Bring a vibrant burst of flavor to your dinner table with this ultra-creamy Espagueti Verde! Also known as Mexican green spaghetti, this comforting dish pairs perfectly cooked pasta with a velvety, rich sauce made from roasted poblano peppers, cream cheese, and fresh greens. It’s mild enough for the whole family, packed with authentic flavor, and comes together in just 35 minutes. Whether you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal or a stunning side dish for your next gathering, this vibrant poblano cream pasta is guaranteed to be a new favorite.
Why This Creamy Spaghetti Wins at Dinner Time
- The Magic Sauce: Offers rich flavor and comes together quickly.
- Super Vibrant: Charring poblano peppers creates a smoky, authentic base.
- Ultra-Creamy Comfort: Uses a blend of cream cheese and sour cream/Mexican crema to balance the mild pepper heat into a velvety sauce that kids love. It is also a pick-eater favorite due to its smooth texture.
Ingredients You'll Need
Poblano Peppers. A roasted pepper changes the flavor becoming smoky, rich, slightly sweet, and savory with a deep, complex warmth.
White Onion: A must-have aromatic blended directly into the sauce to build a deep, authentic flavor.
Garlic: When you boil the garlic, it adds a nutty and sweet note that balances the richness of the dairy.
Spaghetti Noodles: Cooking them to a perfect al dente allows the pasta to hold onto the heavy cream sauce beautifully.
Butter: Melted in the pan to create a rich, savory base for simmering and concentrating the blended tomato mixture.
Cream Cheese: The secret to an ultra-velvety texture, adding a creamy thickness and a subtle, tang.
Sour Cream (Room Temp): Mimics traditional Mexicana crema give the sauce its signature light green color and silky mouthfeel. Using room temperature sour cream ensures a smooth blend without curdling.
Milk (plus reserve pasta water): The milk acts as the primary liquid base to thin out the dense cream cheese and sour cream, creating a smooth, pourable sauce in the blender. The reserved pasta water is the ultimate chef’s secret; it contains leftover starches from the noodles that help bind the creamy sauce directly to the pasta, keeping it from separating or drying out.
Chicken Bouillon: A staple flavor enhancer in Mexican home cooking, introducing a deeply savory umami undertone that outperforms standard salt
Spinach: Fresh spinach acts as a natural color booster, giving the sauce an incredibly vibrant, appetizing emerald-green look without altering the traditional flavor.
Fresh Cilantro: Cilantro injects a burst of fresh, citrusy, and earthy herbal notes that cut through the heavy richness of the dairy (cream cheese and sour cream), balancing the overall profile of the dish.
Jalapeño (optional): Adding a jalapeño allows you to introduce a clean, sharp kick of heat to contrast the rich creaminess, giving the dish an authentic Mexican warmth that you can easily control.
Parmesan Cheese: Because Parmesan is an aged cheese, it introduces complex, fruity, and nutty notes. This adds a sophisticated depth to an otherwise simple cream sauce, making it taste like it simmered on the stove for hours
How to Make Creamy Espagueti Verde
Roast the Peppers: Roast the poblano peppers (and optional jalapeño) over an open flame, on a comal, or under the broiler until the skin is completely charred and blistered. Place them in a plastic bag or covered bowl to sweat for 10 minutes. Peel off the charred skin, remove the stems and seeds, and set aside.
Boil the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions minus 2 minutes to keep it perfectly al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining, then drain the pasta.
Sauté the Aromatics: Heat a little oil or butter in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the chopped white onion, whole jalapeño,and garlic cloves until the onion is translucent and fragrant.
Blend the Sauce: In a high-speed blender, combine the roasted poblanos, sautéed onion, jalapeño (with seeds removed) and garlic, room-temperature cream cheese, sour cream, milk, spinach, cilantro, and a pinch of salt. Blend until completely smooth and vibrant green.
Simmer: In a hot pan melt butter. Pour the green sauce. Stir in chicken bullion and parmesan cheese. If the sauce is too thick, splash in a little bit of the reserved pasta water until you reach your desired creamy consistency. Simmer gently on low heat for 2–3 minutes until heated through.
Combine: Toss spaghetti noddles in sauce until evenly coated.
Pro Tip
Try boiling the onion, jalapeño, and garlic in the same pot as your noodles! Since they all need to boil anyway, this shortcut infuses extra flavor directly into the pasta while saving you precious time on cooking and cleanup.
How to Serve Creamy Espagueti Verde
How to Store Creamy Espagueti Verde
I love using my favorite prep containers for storing the sauce! If kept in the refrigerator, the sauce will last 3–5 days. If frozen, it will last up to 4 weeks(possibly longer, but my family loves this meal so much that it never lasts that long!).
To help prevent freezer burn, fill the container as close to the top as possible and be sure to remove as much air as you can before sealing.
You can also store the sauce in a glass jar. Just be sure to leave about 2 inches of space at the top to allow for expansion, and don’t tighten the lid all the way while freezing.
Best Creamy Espagueti Verde Recipe (Mexican Poblano Pasta)
Ingredients
- 1 box Spaghetti Pasta 16 oz
For Poblano Cream Sauce
- 5 Poblano Peppers
- 1/2 White Onion chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Block 8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup Sour Cream or Mexican Crema
- 1 cup Milk plus reserve 1 cup of pasta water just in case
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup Spinach
- 1 Handful Fresh Cilantro
- 1 Jalapeño optional, for extra heat
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Chicken Bouillon
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the poblano peppers until fully charred. Let them steam in a covered bowl or bag for 10 minutes, then peel off the skin and remove the stems and seeds.
- Cook the chopped onion, whole jalapeno, and garlic in a pan with a little oil or butter until soft and fragrant.
- Cook the spaghetti in salted water, draining it 2 minutes early so it stays al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain the rest
- Puree the roasted peppers, sautéed onion and garlic, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, spinach, cilantro, and a pinch of salt in a blender until smooth.
- In pan melt butter and pour in the green sauce. Add chicken bouillon and parmesan cheese and simmer on low for 2-3 minutes. Add reserved pasta water if sauce is too thick.
- Add cooked spaghetti to the sauce. Mix until noodles are well coated.
- Garnish with extra cilantro or parmesan cheese and serve!
