How to Roast Poblano Peppers – 6 Easy Ways

Learn how to roast poblano peppers 6 easy ways. On the stovetop over an open flame, on the stovetop in a dry skillet, in the oven, under the broiler, the grill and in the air fryer.

Overview: Best, easiest and quickest methods

Best Overall: Fire Roast over an open flame. Adds depth of flavor and a nice smoky taste.
Easiest: Air Fryer, this widely loved appliance does the job well and with very little mess.
Fastest: Broiler (but keep an eye on it! it goes really fast!)

What are Poblano Peppers?

Mostly used in Mexican cuisine and Tex Mex dishes, a fresh poblano pepper is typically a mild pepper that can be eaten raw like bell peppers, but are even better when roasted. Roasting them makes them tender, brings out their sweetness and give them a gentle smoky taste.

Popular Mexican dishes such as chile rellenos and rajas con crema are made with roasted poblano peppers.

How spicy are poblano peppers?

To put it into perspective, take a look at where they land on the Scoville scale compared to other peppers:

• Green bell pepper measures 0 (zero) SHU
• Poblano peppers measure 1,000 to 2,000 SHU 
• Jalapeño peppers measure 2,500 to 8,000 SHU 

Roasting poblano peppers step by step

The first step in every method is to wash the peppers clean before roasting them. Keep them whole with the stem intact.

Related Content: Everything you Need to Know About Poblano Peppers

How to roast poblano peppers in the oven?

Pros: Roasting vegetables in the oven is easy and you can roast several chili peppers at once. Best method for large batches.
Cons: You won’t be able to blacken them as much as when using other methods. Takes longer than all other methods.

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up. Adjust the baking rack closer to the center position. 
2. Place whole peppers on the baking sheet. Roast flipping once for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they become soft and have a nice brownish color. 
3. Remove from the oven and with kitchen tongs transfer the roasted poblanos to a bowl or large plate and cover them with plastic wrap for about 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can place the roasted peppers in a brown bag, a large resealable bag. This is an extremely crucial step called “sweating” which steams the peppers allowing the skin to loosened by pulling away from their flesh.
4. Next, when cool enough to work with, peel poblano peppers by pulling the skin off with your fingers and/or by gently rubbing the skin off the pepper with a piece of paper towel.
5. Gently pull off the stems and remove the seeds. Cut the chiles opened if needed.
6. Optional: Rub the peppers with a bit of olive oil or any mild oil to help with caramelization. 

How to roast poblano peppers under a broiler?

Pros: Faster than conventional oven roasting.
Cons: You need to keep an eye on the peppers as they can burn easily.

1. Place the oven rack 6-inches from the heating source and line a baking sheet  pan with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up.
2. Place whole poblano peppers onto a cutting board and cut small slits into them (optional). Turn the broiler on. If you have a low and a high setting, the choose low setting. The process may take just a bit longer but the peppers will have a better chance to cook more evenly inside and become softer. 
3. Broil for 5-6 minutes, or until the skin is blackened and blistered. Use tongs to flip the peppers and broil the other side for about 5 minutes or until blackened and blistered. Remove from the oven.
4. Disclaimer: Broiling. Happens. Quickly. You need to check the peppers very often to make sure they are not blackening too much.
5. Sweat the peppers in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, a covered container, bag, paper bag or resealable bag and close tightly or seal for about 10 minutes.
6. When cool enough to handle, peel off the peppers by gently rubbing the skin off  with a piece of paper towel.
7. Optional: Remove the stems and seeds. You can also remove the veins to reduce heat.

How to fire roast poblano peppers? (stove top over an open flame)

Pros: This is the traditional way to roast or charred a pepper properly. Very quick, super easy. No baking pans are needed. No clean up required. Perfectly charred on all sides. 
Cons: Not everyone has a gas stove-top. That’s all I have. Can’t think of anything else since this is my favorite method.

Caution: Before you start roasting the peppers, please be aware that you will be working over an open flame – which is a high heat source. Take necessary precautions to stay safe and make sure the only thing roasting is the tough outer skin of your poblano peppers.

1. First, turn your gas stove burner on to produce a medium flame. Place 1 or 2 poblano chiles directly over the open flame. Arrange the peppers so they don’t fall off.
2. As the peppers start to char, you will hear soft popping sounds from the skin blistering. Using tongs, rotate the peppers as needed to assure that the entire pepper has an evenly charred skin. Although you want some blackening, leaving one side on the open flame too long, can cause the pepper to burn and become bitter.
3. Once your entire pepper is charred on all sides, remove them from the open flame and transfer them to a bowl or plate. Cover them with plastic wrap. You can place them inside a paper bag or resealable bag to sweat.
4. After about 10 minutes, rub off the skin with paper towel.
5. Optional: Remove the stems and seeds. You can also remove the veins to reduce the spice level.

Roasting over an open flame using a gas stove may take longer than other methods but it’s totally worth the effort. If you want the best, rich, and smoky flavor profile from poblano peppers, this is the way to go.

How to roast poblano peppers on an electric stove?

Pros: Fairly easy process. You can roast 2-3 peppers at onced.
Cons: You won’t get the smoky taste one gets when fire-roasting on an open flame. Must use heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Using heavy-duty aluminum foil:

Important: Make sure you use good-quality heavy duty aluminum foil because if you use any off-brand or thinner foil, there is a chance that it will melt into the stovetop. 

1. Turn the electric stove burner on to medium-high heat. carefully place a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil over the entire burner’s surface. Depending on the size of the burner, you may be able to char 1 to 3 peppers at a time. Once you see the skin starting to blister, rotate the pepper slowly until evenly charred on all sides.
2. Carefully remove the aluminum foil and poblano peppers from the stove. Sweat the peppers by placing them into a bag, paper bag or resealable bag. Close it tightly or seal it. You can also place them in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap for about 10 minutes.
3. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin by peeling or rubbing the skin off with a paper towel.
4. Optional: Remove the stems and seeds. You can also remove the veins to reduce the spice level.

How to roast poblano peppers on the stove top? (gas or electric)

Pros: Very easy process that results on nicely charred poblanos. Quicker than other methods. Depending on the size of your skillet, you can roast a few peppers at once.
Cons: You’ll need a heavy skillet, a Mexican comal or a griddle.

Whether you use a gas stove or an electric stove, you can roast poblano chiles on a dry frying pan, skillet, griddle or a Mexican comal.

1. Place peppers on a dry skillet, griddle or comal leaving a little room between them. Turn the burner to medium-high heat and start charring the peppers.
2. Once the skin starts to blister, rotate the peppers little by little until the entire pepper is evenly charred.
3. Transfer peppers to a bag, resealable bag or paper bag and close it tightly or seal. You can also use a bowl covered with plastic wrap for about 10 minutes to let them sweat.
4. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin by peeling or rubbing the skin off with a paper towel.
5. Optional: Remove the stems and seeds. You can also remove the veins to reduce the spice level.

How to roast poblano peppers on the grill?

Pros: Very nice flavor and easy method.
Cons: You may not be able to roast chiles on a grill if you have bad weather.

1. Clean and oil the grill grate. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat (about 400°F. – 450° F.)
2. Place chiles directly on the grill grate. They will start to bubble up and char.
3. Turn the peppers as needed to get them charred evenly on all sides.
4. Transfer chiles to a bag, resealable bag or paper bag and close it tightly or seal. You can also place them in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap for about 10 minutes to let them sweat.
5. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin by peeling or rubbing the skin off with a paper towel.
6. Optional: Gently pull off the stems and remove the seeds. Cut the chiles opened if needed.

Air fryer poblano peppers

Pros: Convenient. Air frying poblano peppers is a very simple process. It involves a small amount of work. No hassle. No mess.
Cons: You can only fit 2-3 peppers at once. Not as much flavor as when charring the peppers on the stove.

1. When air frying poblano peppers, make sure your chiles fit into the air fryer basket comfortably, leaving a bit of room between each pepper. If you have very large poblanos, you may need to cut off the stems first before putting them into the basket.
2. Set the air fryer temperature to 400ºF. Air fry for 12 to 15 minutes, flipping them half way through the cooking process. Exact times vary depending on the size of the chiles. After the timer is done they should be soft and have blackened spots.
3. Sweat the peppers by placing them into a bag, paper bag or resealable bag and close it tightly or seal it. You can also use a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let them sweat for about 10 minutes to loosen the skin.
4. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin by peeling and/or rubbing the skin off with a paper towel.
5. Optional: Remove the stems, veins, and seeds for mild heat instead of an intense spiciness. 

Do you have to roast poblano peppers?

No. Poblano peppers can be eaten raw just like any other chilies.

Do you have to peel poblano peppers?

Raw poblano peppers don’t need to be peeled. When roasting the peppers, its best to peel off or rub off the blackened skins. The skin of roasted poblano chiles although edible, has an unpleasant texture. If blackened or charred, the skin becomes a bit bitter with a burnt taste.

How to roast poblano peppers in a frying pan?

Place the chile peppers on a dry skillet or frying pan, leaving a little bit of room between the peppers. Char them over medium-high heat. Once the skin start to blister, with kitchen tongs rotate the peppers little by little until the entire pepper is evenly charred. Transfer the poblanos to a bag, paper bag or resealable bag and seal it or close it tightly. You can also place the peppers in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Allow them to sweat for about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel off the skins.

Storage

Roasted and peeled poblano chiles can be stored in a resealable bag or in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can freeze chili peppers in a freezer-safe bag or container for 6 months.

Helpful Tips and Notes

• Although poblano chili peppers are somewhat mild, once in a while you find a spicy one. If you have sensitive skin, I recommend wearing gloves when handling any type of chiles.
• After roasting, it’s essential to allow the peppers to “sweat” in a bag, sealed container or on a bowl covered with plastic wrap. The steam created by the hot peppers separates the skin from the flesh. making peeling a breeze!
• Roasted peppers should always be peeled. Although the skin is safe to eat, it’s texture is almost papery and not fun to eat.
• Wondering how to roast other peppers? The methods above can be used to roast any kind of pepper.
• To peel the skin off roasted peppers, you can use a spoon to scrape off the charred skin (just like when peeling fresh ginger!)