Green Spaghetti
By Kelly SongPublished on August 26, 2025
Time
45 minutes
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Knorr brand chicken bouillon is traditional; if you can’t find the loose powder, you can crush three bouillon cubes and then measure 2 tablespoons. You can also substitute all the bouillon with 2 teaspoons table salt, though the dish will taste less savory. The sauce will thicken quite a bit as it sits; serve the pasta immediately from the hot pot for the best texture. To see more of our favorite weeknight pastas, check out this collection.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush 2–3 poblano chiles, stemmed, halved, and seeded, all over with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and arrange skin side up on baking sheet. Broil until skins are spotty brown and beginning to blacken, 4 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip poblanos and broil until second side is starting to brown and peppers are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Let peppers cool slightly, then remove and discard skins.
- Process skinned poblanos; 2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems; 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces; 1 cup milk; ¼ cup sour cream; 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder; and 1 stemmed and chopped jalapeño chile in blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 pound spaghetti and 1 tablespoon table salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain pasta.
- Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in now-empty pot over medium heat. Add sauce and bring to simmer, stirring occasionally, until bubbling and slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add pasta and cook, tossing constantly with tongs, until pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Adjust consistency with reserved cooking water as needed. Serve immediately.
Time
45 minutesYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Green spaghetti, or “espagueti verde” in Spanish, is a poblano-forward pasta dish that has roots in both Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. To make the sauce, we deeply roasted poblano peppers until blackened and then removed the skins to prevent bitterness. The peppers were blended with a raw jalapeño for a slight kick, along with chopped cilantro for freshness and a vivid green hue. For a tangy, creamy balance, we incorporated a typical traditional combination of cream cheese, milk, and sour cream, along with chicken bouillon powder (a Mexican pantry staple) for ultrasavory depth. The blended sauce was cooked briefly in butter to warm the dairy and mellow any vegetal flavors before it was tossed with cooked spaghetti and thinned to a desired consistency with reserved pasta cooking water. We recommend enjoying it alongside barbecued brisket (a Texan trend) or any simple protein.
Before You Begin
Knorr brand chicken bouillon is traditional; if you can’t find the loose powder, you can crush three bouillon cubes and then measure 2 tablespoons. You can also substitute all the bouillon with 2 teaspoons table salt, though the dish will taste less savory. The sauce will thicken quite a bit as it sits; serve the pasta immediately from the hot pot for the best texture. To see more of our favorite weeknight pastas, check out this collection.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush 2–3 poblano chiles, stemmed, halved, and seeded, all over with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and arrange skin side up on baking sheet. Broil until skins are spotty brown and beginning to blacken, 4 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip poblanos and broil until second side is starting to brown and peppers are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Let peppers cool slightly, then remove and discard skins.
- Process skinned poblanos; 2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems; 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces; 1 cup milk; ¼ cup sour cream; 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder; and 1 stemmed and chopped jalapeño chile in blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 pound spaghetti and 1 tablespoon table salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain pasta.
- Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in now-empty pot over medium heat. Add sauce and bring to simmer, stirring occasionally, until bubbling and slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add pasta and cook, tossing constantly with tongs, until pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Adjust consistency with reserved cooking water as needed. Serve immediately.
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