Espagueti Verde (Mexican Green Spaghetti) Recipe

If you're thinking that green spaghetti sounds like a dubious dish — perhaps a novelty item along the lines of green eggs and ham — we assure you that espagueti verde is a tasty Mexican pasta dish. It gets its verdant hue from poblano peppers, which are blended into a creamy sauce and, according to developer Feta Topalu, have "slightly smoky, spicy flavors." Despite being made with green chiles, however, espagueti verde is more mild than fiery since poblanos aren't a particularly spicy pepper.

Topalu admits that "roasting and peeling the poblano peppers can take a little bit of time if it's your first time," but it'll get easier once you pick up the knack. It's also a kitchen skill you can use time and time again as you explore all of the delicious ways to use roasted chiles in your cooking. As for the espagueti verde itself, Topalu assures us that "the remaining recipe is straightforward" and does not require any hard-to-come-by ingredients or equipment.

Topalu uses standard spaghetti noodles for this dish, while her sauce is made from poblano peppers, yellow onion, garlic, cream cheese, crema Mexicana, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cilantro. The finished spaghetti is topped with a sprinkling of queso fresco.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente, per package directions.

Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water before draining spaghetti.

Set oven to broil and let preheat for 5 minutes.

Arrange poblano peppers on a parchment-lined baking sheet and broil for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until evenly charred.

Place peppers into a bowl and cover loosely with foil to sweat for 5-10 minutes.

Remove and discard the charred skin, stems, and seeds.

Place prepared peppers, onion, garlic, cream cheese, crema Mexicana, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cilantro in a blender.

Blend until smooth, about 30-60 seconds.

Pour green sauce into a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Add cooked spaghetti, toss to coat, and remove from heat. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Top with queso fresco and more cilantro to serve.

This espagueti verde recipe is pretty adaptable, as you can swap out a number the ingredients if needed. If you can't find Mexican crema, that won't be a problem as it's basically a thinner version of sour cream. This means you can just thin out some sour cream with water to take its place, or you could even use lime juice for extra flavor. If your household runs to the more upscale crème fraîche, you could use that, instead, and Topalu also says that "plain yogurt can be used as another substitute." As regards the peppers, she says, "The best poblano substitute that I can think of would be Anaheim pepper." Even the espagueti is swappable, as Topalu feels that any kind of noodles — even the short and chunky ones — would work well with this sauce.

If you would like to make a vegetarian version of the espagueti verde, the only thing you'll need to do is to replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. To veganize the dish, however, you'll need to find plant-based versions of sour cream, cream cheese, and queso fresco. For the latter, you can use any crumbly, mild-flavored vegan cheese.

Topalu notes that "This dish has been served as a meatless main dish," but says that espagueti verde can also be used as a side dish. If you would like to pair it with a meaty entree, Topalu's suggests barbacoa, carnitas, or cilantro-lime chicken, although it would also work well with steak, ribs, pork chops, or plain old rotisserie chicken. If you'd like to eat it as a vegetarian meal, you could team it with a side such as calabacitas (try our recipe for this squash and zucchini medley).

However you choose to eat your espagueti verde, you have 3 days in which to do so, as Topalu informs us that it will last this long in the refrigerator as long as you seal it up in an airtight container. You could always try freezing it if finishing it in three days is not feasible, but the cream sauce may separate as it thaws; it probably won't look quite as pretty after a sojourn at below-zero temps.