Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup

10 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup is an easy soup recipe with chicken and roasted poblano peppers in a creamy broth. Try making it today!

I love the Southwestern flavors of this Chicken Poblano Soup! It starts with chicken and poblano peppers roasted in the oven, then it’s loaded up with Tex-Mex ingredients, all in a creamy rich broth. For more delicious Southwestern Soup Recipes, check out my Chicken Tortilla Soup and Copycat Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup.

Sabrina’s Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup Recipe

Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup is a hearty soup that is part creamy chowder and part Southwestern chicken dish. Along with the roasted chicken and smoky peppers, it’s loaded with corn, black beans, bell peppers, and melty cheese. It’s one of those multi-tasking recipes, where you make the soup base while the peppers and chicken are roasting, then combine everything with cream and cheese. In just about 45 minutes you’ll have a delicious soup filled with Southwestern flavors, perfect for a light dinner or starter to favorite Mexican dishes.

Chef’s Note: What are Poblano Peppers?

Fresh poblano peppers are a typical pepper grown in Puebla, Mexico. They are mild in flavor with a dark green color, quite a bit wider than other peppers and can grow up to 6 inches. When they are roasted and dried, they are called ancho pepper and are the main chile used in chili powder. I love roasting fresh poblano peppers for this soup because they give a smoky pepper taste without making it too spicy.

Ingredients

  • 3 Medium Poblano Peppers: These are great for soups because you can get the flavor without the spiciness.
  • 3 Chicken Breasts: Bone-in and skin-on chicken retains moisture better than boneless. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs if preferred.
  • 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil: This is used to roast the poblanos and chicken. Olive oil or canola oil are suitable substitutes.
  • ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter: Forms the base of the roux, adding richness to the soup. Unsalted butter allows you to control the salt level.
  • ¼ Cup Flour: This is used to thicken the soup.
  • 8 Cups Chicken Stock: You can use water or even mix chicken bullion. Homemade or low-sodium broth can be used, as well as vegetable broth.
  • Vegetables and Beans: 16 Ounces Roasted Corn: Adds sweetness and a roasted flavor. Plain canned corn or fresh corn can be substituted. 2 Red Bell Peppers. Yellow bell peppers, green bell peppers, or orange bell peppers work well too. And as a garnish, 1 Jalapeño. And finally 2 cans Black Beans.
  • Cheese: We’ll be mixing 2 cups of Sharp Cheddar Cheese and 1 cup Pepper Jack Cheese. For less heat, Monterey Jack is a good alternative.
  • Spices: 2 Tablespoons Ground Cumin and ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper add warmth with a hint of spiciness. For less heat, swap the cayenne pepper with smoked paprika or chili powder.
  • Half and Half: ½ Cup Half and Half is used to make it creamy. You can use heavy cream. For a lighter option, you can use whole milk.

How to Make

Time needed: 45 minutes.

  1. Preheat Oven

    Set your oven to a high temperature, around 425 degrees.

  2. Season Chicken and Peppers

    Rub the poblano peppers and chicken breasts with oil, salt, and pepper.

  3. Roast Chicken and Peppers

    Place the seasoned chicken and peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast them in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

  4. Make the Roux

    In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat, then whisk in the flour. Cook this mixture for a minute or so to form a roux to thicken the soup.

  5. Add Broth

    Pour in the chicken broth and stir constantly to avoid lumps. Bring the mixture to a light boil on medium-high heat!

  6. Simmer Vegetables

    Stir in the corn, black beans, and diced red bell peppers. Allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes.

  7. Shred Chicken and Dice Peppers

    Once roasted, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and dice the de-seeded poblano peppers.

  8. Combine Everything Except Cream

    Add the shredded chicken and diced peppers to the soup pot. Stir in the remaining seasonings, cheeses, and lime juice.

  9. Finish with Cream

    Stir in the half and half or heavy cream.

  10. Garnish and Serve

    Top the soup with optional fresh cilantro or green onions, and thin slices of fresh jalapeño for a spicy kick. Serve with buttery cornbread or tortillas. Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup finished soup in bowl with cornbread off to side.

Recipe Card

Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup

Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup is an easy soup recipe with chicken and roasted poblano peppers in a creamy broth. Try making it today!
Yield 10 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American/Mexican
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 3 poblano peppers
  • 3 chicken breasts , bone in and skin on
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt , divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 16 ounces roasted corn , frozen
  • 2 cans black beans , 15 ounce cans
  • 2 red bell peppers , diced finely
  • 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese , shredded
  • 1 cup pepper jack cheese , shredded
  • 1 lime , juiced
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup half and half , or heavy cream
  • 1 jalapeño , thinly sliced

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  • Season the poblano pepper and chicken with the vegetable oil, half the salt and pepper and put onto a baking sheet lined with foil.
  • Roast for 25-30 minutes or until the peppers are charred and chicken is cooked through.
  • While the food is roasting start the soup by adding in the butter and flour into a large stockpot.
  • Cook the mixture while whisking for about a minute before adding in the chicken broth.
  • Bring the mixture to a light boil then add in the corn, black beans and red bell peppers and let it simmer for 15 minutes while the chicken and peppers finish in the oven.
  • Shred the chicken and dice the de-seeded poblano peppers before adding them to the soup.
  • Add in the remaining salt, cheddar and pepper jack cheese, lime juice, cumin, cayenne, and half and half.
  • Stir until melted and combined and garnish with jalapeños before serving.

Notes

Note: 1 serving of soup is 1 cup.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 1563mg | Potassium: 839mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1577IU | Vitamin C: 69mg | Calcium: 320mg | Iron: 4mg

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Can This Be Made Ahead?

Yes! Make the soup only leaving out the cream at the end. Freeze in small portions. When reheating, heat on medium heat and when the mixture is just below a boil add in the cream to finish the soup and garnish as desired.

Nutritional Facts

Nutrition Facts
Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 456 Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Trans Fat 0.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 96mg32%
Sodium 1563mg68%
Potassium 839mg24%
Carbohydrates 32g11%
Fiber 9g38%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 32g64%
Vitamin A 1577IU32%
Vitamin C 69mg84%
Calcium 320mg32%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

  • If you find you want to cut down on some of the fat in the dish I’ve also successfully skipped the flour/butter mixture in favor of putting 2 corn tortillas in the food processor and adding the crumbs to the soup to help give it a thicker texture.
  • For an added shortcut and flavor I use the fire-roasted corn from Trader Joe’s and canned beans.
  • To add acidity and balance to the soup I use lime juice, but I also love serving the soup with additional lime wedges.
  • Sometimes we also sprinkle on some lime zest and serve the soup with crumbled chips or sour cream on top.
  • For an extra creamy texture, blend a portion of the soup (without the chicken) with an immersion blender.

How to Store

  • Storing: Allow the soup to cool completely before transferring leftover chicken soup to a container covered with plastic wrap or an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • Reheating: Reheat leftover soup on the stove over medium heat. Add a splash of broth or cream if the soup has thickened. You can also reheat in the microwave.
  • Freezing: Pour the cooled soup into freezer-safe containers, leaving some space at the top for expansion. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.

Alternative Cooking Method

  • Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup
    Add the ingredients to the slow cooker (roast the peppers if you can, leave chicken raw – use boneless/skinless) except for the butter, flour and heavy cream. Add in 4 corn tortillas (that have been processed into crumbs) in place of the butter and flour and leave the heavy cream/half and half out until the final 15 minutes.
  • Instant Pot Method
    Start by using the sauté function to sear the chicken and peppers removing when seared. Then cook the butter and flour, then add the chicken broth (use 6 cups broth, not 8), corn, beans, chicken, and peppers. Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes, followed by a quick release. Remove the chicken and peppers, shred and dice them, and return them to the pot. Stir in the cheeses, lime juice, and cream. Stir and serve.

Frequent Questions

What is the serving size?

One cup equals one serving.

Can I use rotisserie chicken instead of roasting chicken breasts?

Yes, using rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut. Simply shred the cooked chicken and add it to the soup.

What can I substitute for poblano peppers if I can’t find them?

If poblanos aren’t available, Anaheim peppers are a good substitute for a similar mild heat. In a pinch, you can even use 3 bell peppers instead!

Variations

  • Smoky Garlic Chipotle Soup: Add one chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce for a deep, smoky flavor. And bake the chicken and peppers with 4 garlic cloves. This will really bring up the spicy heat, so you may want to omit the cayenne pepper.
  • Taco-Style Poblano Soup: Season the soup with a packet of taco seasoning or 1 tablespoon of Homemade Taco Seasoning. Add a handful of crispy tortilla strips directly into the soup while serving along with a dollop of sour cream with sliced avocado. Serve with diced white onion and your favorite hot sauce.

More Southwestern Chicken Soup Recipes

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Photos used in previous versions of this post.

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I made this soup and just had a bowl. I have to tell you, Sabrina, how absolutely delicious it is. I had googled pablano pepper recipes and all I was able to find is stuffed peppers and then I found this one. With virtually no other choice I made this soup. I’m so glad because we enjoyed it so much. I made a few changes based on what I had on hand. No cream but added at least 2 cups of Colby-Jack cheese and will make it with the cheese going forward because I do not want to mess with perfection.

    1. Glad to hear you enjoyed the Soup! Pablano peppers are one of my favorites! And thank you Sandy for the 5 star rating 🙂

  2. This soup is delicious!! And really easy to make. Curious though, in the nutrition facts it says the serving size is 1g? Is that a typo for 1 cup serving size?

    1. That is curious. Thanks for bringing that to our attention Tara. The Nutrition facts are auto generated by our Recipe Card software so not sure what is going on. Glad you enjoyed the soup. If you’re a fan of soup (especially this time of year), type in “soup” to Browse our soup recipes when you get a chance! And thank you for the 5 star vote of confidence. Really appreciate it!

      1. This chicken poblano soup is amazing I just made it for probably the fifth time I cut it in half this time it’s just me and my husband,so great for this cold rainy day In Indiana ??

  3. Hi Sabrina! I’m making this and wonder if the beans should be drained? It doesn’t say so, I’m assuming the liquid from the can is included. Is this right?

  4. Hello,
    This recipe sounds yummy!

    I have a question though. Is there any reason why the red bell peppers called in the recipe aren’t roasted in the oven along with the Poblano Peppers?

    Other than that…
    I have decided to cook the chicken in the crock pot on low heat because it always turns out nice and moist and easy to dice or shred when it’s done. I also bought some nice, fresh (in season) corn on the cob and I plan to oven roast it and then cut off the kernels to use in the soup. I’ll post back as to how it turns out.

    1. If you have the time, please send me some tips on making this great soup in a crock pot. Thanks so much. Can you add more Poblano than called for?

    1. Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup recipe:

      Add the ingredients to the slow cooker (roast the peppers if you can, leave chicken raw – use boneless/skinless) except for the butter, flour and heavy cream. Add in 4 corn tortillas (that have been processed into crumbs) in place of the butter and flour and leave the heavy cream/half and half out until the final 15 minutes.

      Enjoy!

  5. The recipe was great but it took me a while to get together and we have no air conditioning right now so it was 85 degrees in our house! But my husband loved it, so it’s a keeper!!

    1. Freezing Instructions for this Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup Recipe:

      Make the soup only leaving out the cream at the end. Freeze in small portions. When reheating, heat on a medium heat and when the mixture is just below a boil add in the cream to finish the soup and garnish as desired.

  6. Really good! I made a few modifications and it still turned out well. I used rotisserie chicken because I hate cooking chicken, cut out the beans because I married a picky eater, and used bell peppers instead of poblano because it looked like they were out of stock at the store. I also air fried the peppers instead of roasting them as recommended. Still turned out to be a winner for sure!! Husband said it’s one of the top three dinners I’ve cooked since we’ve been married (disclaimer, we’ve been married four months now).

  7. This recipe has a giant flaw. Step 8 of the instructions say to add the cheddar and pepper jack cheese. When I added the cheese, it became rubbery like bubble gum, rendering the soup inedible. Shouldn’t the cheese have been added in step 5, when you are making the rue?

    1. Oh no, that is super disappointing. When I added the remaining salt, cheddar and pepper jack cheese, lime juice, cumin, cayenne, and half and half, the cheese melted beautifully in the test kitchen. I will have to make a note to re-test the recipe again to make sure the steps are in order. Thank you for letting us know.

    2. I’m not sure what happened, but I’ve been making this recipe since last fall/winter and the cheese always melts really well during step 8. It’s been a favorite in our house, even with my picky eater.

    3. I found out that the soup base can not be too hot when adding cheese and don’t use bagged shredded , use block cheese; no preservatives

  8. Loved this soup! I served it with tortilla chips and guacamole.
    I am wondering a bout the nutrition value. Is the serving size really only 1 gram?
    Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Our nutrition values are created by a nutrition calculator. Feel free to use your own nutrition calculators with the recipe ingredients. Serving sizes become an issue because people will have ingredients of different sizes. Packaged products are weighed and measured at the time of creation which makes their measurements accurate. The only way to accurately know the measurements of meals is to weigh and divide.

  9. Loved this recipe and so did the crowd I made it for. I love onions and garlic so I added both to the soup. I also substituted coconut milk for the cream and it worked beautifully. Lastly – I prefer chicken thighs to chicken breasts and of course this worked well too. Thank you for the base recipe as it worked well. And most of all thank you for sharing it!

  10. This is soooo delish. I did add extra cheese and for a twist, I added dumplings and my husband went crazy over it. I just used the Bisquick dumpling recipe.

  11. I just made this recipe and it turned out absolutely delicious! Looked just like the picture. The only change I made was using Tyson grilled and ready fajita strips bc I had them on hand.

  12. I made this the other night and it was awesome! I saw some people commenting it was a bit runny for them, so I only used 6 cups of broth and I added about another tablespoon worth of flour, but other than that I followed the recipe pretty close. I also didn’t realize I was low on cumin so I only added half as much as it called for. It still turned out great and it was just as good, if not better, as leftovers for lunch today. Thank you for this recipe. I think it will have to enter my soup rotation.

  13. Hello I was wondering could I use the fire roasted canned corn because my walmart does not have the bagged roasted corn.. also do you think it would be OK to use a rotisserie chicken I’m a traveling Cna I work long hours so I’m trying to cut the time in making it .. any suggestions would help

    1. Your question got buried over the holidays, so sorry. Your ideas sound yummy! Did you try the recipe with fire roasted corn and rotisserie chicken? Let us know how it turned out.

  14. Way beyond 5 STARS!!!!

    We have this great little Market in a small community in western Oregon, after shopping we decided to have lunch. This creamy poblano was one of six to choose from (could not say it was your recie) but certainly could have been might be best soup ever. Our family has a traditional Christmas Eve soup each family brings a different offering. this may be ours forever.

  15. I have made this dish for the wife and I, this will be the 6th time. I am in the middle of finishing up everything for this batch,it has become our favorite dish and since we are going into winter months I strongly believe that I will be making twice as much. This is a very delicious and relatively easy to understand and make.

  16. Did you do anything to thicken yours ? Mine didn’t come out near as thick as yours and I watched a YouTube video where someone made your recipe and it was very watery too.

  17. I just made this dish for the wife and I and it’s some of the best soup that I have ever had. Thank you for sharing ?

  18. Awesome recipe! I live in a small country town so had a little trouble finding some of the ingredients and frankly had to substitute a couple of things but my long lifetime of cooking has taught me how and what to best substitute for most things so I had no real issues. This is absolutely one of the best soups ever! Spicy, which is what we like!

  19. I swear you have the best recipe for this soup…I have tried several of them. Thank you and God Bless you.

      1. I am making this soup for the third time I’m making it for my coworkers along with a pot of chili to feed everybody over the Halloween weekend I won a soup contest last year with this recipe it is delicious thank you.