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This creamy poblano chicken comes together in one skillet for an easy weeknight meal. Juicy chicken thighs simmer in a smoky sauce made with roasted poblanos and Mexican crema, then topped with pickled onions, pepitas, and fresh cilantro. Talk about flavor on flavor!
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What makes this dish special
Rajas con crema was one of those dishes I fell for long before I ever thought about blogging it. When I was cooking as a private chef for a family in Los Angeles, I made it constantly as a side, just roasted poblano strips folded into cream, and somehow it disappeared from the table faster than whatever main I had spent all afternoon on. One night, I was short on time and short on ideas, so I seared a few chicken thighs, slid them into the pan of rajas, and called it dinner. Nobody complained. If anything, that became the dinner they asked for by name.
I think what makes it work is how little it asks of you for how much it gives back. The whole thing happens in one skillet. The poblanos do most of the talking, and all you really have to do is char them well and let that smoky flavor seep into the cream. Best of all, this creamy poblano chicken dish gives me that restaurant feeling at home without the restaurant effort. Smoky roasted poblanos, silky Mexican crema, tender chicken, and a final squeeze of lime. What more do you want from a Tuesday?
Recipe
Creamy Poblano Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 large poblano peppers
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 1 cup packed cilantro leaves plus extra for garnish
- ¼ cup pickled onion
- 2 tablespoons toasted pepitas
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Heat the broiler to high. Place poblanos on a baking sheet and broil for 10-15 minutes or until charred on all sides, flipping the peppers over halfway through.
- Transfer peppers to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins, remove stems and seeds. Slice into strips.
- Season chicken thighs with cumin, salt, and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sear thighs until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add sliced onions and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add sliced roasted peppers and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside about a third of cooked pepper mixture.
- Add remaining onions and rajas in a blender with chicken stock, crema, and cilantro. Puree until smooth and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet. Bring to a low simmer. Add chicken thighs back to the pan and simmer until the chicken reaches 165°F, about 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in the reserved rajas and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove from heat and top with pickled onions, pepitas, and chopped cilantro. Finish with a squeeze of lime and serve over rice or with warm tortillas.
Video
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Prepare peppers
Let's start with the poblanos, the backbone of this dish. Set your broiler to high and lay the peppers on a baking sheet.
Recipe tip
Taste the raw poblano before you cook with it, because heat varies a lot from pepper to pepper. The deep green ones tend to run mild, while peppers with streaks of yellow or red have ripened longer and bring more punch. For a kid-friendly pan, scrape out every seed and membrane. When you want more fire, roast a jalapeno or a hot Hatch chile right alongside the poblanos and blend it into the sauce.
Slide them close to the heat and let the skins blister and blacken, turning them halfway through until they are charred on all sides. You want them genuinely dark and blistered because that char is exactly where the smoky flavor comes from.
If you have a gas stove, you can do this right over the open flame with a pair of tongs.
Once the peppers are charred, move them to a bowl, cover them with a plate or plastic wrap, and let them steam for about 10 minutes. That trapped steam helps loosen the skin, making the peppers easier to peel.
Peel away the blackened skin, pull out the stems and seeds, and slice everything into strips. These strips are your rajas, and they are the foundation of the whole dish.
Step 2: Cook chicken
While the peppers steam, turn your attention to the chicken. I always use chicken thighs because chicken breasts tend to dry out. However, you can use chicken breasts if you prefer. Just be careful not to overcook them.
Season the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, and cumin. Then, heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Lay the thighs in without crowding them; you may have to cook the chicken in batches. Let them sear undisturbed until they release easily from the pan and turn deep golden, then flip and do the same on the other side.
They do not need to cook all the way through at this stage, since they will finish later in the sauce.
Pull them out onto a plate and leave all those browned bits behind in the pan to help add even more flavor to the sauce.
Step 3: Finish sauce
Lower the heat to medium and add sliced onion to the same skillet. Let it soften and pick up the browned bits from the chicken, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir.
After a few minutes, add the sliced roasted peppers and garlic. Cook everything together for another couple of minutes.
Then, scoop out about a third of the peppers and onions and set them aside. We're going to fold them back in at the end for texture and bite.
Everything else goes into the blender along with the Mexican crema, cilantro, and chicken stock. Blend until the sauce is smooth and pourable, then give it a taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Step 4: Putting it all together
Pour the sauce back into the skillet and bring it to a gentle simmer over low heat. Resist the urge to crank the heat here, because crema can split if it boils.
Nestle the seared thighs back into the sauce along with any juices that pooled on the plate. Then, let everything simmer together until the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
Stir in those reserved rajas and onions for texture, and finish with a squeeze of lime to brighten the whole pan. If you love a melty moment, scatter some shredded Oaxaca or Monterey Jack over the top and cover until it just melts.
To serve, I pile the creamy poblano chicken over white rice or tuck it into warm tortillas, then load on the garnishes, including pickled red onions, toasted pepitas, and fresh cilantro.
This dish is a simple one, but it tastes anything but. The poblanos give the sauce a deep, smoky warmth that settles in slowly rather than hitting you with heat. Meanwhile, the crema adds a silky texture, and the pickled onions bring a sharp contrast to help balance the richness. Now this is what I call a proper one-pan weeknight meal.
For another delicious one pot Mexican dish, check out these sheet pan chicken poblano tacos, one pot chicken fajita recipe, and green chile pork stew!
Make-ahead and storage tips
- Make-ahead: You can make the sauce the day before. You can also broil the peppers up to 2 days in advance.
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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All images shot and styled by Christine Ma. Available for food photography, styling, and recipe development.
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