Espagueti verde, also known as Mexican green spaghetti, is pasta dish coated in a homemade creamy poblano pasta sauce. It is a classic and easy Mexican dish that tastes great with the addition of chicken or shrimp for some extra protein.
Espagueti Verde
Mexican green spaghetti is a popular classic dish that takes pasta to a whole new level. If you’ve never tried it, definitely add it to your list of dishes to make! It’s creamy and delicious, but it’s got incredible flavor from the roasted poblano peppers and plenty of freshness from the chopped cilantro.
What Is Mexican Green Spaghetti Made Of?
Poblano peppers, white onion, garlic, butter, heavy cream (or whole milk), chicken bouillon, cream cheese, and spaghetti are the main ingredients for this recipe. Some freshly chopped cilantro and crumbled cheese for topping are also popular additions.
How To Make Green Spaghetti
Start by blending the poblano pepper and onion until they’re smooth, then sauté the mixture in a dab of butter for a few minutes. Next, mix in the whipping cream and Philadelphia cream cheese before tossing the cooked pasta in the creamy poblano pasta sauce and stirring in the freshly chopped cilantro.
How Do You Make Green Spaghetti Sauce?
To make the sauce extra green, you can blend in some fresh baby spinach. That’s where the green spaghetti recipes with truly rich green colors get the color from.
How To Roast Poblano Peppers
- The easiest way to roast poblano peppers is on a gas stove. Turn the flame to high, and place the pepper directly over the flame.
- Cook until it is blackened and blistered, turning it with metal tongs every minute or so (to cook the different sides evenly). Do not allow it to turn ash white.
- When it’s blackened and blistered, transfer it either a large Ziploc bag, or to a container that you can cover with plastic wrap, and seal the bag or container.
- Allow the peppers to sweat for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove them from the bag. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Remove the stems and seeds before you cook with them.
- You can also roast the peppers using the same instructions on a grill set to high heat.
How Do You Roast Poblanos Without A Gas Stove?
To roast poblano peppers without a gas stove, you’ll need to use the oven. You can either use the Bake function or the Broil function.
- To Bake: Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C). Bake the peppers on an oiled baking sheet for 20 – 30 minutes. Turn the peppers occasionally so that they blacken evenly.
- To Broil: Place the baking rack approximately 6″ from the top of the oven. Set the oven to broil, and broil the peppers on a barely oiled baking sheet for 5 – 10 minutes. Turn the peppers occasionally so that they blacken evenly.
- For either method, after the peppers are cooked, follow the sweating and peeling instructions in the section above.
Can You Make It Gluten Free?
To make this green pasta recipe gluten free, the only thing you would have to do is use gluten free pasta and gluten free chicken bouillon.
Is It Vegetarian?
This pasta verde recipe isn’t vegetarian as it is written because it uses chicken bouillon. It can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable bouillon in place of the chicken bouillon though.
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Mexican and Latin Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out our entire Mexican and Latin recipe section! Some reader favorites are:
- Peruvian Fried Rice (Arroz Chaufa Peruano)
- Mexican Chicken Salad (Ensalada De Pollo)
- Mexican Picadillo (Picadillo Con Papas)
- Chicken Tinga Tacos
Espagueti Verde Recipe
Espagueti verde, also known as Mexican green spaghetti, is pasta dish coated in a creamy poblano pasta sauce. It is a classic and easy Mexican dish that tastes great with the addition of chicken or shrimp for some added protein.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 Tablespoons salt (divided)
- 3 medium poblano peppers (I used canned for the batch in the pictures, but there are instructions to roast them below, you can use canned or freshly roasted)
- 1/2 medium white onion (chopped)
- 1 medium clove garlic (diced)
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or milk)
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (or chicken bouillon of choice)
- 6 ounces cream cheese (3/4 of a package of a block of cream cheese)
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro (plus more for topping)
- Queso Cotija or Queso Fresco (crumbled, for topping)
Instructions
- If you're going to use freshly roasted poblano peppers instead of canned poblano peppers, start by roasting them now. See the notes section or the post above for instructions on the different methods of roasting.
- Cook the spaghetti in a large pot seasoned with 5 teaspoons of the salt. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Roughly chop the cooked poblano peppers. To a blender, add the poblano peppers, white onion, and garlic. Blend until smooth.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the chili and onion mixture, and let it cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add in the heavy whipping cream, chicken bouillon, and salt. Turn the heat to low. Stir to combine and let it cook for an additional 1 - 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until it’s melted into the sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pot, and toss to evenly coat the pasta in sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add in some of the reserved starchy pasta water. Mix in the 1/4 cup of freshly chopped cilantro.
- Serve and top with crumbled cheese and additional cilantro.
Notes
How To Roast Poblano Peppers:
- The easiest way to roast poblano peppers is on a gas stove. Turn the flame to high, and place the pepper directly over the flame.
- Cook until it is blackened and blistered, turning it with metal tongs every minute or so (to cook the different sides evenly). Do not allow it to turn ash white.
- When it's blackened and blistered, transfer it either a large Ziploc bag, or to a container that you can cover with plastic wrap, and seal the bag or container.
- Allow the peppers to sweat for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove them from the bag. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Remove the stems and seeds before you cook with them.
- You can also roast the peppers using the same instructions on a grill set to high heat.
To roast poblano peppers without a gas stove, you'll need to use the oven. You can either use the Bake function or the Broil function.
- To Bake: Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C). Bake the peppers on an oiled baking sheet for 20 - 30 minutes. Turn the peppers occasionally so that they blacken evenly.
- To Broil: Place the baking rack approximately 6" from the top of the oven. Set the oven to broil, and broil the peppers on a barely oiled baking sheet for 5 - 10 minutes. Turn the peppers occasionally so that they blacken evenly.
- For either method, after the peppers are cooked, follow the sweating and peeling instructions in the note above.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 354Total Fat: 15.2gCarbohydrates: 44.8gNet Carbohydrates: 42.5gFiber: 2.3gSugar: 3.8gProtein: 9g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate. This recipe makes 4 large or 8 small servings. Nutrition was calculated assuming 8 servings.
Try making this classic espagueti verde recipe for an easy weeknight dinner! Mexican green spaghetti is a popular pasta dish that everyone loves.
3 thoughts on “Espagueti Verde Recipe”
Great recipe!
Thanks so much, Robert! So happy to hear you liked the Espagueti Verde. -Alexa
This was soooo delicious! I’ve looked at many Mexican recipes with pasta as an ingredient. This was the first one that actually looks authentic with the roasted poblano’s. I only had penne pasta and dried cilantro on hand. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to a “T.” This one is a keeper!