Creamy rich soup with roasted poblano peppers, chicken, and plenty of cheddar cheese. It’s a must make low carb soup recipe!
I no longer even attempt to fool myself that my best recipes ideas are all that original. I used to be suddenly struck by inspiration and would practically go running to the kitchen to make recipe so I could blow people’s minds with my brilliance. Then Pinterest came along and quickly disabused me of the notion that I had thought of something that no one else in the world had ever thought of. Because I can quite literally make an original recipe, and head on over to Pinterest, only to see that someone else has had the very same idea. Often theirs is the high carb version and the execution is very different, but the idea is dead on. Turns out that the Muse of Food Blogging likes visit many of us with the same flashes of inspiration, and often around the same time. It’s kind of scary, how a fellow food blogger can be in your head like that.
This recipe idea, however, was not an original for me. But I recognize brilliance when I see it and when I saw it in the cheesy goodness of this Chile Relleno Soup from House of Yumm. Since I love cheese and I love poblano peppers, I knew this one was ripe for a low carb makeover. I almost instantly got to work revamping it. Among other changes, I added chicken for a more hearty meal, left out the flour (obviously), and used a brick of cream cheese to help thicken it. And it was velvety and cheesy and a wonderful low carb comfort dish. So I took some photos and scheduled it for the blog.
Check out this Hearty Italian Beef & Vegetable Soup from Barefeet In the Kitchen too. Cut down on the carrots and you’ve got yourself some low carb comfort food!
And then two days ago, I spotted the high carb version posted in a low carb group on Facebook with a plea for a makeover. And my friend Sooze from Fluffy Chix Cook was all excited about the idea of revamping it. I just had to laugh, and say “Um, you’re not going to believe this but…”.
So here we are. Nothing is ever truly original, not even our most original ideas. But original or not, this recipe is a keeper. A guaranteed hit with the whole family.
Please see my low carb Chile Relleno Chicken Soup on A Sweet Life
Donna Hardin says
I cannot wait to try…chile relleno is one of my favorite meal choices when we eat out!
Robbie Cummings says
Where did you find the recipe? All I have seen is advertisements. and NO place to even print the recipe because there isn’t one here.
Patti says
Under the last picture there is a link to click on that says “Please see My Low Carb Chile Rellano Chicken Soup on A Sweet Life”.
Sarah G says
Looks so good! I was always ordering chile rellenos from the local Mexican restaurant and feeling proud of my low-carb, gluten-free discovery. Then I found out the outer, fried cheese layer had breading in it. 🙁 So, this is a great alternative.
Carolyn says
Some recipes just seem to dip them in egg, I think. I may need to come up with a good low carb chile relleno recipe!
Sarah G says
Here’s the link: http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2014/09/cheesy-chicken-stuffed-poblanos-low-carb-gluten-free.html The other one is from looking up my son’s confirmation saint. Oops, Sorry, please delete that one.
Carolyn says
Trashed it for you. 🙂 I know she has that recipe but I don’t think it’s quite the same because it’s not breaded and fried?
Jennifer says
When you do, please share!!
Donns says
Do you honestly think all that cheese is better for your health than a little flour now and then? Donna
Carolyn says
As a matter of fact, I really do. Honestly. And science is increasingly coming down on my side of things…sadly, nutrition advice is slow to change and catch up with the science.
Robin says
I eat the low carb way now and yes it is healthier and contrary to what you would think my fat just seems to melt away. Everyone notices the weight loss and I did it just to be healthier. Side note who said it was healthier the other way UMMM the same people who taught us the food pyramid and now had to revise that. Old studies were not accurate sad to say I grew up in the misinformed era.
VA says
I recently transitioned back to LCHF after several years away and convinced husband to switch, too. He has high cholesterol and I had to research quite a bit of science to show him this is safe. My point is simply that there has been quite a bit of research on this vs. low fat. One is not necessarily better, but LCHF had been shown to have faster results.
Wally Roode says
How is it that we lived sixty thousand years Learning to grow corn, wheat and rice and all kinds of agriculture, and survived to this day? Sure we ate meat the whole time, Killed bison and woolly mammoths and made use of every part of the animals. Now, suddenly, Carbs are a BAD thing?
Carolyn says
Actually, agriculture only began about 10 to 12 thousand years ago. And it has been hard on our health ever since. I wrote a research paper in grad school on this very subject. While grains can support a lot more people, they don’t support them in good health. Chronic conditions like diabetes, dental caries and diseases of nutritional deficiency are common in the remains of people living in agricultural societies. Whereas hunter-gatherers show signs of annual nutritional distress, they often have better overall health and lower incidence of disease.
Sarah G says
Thanks. Silly internet.
Oh yeah, definitely want it breaded and fried! We just got a fryer too.
Deborah @ The Harvest Kitchen says
This soup looks amazing!! Great combo of flavors! I especially like the add of the chicken and the omit of the flour!!!
Serene @ House of Yumm says
Carolyn this looks wonderful! Love the changes you made, I’m thinking I need to add chicken next time I make mine 🙂 Thanks for linking back. xo
Carolyn says
Thanks, Serene. I thought the idea was absolutely brilliant but my readers can’t have flour like that. So this was my low carb version.
Kellie says
Can you make a crockpot version ??
Jan says
I made this soup and it was great! I’ve always liked chilis relleno, and this was definitely a credible soup version. Thanks!
Amy says
Is it spicy?
Wally Roode says
It’s as spicy as you want it to be.
Wally Roode says
Remember, spicy does not mean HOT. Cinnamon is spicy, but is not hot. Cardamom is spicy, but not hot. I could go on.
Karen says
I made this for dinner yesterday. Oh my! Absolutely delicious! Carolyn, your recipes are always amazing, and this is going into permanent rotation at our house. Thank you!
Laura B says
OMG! This soup is fabulously delicious! I made it last week and both my husband and I had to have seconds. I ate the leftovers all week for lunch – it got spicier and spicier (Yum!). Thank you so much for such a delicious, creamy, satisfying soup!
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it.
Lorraine says
This recipe popped up the day I thawed a batch of freshly roasted Hatch poblano peppers, serendipity! Chile relleno is my favorite Mexican dish!
It was a HUGE hit and I made a double batch that gave us 2 meals, a container for my daughter to take home and another for the freezer.
6 servings? Ha! Ha! Not when everyone has seconds!
Sally says
Curious whether this froze well. We love it and I was thinking about making some and freezing it to take camping in our RV. We are doing a 4 week road trip and I need to have some things that are premade.
Marcia says
also posted this over on It’s a sweet life
I love this – it was a big hit for us.
I think the calculations are off – can you clarify?
I calculated the macronutrients for this to serve 6 as stated
per serving: total recipe:
cal 381.8 2291
carbs 8.2 49
fiber 1.2 7
fat 29.3 29.3
protein 22.8 137
Carolyn says
I use MacGourmet, which pulls from the USDA database of nutritional counts. That’s all I have to say because it’s going to depend a lot on what you use and where it gets the data. I trust the USDA database to be accurate.
Robin Pierce says
This soup is fantastic! Definitely a keeper. I was lazy and didn’t whiz the parts that the recipes calls to whiz, I just chopped up everything threw it in the pot. It was AWESOME!
Amber says
What can one use instead of bone broth? I really have never had any luck making it and I honestly don’t want to make it. Can I use chicken broth instead?
Carolyn says
Yup, that will be fine.
Ben says
Oh man, this soup is amazing. I pour it over a bowl of steamed vegetables and it’s a super filling meal. I tried using Neufchâtel the last time and didn’t taste any difference, and the Neufchâtel blended in quite well. I’ve also used 4 pasillas when I can’t find poblanos, in case any of those substitutions is helpful for someone.
Carolyn says
I’ve never been a soup lover, but I’ve made this three times since you first posted the recipe – I love it!
Emily R. Smith says
Is the chili supposed to be boiled before rolling with chicken ? Or can I just cut the peppers and put a strip in?
Carolyn says
They are supposed to be charred, skinned and then chopped, as per the instructions.
Katie G says
I really wanted this soup but I was pressed for time, so I subbed out two cans of diced green chilies for the poblano peppers, one hot and one cold. It was still delicious!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Katie G says
I meant one hot and one mild, not cold! 🙂
Sarah M. says
I was wondering! Lol
Denise S. says
Wonderful, great recipe…..I will make this over and over.
Anna-Marie Mars says
I made this last night with the real hatch green chile and it was outstanding!!! Thank you for the recipe.
Carolyn says
You’re welcome!
Judy says
Great, added a can of Trader Joe corn and three cups of cheese. Husband went nuts, a keeper
Lori says
This is the best low carb chili relleno recipe I have ever made. sometimes I will get on a roll and make them several days in one week. I have never made the sauce, I just use a low carb green or red sauce from the store.
http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/chiles-rellenos-29565
Gonna try this soup!
Denise S. says
Still continues to be one of my favorites.
Amanda says
Crap! I bought all the ingredients for this recipe and started making a little while ago. The link was working 30 min ago and now I get an error message every time I click on it. Does anyone have this recipe?
Carolyn says
I am going to send it to your email right now…
Chelsea says
Can you send it to me too! It was one my favorites and can’t find it anymore!
Carolyn says
Looks like they are back up so you can get it here! https://www.facebook.com/AllDayIDreamAboutFood/
Lori says
Here is the low carb Chili relleno recipe that I use.
http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/chiles-rellenos-29565
Can’t wait to try this soup.
Whitney Muehsam says
Have everything I need to make this delish looking soup and asweetlife is down. Please help! I need the recipe! Thanks!
Carolyn says
Their site is back up!
geri bo says
What am I missing? I can’t find the recipe! Help!
Carolyn says
There is a link at the bottom of the post.
Kylie says
FYI the link to your recipe is broken.
Maybe you can edit the post to include it here? It looks like a lot of people had the issue I’m having.
Carolyn says
I’ve added the recipe to my own site for the time being, because of these issues. Hope you come back and check it out! 🙂
Jeri Gault says
Okay, I must be techno challenged because I cannot find the recipe when I go to the link posted above!! It is a tad bit frustrating so I guess I am asking how to link to the recipe!! Thanks!!
Carolyn says
Their site is having major issues. Please email me at [email protected] and we will send you the recipe.
Gloria Latta says
Cannot find the recipe. A Sweet Life is a non-functioning website apparently. There are ads there but no recipes, no blog. This has happened repeatedly when your blog sends me to A Sweet Life to get a recipe.
Gloria Latta says
Oh sorry. Just saw your note of Sept 16. Thanks for answering.
Sylvia Griffith says
Absolutely wonderful.
Debra Washburn says
So where is the recipe? Can’t find it!!
Carolyn says
Please email me at [email protected] and we will send you the recipe. A Sweet Life is having trouble with their website.
Rhonda Weber says
Hmmm…I’ve got some Chicken Bone Broth simmering at home at this very moment. I think it’s meant for this soup!
Edgar says
This looks creamy and yummy!
Gonna add this to my weekend chart! 🙂
Sandy says
I love this soup recipe!
Anne Marie says
I was in this site Thursday to get the ingredients for this soup, wanted to make it today and the link isn’t working. Where can I find this recipe?
Carolyn says
Their site is back up!
Susan says
I just made this tonight and it was great! I added 2 jalepeños (charred them with the poblanos) and it was pretty spicy – we like spicy stuff! Served it with some low carb biscuits – great meal!
Julia Kruz says
Love everything creamy. Got to give it go. Looks yammmmmi! Thanks for sharing
Bridgett says
DELICIOUS! Just made it tonight but I was too lazy to do all the work with the poblanos so I subbed three cans of green chilis instead. Also, since I’m knee deep in the Ketogenic WOE, I couldn’t resist adding a half cup of heavy whipping cream to the pot to increase my fat intake. YUMMO!!!
Carolyn says
Sounds good to me!
Paul says
What is the recipe to make this Chile Relleno Chicken Soup?
Carolyn says
There is a link to click right at the bottom of this post.
Naomi says
Thank God, a keto recipe that’s making rave reviews WITHOUT BACON. I don’t eat pork and there are so many keto recipes out there requiring bacon, for which there is no substitute. Yes, there’s turkey bacon, but that will never stand in well for real bacon flavor. I just found some beautiful poblanos and looking for a recipe came upon this one. Can’t wait to make it!
Lindsay V says
Made this today with canned green chiles and jalapeño and homemade broth because that’s what I had on hand…wow! I fell off track a little on thanksgiving but back on yesterday and I’m just so thankful to have you and IBIH recipes for inspiration. Perfect for this stormy Keizer day.
Definitely recommend this one!
Christine says
This was divine. A definite winner for Mexican night, and will be making again and again! Creamy and cheesy and warming with great flavour.
Bobbie says
Ummmmmm where’s the actual recipe? Am I missing something? All I see is pics and paragraphs. Lol
Carolyn says
There is a link to the recipe on A Sweet Life.
Mary Embling says
Carolyn, Thanks for the recipe. Delicious!
Tammy says
Carolyn,
I recently made the lemon poppy seed cookies using American cream cheese and it was not thick. Someone had commented about the difference between American cream cheese and Canadian. Will the American version (Philadelphia brand block) work in this?
Carolyn says
I don’t live in Canada, even though I am Canadian. So that’s not the issue at all here. The poppyseed cookies was likely more a flour issue than a cream cheese issue.
Lissa says
I have a question about an ingredient. What type of flour did you use? I don’t believe regular baking flour is Keto friendly. What can I substitute the ingredient with?
Carolyn says
I am not sure what you are seeing but there is NO flour at all, of any kind, in this recipe. I think maybe you are looking at the original that I took inspiration from? This is the keto recipe: https://asweetlife.org/chile-relleno-chicken-soup/
Heather Star says
U.made this tonight and weighed out all the ingredients, and U have to tell you that your carb count is way, way off. I had to cut the peppers and cheese in half to get it under 10 carbs per serving. In that note, 6 servings is a joke, more like 4, which then brings the carbs up to 16 carbs with my adjustments.
The soup was delicious!
Carolyn says
Hi Heather, I am not sure where you get your nutritional info from but it’s very likely yours is off too. Mine was off because when I originally wrote this recipe, the USDA did not have accurate counts for poblano peppers. They do now and so here is my corrected info:
Food energy: 635kcal
Total fat: 39.06g
Carbohydrate: 10.04g
Total dietary fiber: 2.60g
Protein: 48.31g
This is based on 6 servings. You can see with that amount of fat and calories, 6 servings is absolutely a good amount and 4 would be off the charts high.
Please keep in mind that I do not use the online programs like My Fitness Pal, which are NOTORIOUSLY inaccurate. I use software I pay for called MacGourmet and it pulls from the USDA database so it’s likely to be far more accurate than most.
Thanks!