This Keto Chile Relleno Soup is vegan, low-carb, and totally delicious! Ready in just about 30 minutes, this is a recipe you’ll want to make weekly.

This Keto Chile Relleno Soup recipe is sponsored by our friends at Pacific Foods Organic Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Cast Iron Keto recipes EPIC.
I don’t know about you but one thing we make weekly is a huge Dutch oven full of soup. Typically, it’s easy, comforting, and is a great thing to meal prep. This Keto Chile Relleno soup may just outrank our famous Keto Queso Chicken Soup for us. CRAZY, I know but hear me out!
This low-carb soup starts out with freshly roasted poblano peppers which add an amazing depth and smokiness to the soup. We’ll talk below on how to roast them in a variety of ways!
After roasting those poblanos, we saute some onions, jalapenos, garlic, and cilantro in some avocado oil. Then we add in white pepper (the flavor is so much milder and richer than black pepper) as well as Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth - we love using this broth because it gives us an easier way to control the amount of salt in the recipe and it makes it easier for you to season the soup to your tastes. This vegetable broth also has the best flavor of any vegetable broth we’ve ever tried, it’s flavorful, silky, and lends itself well to a variety of recipes.
After adding in the broth you’ll add in almond milk and the chopped roasted peppers. Bring that to a simmer then add in the vegan cream cheese, and salt. Start with about 1 teaspoon of salt, taste, then add more if necessary. We used about 1 tablespoon.




Is this Keto Chile Relleno Soup soup dairy-free?
Yes, this soup is totally vegan! We used an almond milk that has just 2 ingredients: almonds and water. We also used an almond milk-based vegan cream cheese. While we LOVE cheese, it’s nice to be able to take a break from dairy now and again.
Can I use regular milk and cream cheese?
You can. I would use heavy cream instead of milk and regular full-fat cream cheese.
How to store soup:
You have a few options here:
- meal prep: if we’re going to be consuming the soup within 5 days we simply store it in our Dutch oven in the refrigerator so we can take it straight from the refrigerator to the stove-top. Less dishes = less mess and we’re ALL for that!
- Freezer: if you’d like to store the soup for longer I would do individual servings in a freezer-safe container. The soup will keep for about 6 months. To reheat simply dump the frozen soup into a pot and heat until creamy. If needed add a touch more broth or almond milk.
Can I add in protein?
If you’re not vegan this soup is so, so delicious with chicken. To add chicken to the soup we add in whole breasts after adding in the cream cheese. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot, shred, and return to the soup.
What should I use for toppings?
- pico de gallo
- avocado
- shredded cabbage (we use a blend of cabbage, cilantro, and jalapenos)


Chile Relleno Soup
Ingredients
- 5 large poblano peppers or 7 small
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno minced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 4 cups Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 1 cup almond milk or other non-dairy alternative or heavy cream if not vegan
- 4 ounces vegan cream cheese can sub regular cream cheese if not vegan
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Toppings:
- ½ cup pico de gallo
- 1 cup shredded cabbage we used a cabbage, cilantro and jalapeno blend
- 1 avocado diced or sliced
Instructions
- Place the poblano peppers on top of a gas burner, alternatively place them on a baking sheet under your oven broiler. Roast for 5 minutes until charred on each side. Place the roasted peppers in a glass container with a lid or a paper bag. Set aside to cool.
- Once cooled, scrape off most of the charred skin and slice off the stem and remove the seeds. Chop the poblanos into bite sized pieces.
- Heat the avocado oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot add in the onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro. Cook 4-5 minutes until soft but not browned. Add in the white pepper and salt, cook another 30 seconds.
- Pour in the Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth and almond milk. Bring to a simmer then add in the chopped poblanos. Simmer for 10 minutes then stir in the vegan cream cheese. Taste for salt and add more if necessary. If desired, use an immersion blender to slightly puree the soup to a creamier texture.
- To serve, divide the soup between bowls and top with pico de gallo and the avocado.
Shauna says
Very tasty soup!! Out of curiosity, what is the serving size??
Cast Iron Keto says
Hi Shauna, so glad you liked it! As for the serving size...Unfortunately, that’s not how recipes work. Unlike a packaged food product that is made by a single company, recipes can’t provide reliable serving weights due to the fluctuations in how different people measure and cook. To get a reliable serving size you’ll need to weigh your final dish then divide by the number of servings. You can also simply eyeball 1/4th of the recipe. I hope this helps!
Kristie says
So yummmmo!! I made it non vegan with xanthum gum for thickness. The store didnt have pablanos so i used pasilla peppers instead and wow...just the needed kick! I will definitely makes this again!!
Laura says
DELISH!
Anthony says
Is the cabbage, cilantro and jalapeno blend homemade?
Cast Iron Keto says
Hi Anthony, our local grocer sells the slaw blend but it's easily made at home as well! Simply mix shredded cabbage with thinly sliced jalapeño, sliced white onion, and minced cilantro.