Creamy Roasted Poblano and Corn Quesadillas

Quesa-dilicious.

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Any quesadilla can be comforting, but there’s something extra warm and fuzzy about these. Stuffed with rajas con crema, a classic Mexican comfort dish consisting of roasted poblanos and corn cooked in a creamy sauce, they’re creamy, cheesy, tangy, and a little spicy all at the same time. Frankly, they blow a straight-up cheese quesadilla out of the water.

The goldilocks of the pepper world, poblanos are larger than most other chili peppers and boast a rich, robust flavor with only mild spice. Roasting over high heat intensifies their flavor, adds some complimentary smokiness, and helps to more easily eliminate the skins. I generally prefer to accomplish this by broiling the peppers on a foil-lined sheet pan because it’s relatively fast and easy—and also quick to clean up. Once roasted, steam the poblanos for 20 minutes until they’re cool enough to handle, then peel, destem, and deseed them. From there, you can use them however you like, whether it’s in this recipe or another. The world is your poblano.

Quesadillas are easy to make, but if you want that magical combination of crispy-and-golden-on-the-outside and melty-on-the-inside, there are a few things to keep in mind. Keeping the pan on a medium heat and filling the quesadilla with room temperature or pre-warm ingredients helps to ensure that the middle will be melted and gooey by the time the outside has browned. And while griddling in butter gives the tortilla an extra toasty flavor, it’s important to actually butter the tortilla rather than melting butter into the pan, where any excess will burn before the quesadilla is done cooking.

These quesadillas are best fresh, but the creamy corn and roasted poblano mix can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If the filling has been refrigerated, I recommend rewarming it slightly before stuffing it in the quesadilla. If it’s cold from the refrigerator, it will never melt or even warm before the outside of the quesadilla burns in the pan.

Enjoy!

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Creamy Roasted Poblano and Corn Quesadillas

(Makes 4 quesadillas)

Prep time: 10 minutes (can be done while poblanos are steaming)

Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes steaming time)

Ingredients

1 lb. poblano chilies (3-4 large)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

½ large white onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ tsp. plus kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal)

¾ c. fresh or frozen corn kernels

Freshly ground black pepper (about ¼ teaspoon)

½ c. sour cream

½ c. shredded Oaxaca cheese

4 (10”) flour tortillas

Equipment: small sheet pan, foil, heat-proof bowl, plastic wrap (or a large dinner plate), 2 pans (one large and one medium), heatproof spatula, butter knife

Instructions

1. Heat the broiler over high heat and line a small sheet pan with foil. Arrange whole poblanos on prepared pan and broil, turning every four minutes, until charred on all sides, 8-12 minutes total.

2. Place hot poblanos in a heat-proof bowl, cover tightly, and let steam for 20 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove blackened skins, stems, ribs, and seeds, and discard. (A few bits of blackened skin remaining are okay; avoid washing poblanos.) Slice chilies lengthwise into ¼” strips and set aside.

3. In a large pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add corn and cook until bright yellow, about 1 minute, then stir in poblanos and freshly ground black pepper. Fold in sour cream, then remove from heat. Cover and keep warm.

4. Spread one side of a flour tortilla with ½ tablespoon butter. Set, butter-side down, top of a second flour tortilla (this prevents you from getting butter on the work surface) and spread half of unbuttered side with 2 tablespoons cheese and ½ cup of the cheesy poblano and corn mixture. Fold untopped half over loaded half to close. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

5. Preheat a medium pan over medium heat. Add two folded quesadillas to pan and cook until browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until browned, about 2 minutes more. Remove to a cutting board and repeat with remaining filled tortillas.

6. Cut quesadillas into wedges and serve warm.

Originally posted March 24, 2025.