Quesadillas with poblano cream sauce is the ultimate quesadilla recipe and very easy to make. Most of the hands on time will be making the poblano cream sauce but it is well worth it. I love making a homemade pico de gallo to go along with these cheesy quesadillas when I have time. These quesadillas are so good that you can entertain with them.

About these Quesadillas:
These quesadillas along with my air fryer quesadilla are my absolute favorite ways to make quesadillas. The cheese in the quesadillas has the perfect cheese pull experience and the poblano cream sauce tastes so amazing.
I will either make the quesadillas plain cheese quesadillas or roast extra poblano peppers and add those in for a veggie quesadilla. I will provide you with both options in the recipe below.
This is very easy and well worth the extra time it takes to make the poblano crema.
Ingredients Needed For The Quesadillas with Poblano Cream Sauce:
For The Quesadillas-
- Flour tortillas
- White cheddar cheese
- Oaxaca Cheese or Mexican melting cheese.
- Extra roasted poblano peppers for filling (optional)
For The Poblano Cream Sauce-
- Poblano Peppers
- Fresh Garlic
- Lime
- Red Onion
- Sour Cream
- Kosher Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Fresh Cilantro
Notes about the ingredients:
Finding the right cheese for the quesadillas makes all the difference in the World to the final result. My local grocery store sells many types of Mexican cheeses so I am very lucky.
Here are some suggestions for which cheese to buy below.
The Best Quesadilla Cheese
For the best quesadillas, try to find Oaxaca cheese or look for cheese where the label mentions melting cheese. The options available to you will vary based on your location.
I also like to add white cheddar to my cheese mix for a little flavor. Mexican melting cheese is very mild so the cheddar helps balance that out.
Whatever cheese you do buy, make sure that it is not pre-shredded. The shredded cheese has a coating on the outside which affects how it melts. Look for cheese that you need to grate yourself.
How to make the poblano cream sauce:
- Step 1: The first thing you want to do is roast all the veggies that you need for the poblano cream sauce. This takes about 8-10 minutes under the broiler. This is really easy and straight forward just keep an eye on them so they do not burn.
- Step 2: Now you remove the roasted poblano peppers from the oven and place them in a bowl with plastic wrap over the top. This will allow the skin to be removed from the poblano pepper. It is like magic.
- Step 3: After the poblano peppers are cooled, you can remove them from the bowl and begin peeling away the skin. This will take about 5 minutes or so depending on how well your skins pulled away from the pepper.
- Step 4: Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. This includes the roasted vegetables, sour cream, lime, olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. All these delicious ingredients is why this poblano cream sauce tastes so amazing!
- Step 5: Mix until it becomes completely smooth. Just turn your food processor on medium speed and mix. This will take only a minute.
How to Make Quesadillas
I like to use the fold in half method when making my quesadillas. To do this I add the tortilla to the pan with only half of the tortilla touching the pan.
Next, I add the toppings then I fold over the tortilla and cook on both sides. When it is done I slice it into three triangles.
You an also choose to add one whole tortilla face down on a pan then add toppings and cover with a second tortilla. When the tortilla is fully cooked on both sides just slice the tortilla into four triangles.
Tips for making this recipe:
The poblano cream sauce is a great item to make ahead of time if you want to make these delicious quesadillas during the week. The sauce is so good you can make a double batch of it and use it as a dip for fries or as a topping for chicken.
As I mentioned above, make sure to take time to look for the right cheese for the quesadillas. It will really improve the quesadilla flavor and texture.
If you are having a hard time finding a good quality Mexican cheese for these quesadillas, you could substitute Mozzarella cheese.
Additional quesadilla filling suggestions:
- Poblano peppers and onions (like I did in the pictures)
- Roasted red and green peppers
- Sautéd zucchini
- Beans
- Or anything else you love!
More Spanish Recipes You May Like:
- Chorizo Frito
- Homemade Refried Bean Tostadas
- Venezuelan Arepas
- Chacarero Chicken Sandwich
- Cuban Ropa Vieja
- Roasted Tomato and Tomatillo Salsa
- Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Easy Homemade Spanish Rice
- Rice and Bean Burrito
Quesadillas With Poblano Cream Sauce
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
Poblano Cream Sauce
- 1 large poblano pepper roasted You can make extra for your quesadilla filling if you want a veggie quesadilla. Just roast 1 additional poblano then slice it into thin strips after peeling off the skin.
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¾ cup Sour Cream
- ½ red onion sliced. If you want to add some roasted onion to your quesadilla, slice up the entire onion and roast it. Reserve half of the roasted onion for your quesadilla filling.
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 lime (juiced)
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Quesadilla
- 3 medium flour tortillas
- ½ cup Oaxaca cheese grated
- ½ cup White cheddar cheese grated
- additional filling ingredients optional
Instructions
Making the Poblano Cream Sauce
- Pre-heat your broiler to high
- Add your poblano pepper, onion and garlic to a sheet pan.1 large poblano pepper roasted, ½ red onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Roast under the broiler for about 4-5 minutes turning the vegetables about every 1-2 minutes to cook and evenly.
- After 4-5 minutes, remove your onions and garlic from the pan. Return the pan to the oven to finish cooking the poblano pepper and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the poblano is lightly browned on all sides.
- After the pepper is done cooking remove the pan from the oven.
- With tongs, place the poblano pepper into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes or until cool.
- When cooled, remove the poblano from the bowl and begin to peel the skin away from the poblano pepper.
- Now in a food processor, add all of the ingredients for the poblano cream sauce.1 large poblano pepper roasted, 2 cloves garlic, ¾ cup Sour Cream, ½ red onion, 1 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 lime (juiced), ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Mix on medium speed until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and add to taste then mix again for a couple seconds.kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Set aside.
Making the quesadilla
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Shred your Oaxaca and cheddar cheeses and mix together.½ cup Oaxaca cheese, ½ cup White cheddar cheese
- Place your tortillas in the pan like in the picture where only half of the tortilla is touching the pan.3 medium flour tortillas
- Add some cheese and any additional fillings on top of that.
- Gently fold the tortilla down covering the filling.
- Cook for about 3 minutes or until crisped on the first side then flip.
- Cook for an additional 3 minutes or until crisp on both sides and the cheese inside the tortilla is fully melted.
- Remove from the pan and cut into 3 triangles.
- Serve with the poblano cream sauce on the side for dipping.
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Erin says
Made this and it was so good. The poblano sauce is amazing!