Rajas Tacos are made with strips of poblano peppers, onions, and corn, with a hint of Mexican Crema served with cilantro and lime. Vegan-adaptable.
The more I empty myself, the more beauty is birthed into physical form. And the more beauty there is, the more love there is.
Zach Bush
Why You’ll Love Rajas TaCos
We first discovered Rajas Tacos at the iconic La Super Rica (Julia Child’s favorite haunt) in Santa Barbara during one of our winter stays a few years back, but it wasn’t until we had them at a taco stand in San Miguel Allende this spring that it dawned on me that I needed to share them with you!
I love recipes that highlight simple, regional ingredients prepared with care. Rajas-fire-roasted poblano peppers simmered with onions and crema-are a classic filling you’ll find in tacos and quesadillas across central and southern Mexico. What I love about them is how they showcase the depth and smokiness of the chile itself, balanced by creamy richness.
The funny thing was that we had been eating at all the amazing restaurants in San Miguel, but kept coming back to this one taco stand to get these tacos, all agreeing that it was our favorite thing we had to eat the whole trip.
What are Rajas Tacos?
Rajas, in Spanish, means “strips,” and typically Rajas Tacos are made with strips of veggies that include poblano peppers and onions. I’ve also had them with strips of zucchini and zucchini blossoms. Mushrooms can be used instead of corn in the cooler months. The tacos are either served with cheese or the filling is made creamy with the addition of Mexican crema or Mexican sour cream.
We use the crema sparingly here, just to give it a little richness. Feel free to sub vegan sour cream or cashew cream.
Ingredients in Rajas Tacos
- Poblano peppers: Also called pasilla peppers.
- Onion: Use a large white or yellow onion.
- Fresh corn: Or sub 2 cups frozen corn, mushrooms, zucchini, or zucchini blossoms.
- Garlic cloves: Enhance the savory, aromatic flavor.
- Jalapeño: Adds a bit of heat. Remove the seeds for milder heat.
- Fresh oregano: Or sub dried oregano or Mexican oregano.
- Cumin and coriander: For warm, savory, authentic Mexican flavor.
- Mexican crema: Or sub Mexican sour cream, crème fraîche, sour cream, or vegan sour cream.
- Limes and cilantro: Fresh additions to garnish the tacos.
- Tortillas: Use 6-inch corn or flour tortillas, or a blend is nice.
How to make Rajas Tacos
1. Grill poblanos, corn, and tortillas. Preheat the grill to medium heat. See notes for our stovetop method. Place whole corn cobs and poblanos on the grill, turning every 3-4 minutes, until lightly charred and poblanos are blistered and tender, about 15 minutes. Grill the tortillas and wrap in a towel.
2. Finish preparing the veggies. Place the blistered poblanos in a paper bag or covered bowl to steam through, about 3-5 minutes, then peel, deseed, and slice into strips. Cut the kernels off the corn.
3. Sauté the onion. At the same time you are grilling, sauté the onion in a large skillet with the olive oil over medium heat, occasionally stirring, cooking until tender and caramelized, about 8 minutes. Scoot them to the side, add more olive oil if needed, and add the garlic, jalapeño, and oregano. Sauté 2-3 minutes, then combine. Turn the heat off.
4. Add corn, poblanos, and Mexican crema. Add the corn and poblano chiles to the skillet. Warm the mixture over medium-low heat and add the salt, pepper, and spices. Stir until heated through. Add the Mexican crema while continuing to stir. Squeeze in half of the lime, taste, adjust salt (I usually add more), and if needed, add the remaining lime.
TIP: If it tastes bland, it needs salt and lime.
5. Prepare the tacos. Spoon the creamy poblano filling into the warm corn tortillas, top with fresh cilantro, and serve each dish with lime wedges.
Variations
- Make it vegan: Use vegan sour cream instead of Mexican crema.
- Try other veggies! Use zucchini strips or zucchini blossoms, or in the cooler months, use chard (cut into wide strips) and mushrooms instead of corn.
- Add them to other delicious tacos: The rajas filling can be added to our Chipotle Portobello Tacos, Baked Vegetarian Tacos, or Mexican Short Rib Tacos!
Chef’s Tips
- Choose good poblanos. Look for firm, glossy, dark green peppers, without soft spots. Older poblanos can taste a little bitter.
- Grill and sauté at the same time. This recipe can be made pretty quickly if grilling and sautéeing simultaneously (I can get it done in about 30 minutes).
- Grill until just charred. Poblanos should be charred enough that the skins loosen easily, but not so blackened that they taste acrid.
- Steam poblanos before peeling. Le them rest covered (bowl or paper bag) so the skins slip off easily.
- Taste and adjust. If the filling tastes bland, add more salt and lime. If it taste too spicy, add a little more crema.
- Careful not to overcook the poblanos. When added to the skillet, keep the heat low and stir until just warmed through. Overcooking the poblanos will turn them mushy.
- Use frozen corn if not in season. If fresh corn isn’t in season, char frozen corn in a dry skillet.
Storage
Store leftover rajas filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat with a splash of water or cream. Because of the crema, I don’t recommend freezing the filling.
Serving Suggestions
Pair these Rajas Tacos with some of our other favorite Mexican recipes, and serve with our 5-Minute Hot Sauce and Pickled Jalapeño Peppers!
- Black Bean Salsa
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Taco Salad
- Baked Enchilada Beans
- Paloma Cocktail
- Pineapple Salsa
- Mole Black Beans
FAQs
No, the corn and peppers can be sautéed, roasted, or charred over a gas burner (open flame).
Rajas in Mexican is “strips,” and in tacos, they refer to strips of veggies, like poblano peppers and onions tossed with Mexican crema.
Strips or slices, referring to the veggies.
The heat varies, depending on whether or not you include jalapeño and whether or not you keep or remove the jalapeño seeds. They can be spicy or mild.
This rajas con crema recipe makes about 6 tacos and serves 3 people, perfect for a weeknight dinner. I hope you give these a go before you put your grill away for the summer!
Enjoy,
More Taco Recipes to Enjoy
- Salmon Tacos
- Birria Tacos
- Shrimp Tacos with Mango Cabbage Slaw
- Grilled Steak Tacos with Chimichurri
- Jackfruit Tacos (Vegan!)
After you try this Rajas Tacos recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
Rajas Tacos
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 tacos 1x
- Category: dinner
- Method: grilled
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Rajas Tacos are made with strips of poblano peppers, onions and corn, with a hint of Mexican Crema served with cilantro and lime. Vegan-adaptable
Ingredients
- 3–4 large poblano peppers (also called pasilla peppers)
- 2 ears of corn, shucked (or sub 2 cups frozen corn, mushrooms or zucchini)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large white or yellow onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons jalapeno, finely chopped (this is medium spicy, feel free to add more)
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4–1/2 cup Mexican crema, or sub-Mexican sour cream, crème fraîche or vegan sour cream
- 1 lime
- 6 x 6-inch Tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat grill to med heat (see notes for the stovetop)
- Place whole corn cobs and poblanos on the grill, turning every 3-4 minutes, until lightly charred, and poblanos are blistered and tender, about 15 minutes. Grill the tortillas and wrap in a towel.
- At the same time, saute the onion in a large skillet with the olive oil and half the salt, over medium heat, occasionally stirring, cooking until tender and caramelized about 8 minutes. Scoot them to the side, add more olive oil if needed and add the garlic, jalapeno and oregano, saute 2-3 minutes, then combine. Turn the heat off.
- Place the blistered poblanos in a paper bag or covered bowl, to steam through, about 3-5 minutes.
- Cut the kernels off the corn and add them to the skillet.
- Under cool running water, peel any loose skin off the poblanos (no need to get every bit) and remove the seeds and stem. Lay them flat and cut into thin strips. Add to the skillet.
- Warm the mixture over med-low heat and add the remaining salt, pepper and spices. Stir until heated through. Add the Mexican crema, stirring. Squeeze in 1/2 the lime, taste, adjust salt ( I usually add more) and if needed, add the remaining lime. If it tastes bland, it needs salt and lime.
- Spoon the warm creamy filling into the warm tortillas and top with fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
Notes
Charring the corn and peppers gives good flavor here, but it is not mandatory. Instead of using the grill, feel free to saute sliced poblanos until tender. You can also blister the peppers over a gas stove top or broil them in the oven, or roast them ( and peel). Feel free to saute the corn (or char first over a gas burner).
Feel free to add more spices- I kept it simple here to allow the sweetness of the fresh summer corn to come through. For more heat add a pinch of cayenne or ground chipotle.
Mexican Crema is less sour and a bit runnier than sour cream– so if using sour cream instead, you may need to add a tiny splash of water, and little less lime- add it to taste. I used the whole lime with the crema.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tacos
- Calories: 332
- Sugar: 13.5 g
- Sodium: 438.7 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Fiber: 9.4 g
- Protein: 8.8 g
- Cholesterol: 11.3 mg
I am Mexican and have done these taco most of my life. I would omit the oregano. It’s too pungent on a simple vegetable guisado. I also use both Crema Mexicana and Sour Cream in mine. One tip, if you do not want it to spicy, when purchasing the Poblanos look for the straight stems. If they are curled they are spicier.
Brilliant Araceli – I will look at the stems next time- I had no idea. Thanks for the great tip!
Really delicious and really quite easy to make. Thanks very much.
So happy you enjoyed these!
Yummy and easy! Being midwinter when the corn is awful, I subbed diced sweet potato, roasted in the oven with olive oil and some cumin, ancho chili powder and some smoked paprika. Added the onion and poblano pepper strips to the same cookie sheet…(heated the corn tortillas in foil in the oven too): a 1 pan, 15 minute dinner! Loved it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
That sounds really good! Great sub; I think I’ll try it this way also!
This is SO DELICIOUS! I subbed some burrata for the Mexican crema and it was superb!
Thanks Jaime, glad you enjoyed!
Yet another fantastic recipe! I used the poblano peppers, baby portobello mushrooms and black beans. I roasted the poblanos and mushrooms in the oven. I also used plain almond yogurt to make it vegan. I love that you offer vegan subs when possible. Am waiting for you to write that book! I will be the first to buy : )
Awww… thanks Erin, and so happy you enjoyed these tacos!
This recipe is so delicious and easy to make. I got fresh corn tortillas from the market as that was a must. The flavours combined so well. I would make this again in a heartbeat and have shared recipe with others. Thanks Sylvia, I really love your recipes and have made so many hits. It’s so good to trust and follow someone like you! Cheers, Susan from Winnipeg
Thanks so much Susan! Appreciate this.
This is a fresh and tasty take on tacos! After a trip to the farmers market, I used corn, poblanos, a combo of onion and leek, and some pattypan squash. I used sour cream and went heavy on it because I wanted to finish the container. You can’t go wrong. I might add some black beans next time.
Love it Amanda! Yum to the black beans!
So good!! Such unique and fresh, I loved it so much! I added refried beans and avocado to my tacos. Delicious!!
Yum, that sounds perfect Angeli!
I made thos recipe today. It’s absolutely delicious. I also made an aji verde sauce to add on top. It’s my new favorite meal.
So happy you gave this a go!
This is absolutely fantastic! I’m not a vegetarian, but the food looked so inviting, I had to try… Meatless tacos, who knew these flavors can be so so satisfying! Flavors are spectacular!!!
Glad you enjoyed this!
Another hi! Got all the veggies at our farmers market and whipped this up when I got home. It is fantastic. I happened to have crema in the fridge from a taco bar last week but will try this with lime cashew cream next time. So yummy. Thanks again, for another fantastic recipe!
Awesome Jo! So happy you enjoyed this!
Oh my goodness this is DELICIOUS. Added the zucchini and the mushrooms – SO VERY GOOD. Very different from what I tend to think of for tacos, and as it turns out, in a good way.
Glad you gave these a go Jaeden!
This recipe sounds super yummy, rajas tacos are SO gooood- especially with nopalitos!
But after working in a couple of fancy Mexican restaurants, I respectfully mention that you that you might want to double check your chili reference. (poblanos and pasillas aren’t the same; a pasilla is a ripe, *dried* chilaca pepper. Fresh, they start out darker green and thinner than poblanos; when dried, they are smoky and have a lot of “bass”. They are totally swoon-worthy, but a very different flavor!)
Here is a good site explaining better than I do: https://bit.ly/3BeCZT2
PS- love your blog- your Mulligatawny is a favorite in this house!
Thanks Krista- yes, the Mulligatawny is a good one! And yes, you are correct about the pepper- yet in our area, in the PNW, the poblanos here in our grocery stores are often labeled “pasilla”. I do think this is a mislabeling- but it is a very common one. Here is a link https://www.melissas.com/products/pasilla-peppers. Note to readers: I would find the peppers that look closest to the ones in the post. Dark green and wide at the top. These are mild enough for this recipe;)
Regional variances are so interesting!
I think you are correct about the Melissa’s mislabeling. The chilis that their link shows certainly do look like what are called poblanos here. Our undried/fresh pasillas (chilacas) (or sometimes I’ve seen them called pasilla bajio) here are thinner and darker.
If someone here in the Chicago area went out and purchased what we commonly refer to as pasilla chilis (which would be dried) to make your rajas with, they would get a very different result, lol.
I have never seen the Melissa’s product here, probably because we have such large Latinx and Asian populations- we have piles of different chilis in bulk in the produce section at the stores in my hood. (and yes, I consider myself very lucky indeed. 🙂 )