Shrimp Stuffed Poblano Peppers

These Shrimp Stuffed Poblano Peppers are a shrimp lovers dream. Succulent shrimp are combined with cheese and stuffed in roasted poblanos. They are baked to perfection in a delicious fire roasted red pepper and tomato sauce.

I’m pretty sure poblano peppers are in like at least 50% of my recipes, but I’m just so addicted and can’t stop. In my mind poblanos are the #1 vegetable. You can pretty much throw them in anything for a subtle spice. This recipe features both fire roasted poblanos and red peppers, giving it a smokey taste that combines so well with the creamy shrimp.

How to make the sauce

The sauce consists of fire roasted red peppers, fire roasted tomatoes and spices. All the ingredients are added to a food processor and combined until smooth. I used jarred roasted red peppers to save on time. If you want to save some money (jarred can be expensive!) you can roast 3 red peppers on the grate of a gas stove until charred and remove the skins. This is the same process as the poblanos below. I’ve done it both ways. Charring your own red peppers is definitely more work, but feels very rewarding and fresh.

1. Make the sauce. Add the fire roasted red peppers, tomatoes, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper to a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside

How to roast the poblanos

My favorite way to roast poblanos is over the grate of a gas stove. I feel like it gives me the most control over the char. If you don’t have a gas stove, you can either grill the poblanos until charred or place them in the broiler of an oven. You want to make sure the skins are completely charred all the way around. This will make it easier to remove the skins and will give the poblanos the smokey flavor we are looking for.

1. Char the poblanos. Place the poblanos over medium low heat on the grates of a gas grill. Char the skins and rotate the poblanos until they are black all the way around.
2. Cool the poblanos. Remove the poblanos from the heat and place them in a large bowl. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them cool for at least 5-10 minutes. The longer you let them cool the easier the skins will remove and the easier they will be to handle.
3. Remove the charred skins. Place the cooled poblanos on a cutting board. Using the back of a butterknife, carefully remove the charred skins. Repeat until the skin is removed from all the poblanos.
4. Create pockets in the poblanos and remove seeds. Using a sharper knife, slit the poblanos down one side lengthwise. Open up the poblano slightly and remove the seeds, keeping the stem of the poblano intact. You want to create pockets in the poblano to stuff them. Set aside.

How to make the shrimp mixture

The shrimp mixture is so creamy and delicious. The shrimp is cooked with onion, garlic, serrano peppers, coriander, salt and pepper and then mixed with cream cheese and spicy havarti cheese. The mixture is then stuffed in the poblanos and baked to perfection.

1. Add the cream cheese and havarti cheese to a medium bowl.
2. Cook the shrimp and veggies. On a skillet set over medium heat, coat the bottom with olive oil. Add the onions, serranos and garlic and cook until the veggies have softened, around 5 minutes. Place the shrimp, coriander, salt and pepper in the skillet and cook until the shrimp just turn pink. It’s important to not overcook the shrimp. They will continue to cook in the oven as well. No one likes a rubbery overcooked shrimp, so make sure to keep an eye on it.
3. Combine the shrimp and cheese. Add the shrimp mixture to the bowl containing the cream cheese and havarti. Mix the cheese with the shrimp until combined. The warm shrimp should slightly melt the cheeses to help combine the 2.

Assemble the shrimp stuffed poblanos

1. Stuff the poblanos. Add the red pepper sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish. Take a poblano and place it in the sauce, slit side up. Spoon the shrimp mixture into the poblano and stuff until filled. Repeat until all the poblanos are filled with the shrimp mixture. My poblanos were huge, so I did need to use another baking dish to make all 6. If you have smaller poblanos, you should be able to fit all 6.
2. Bake. Place the poblanos in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until the cheese and sauce are bubbling hot. Remove from the oven and garnish with crumbled queso fresco and cilantro. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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