to by Alyssa at https://www.mysequinedlife.com/how-to-roast-poblano-peppers-in-the-oven/. In Alyssa’s method, she rubs her chiles with oil and then roasts in an oven at 425F. I prep my chiles the same way, but use a high broil to achieve the roasted, blackened skin result that I get from the stove-top method. I have tested this method in my kitchen and found the results to be just as good as a stove-top method and less hands-on than roasting over an open flame, better for roasting larger quantities of chiles in my opinion.
How to Roast Poblano Peppers
Materials
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 tsp vegetable or olive oil (for oven-method only)
Instructions
Gas Stove-Top Method
- Over medium-high heat, place pepper directly onto the burner of a gas stove and allow to blister and blacken, turning to cook evenly, about 7-10 minutes* (the cook time will depend on the size of your burner and size of the pepper)
- Remove from heat and place in a plastic bag and allow to sweat, about 10 minutes (or place in a bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap)
- Remove pepper from bag and peel off blackened skin (some black spots are ok)
- If you are planning to stuff these, slice open one side of the pepper and remove the seeds, leaving the stem intact. If you are not planning on stuffing the pepper, the top can be cut off, seeds removed and the pepper sliced into strips for storage.
For Oven-Broiled Method:
- Pre-heat oven to a high-broil
- Rub pepper all over with oil
- Place the pepper on a sheet pan and broil for ~20 minutes, checking every 5-6 minutes and turning periodically so that the pepper blisters and blackens evenly
- Remove from oven and place in plastic bag and allow to sweat for about 10 minutes (or place in a bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap)
- If you are planning to stuff these, slice open one side of the pepper and remove the seeds, leaving the stem intact. If you are not planning on stuffing the pepper, the top can be cut off, seeds removed and the pepper sliced into strips for storage.
Notes
Oven-broiled method adapted from https://www.mysequinedlife.com/how-to-roast-poblano-peppers-in-the-oven/
