Need a meat-free main to throw on the grill this summer? Chef and award-winning cookbook author Noah Galuten has a recipe for stuffed poblanos that will satisfy vegetarians and carnivores alike. Moreover, they're visually stunning enough to steal the spotlight at any backyard cookout.
"Peppers get stuffed and wrapped in foil, which means they are incredibly easy to add to the grill and don’t require any special attention," Galuten writes in his cookbook, Grill Time! "Meanwhile, the blender-simple cilantro-lime tahini is a nutty, bright, and gorgeous-green sauce." Together, the smoky peppers and creamy herb-flecked sauce make for a vibrant summer dish that feels both effortless and impressive.
Galuten also offers a make-ahead tip for easy entertaining: "The peppers can be stuffed and left at room temperature for 3 or 4 hours before grilling." Which means you can prep this dish in advance — leaving you more time to enjoy the party once guests arrive.
Stuffed Poblanos with Cilantro-Lime Tahini Recipe
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- ½ cup long-grain white rice
- 4 large poblano chiles
- 6 ounces tomatoes, diced
- 3 ounces Monterey Jack cheese or preferred melting cheese, diced or grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ¼ cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, plus more leaves for garnish
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon agave or honey
- Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, lay the poblanos on a cutting board. Cut a T-shaped slit in one of the peppers, with the horizontal cross going along the stem end of the pepper and the vertical line going down the length of it. Gently peel open the flaps at the top of the T and then slide the knife down and cut out the bulb of seeds and remove it. Repeat this with all four peppers.
- Once the rice is cooked, add it to a medium bowl along with the diced tomatoes and cheese. Toss it well to mix and season it with salt and pepper. Stuff the rice mixture into the poblanos, filling each one as much as possible. Lay out 4 large sheets of aluminum foil and place a stuffed pepper in the center of each one. Drizzle them with olive oil and then season them liberally with salt and pepper. Lift up each edge of the foil and crimp it at the top, making sure that it is tightly sealed. Set the peppers aside until it is time to grill.
- In a blender, combine the cilantro, lime juice, water, tahini, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the agave. Blend until smooth and season to taste with salt. Set the sauce aside.
- When you are ready to grill, preheat the grill to medium-high (or if you are already grilling, simply place the peppers in a medium-high area of the grill). Lay the peppers on the grill and allow them to cook for 20 minutes.
- When it is time to serve, unwrap the peppers, discarding the foil, and lay each pepper in the center of a plate. Check the sauce. It should have body but be pourable. If it has thickened, simply stir in a splash of water and then season it again to taste with salt. Pour the sauce over each pepper, dividing the sauce among all four peppers, making sure to completely coat each one. Tilt the plates gently to coat them with sauce, then garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro leaves and serve immediately.
Dad hack: If you don’t want to cook in aluminum foil, you can lay all four peppers in a single layer in a grill-safe metal pot with a lid — just keep the pot on the grill for an extra 5 minutes or so, to allow it to collect heat.
From Grill Time! © 2026 by Noah Galuten. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
