This chile relleno casserole recipe takes your favorite chiles rellenos ingredients and turns them into a one-pan dish, with roasted poblanos, eggs and cheese. It's perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner.
You've likely heard of chile relleno, basically "stuffed chili pepper", which usually refers to the iconic Mexican dish of roasted poblano peppers stuffed with cheese, then lightly battered and fried. What if you had it in a casserole format? What we've done here for this recipe is take all of those wonderful ingredients from chile relleno and we're turning it into a casserole dish.
Yes!
Behold, my friends - Chile Relleno Casserole. You're going to love this.
Why I Love This Recipe
What's great about Chile Relleno Casserole is that it's all cooked up in a single pan, making it a very easy meal to prepare and serve. Everything is cooked and layered up, then baked. Just serve it right out of the pan. I also love that you can serve it as a breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. It's an anytime meal.
Let's talk about how we make this recipe, shall we?
Ingredients Needed
- 10 poblano peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes, chopped (or use canned)
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ancho powder (or use chili powder)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or use monterey jack cheese, pepper jack, or a combination)
- FOR GARNISH: spicy chili flakes and fresh herbs
How to Make Chile Relleno Casserole - the Recipe Steps
First, set your oven to broil. Slice the poblano peppers in half lengthwise and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, skin sides up.
Broil the poblanos about 15 minutes, until the skins char and blacken. They should puff up. Remove, cool slightly, then peel off the skins and discard them along with the seeds and stems. I like to include jalapeno peppers as well, to make it a touch more spicy.
Learn more on how to roast poblano peppers or how to roast chili peppers in general for alternative methods.
Slice the poblanos into strips and set them aside.
Cook the vegetables. While the poblanos are roasting, heat a 10-inch oven proof skillet to medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook them down about 5 minutes to soften them up.
Add the garlic and cook another minute, until you can smell the awesome garlic. One of my favorite smells in the kitchen.
Add the tomatoes, oregano, paprika, ancho powder, cumin and salt and pepper. Break apart the tomatoes and stir. Cook for 10 minutes on medium-low, until the tomatoes soften up and the mixture becomes saucy. You can simmer longer if you’d like. Scoop the sauce into a glass bowl and set it aside for now.
Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
In the same 10-inch skillet (or you can use a baking dish or casserole dish), spoon half of the sauce into the bottom of the pan.
Layer in half of the roasted poblano strips.
Layer in half of the shredded cheese.
Add the remaining sauce, then remaining poblano peppers, then most of the remaining cheese.
Next, beat the eggs with the remaining cheese and pour the mixture over the top of the casserole.
Bake the casserole for 25 minutes, or until the egg sets and the cheeses are nice and melty.
Remove and garnish with spicy chili flakes and fresh herbs.
Serve it with warmed tortillas. I enjoyed the leftovers the next day, just reheated, popped some onto warmed flour tortillas with hot sauce. Hot sauce is a must!
Boom! That's it, my friends! Easy enough, right? As I said, everything in one pan. That's the great thing about casseroles. They're quite easy yet truly satisfying.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- The Peppers. I used poblano peppers here, as they are traditional for chiles rellenos, but you can use Hatch peppers, Anaheim peppers, any larger green peppers that can be roasted. You can also make this with canned green chilies. If you're looking for a spicier version of this recipe, feel free to bring in a serrano pepper, or a few of them. Or cook down some smaller hotter peppers, like a habanero pepper, when you cook the onion.
- The Sauce. Homemade enchilada sauce is GREAT here. Use a store bought salsa for a quick version. I added some of my fresh chile de arbol salsa to the sauce and it was amazing! Or try this Quick and Easy Enchilada Sauce Recipe. It would also be quite tasty with Ranchero Sauce.
- Leftovers. I enjoyed the leftovers the next day - I just reheated the dish, popped some onto warmed flour tortillas and enjoyed them with hot sauce. Delicious!
- Additional Ingredients. Want to make this a fuller meal? Incorporate some shredded chicken or cooked ground beef or pork for a protein, or add refried beans to round it out. You'll get a heartier dinner this way.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. As mentioned, it's great for an anytime meal, but my favorite time to serve it is for brunch. Let me know how you like it. Enjoy!
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole Verde
- Chipotle Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Huevos Rancheros Casserole
- Chicken Enchiladas Verde with Cheese
- Rajas Poblanas (Roasted Poblano Strips in Cream Sauce)
- Easy Huevos Rancheros
- King Ranch Casserole
- Mexican Lasagna
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.
Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 poblano peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes chopped (or use canned)
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ancho powder or use chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or use Monterey Jack, pepper jack, or a combination
- FOR GARNISH: spicy chili flakes and fresh herbs
Instructions
- Set your oven to broil. Slice the poblano peppers in half lengthwise and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, skin sides up. Broil the poblanos about 15 minutes, until the skins char and blacken. They should puff up. Remove, cool slightly, then peel off the skins and discard them along with the seeds and stems.
- Slice the poblanos into strips and set them aside.
- While the poblanos are roasting, heat a 10-inch oven proof skillet to medium heat and add the olive oil.
- Add the onion and jalapeno and cook them down about 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute, until you can smell the awesome garlic.
- Add the tomatoes, oregano, paprika, ancho powder, cumin and salt and pepper. Break apart the tomatoes and stir. Cook for 10 minutes on medium-low, until the tomatoes soften up and the mixture becomes saucy. You can simmer longer if you’d like. Scoop the sauce into a glass bowl.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the same 10-inch skillet (or you can use a baking dish or casserole dish), spoon half of the sauce into the bottom of the pan. Layer in half of the roasted poblano strips and half of the shredded cheese.
- Add the remaining sauce, then remaining poblano peppers, then most of the remaining cheese.
- Next, beat the eggs with the remaining cheese and pour the mixture over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the egg sets and the cheeses are nice and melty.
- Remove and garnish with spicy chili flakes and fresh herbs.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Kevin M says
This was absolutely delicious! We've loved every recipe we made from your site. This one just moved to the top of our list of favorites! Thank you for the great dishes!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! Glad to hear it, Kevin! We love this recipe. YUM!
Sheila Craig says
Michael, you’ve done it again! This recipe was great! Took a chance and made this for the first time for brunch when we had out of town guests. I added browned and drained breakfast sausage for the meat loving gents. Served with warm tortillas. Everyone freaked out about it and asked for the recipe. I gave them all your website. Every single recipe I have gotten from you has been 5 stars. I can’t wait to see what you come up with next. Thanks so much for sharing your talent.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Outstanding! Glad to hear it, Sheila! I'm happy everyone enjoyed it, and I appreciate your comments. Cheers!!!
Vivian says
Mike,
Super simple instructions and super savory dish. This is SO versitile - made as per recipe this morning and served with corn chips and sandwiches for lunch. Leftovers are going in a tortilla!
Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, thanks, Vivian. Glad you liked it. We love this dish. Agreed, very versatile! Perfect on a tortilla!
Debbie Felipe says
I used peppers and tomatoes from my garden. It was wonderful. Will be making it again. My husband wants hamburger added next time.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Debbie! Hamburger would be GREAT for this.
Cheryl says
OMG is this good, I’ve avoided making Chile rellenos because of the effort involved. This is better. Used 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, roughly chopped, so simmered longer. Used smoked paprika and halved the Chile powder for first go. Perfect, perfect, perfect! Thank you so much.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great to hear, Cheryl! Glad you enjoyed it.
Sandy says
Hi Mike,
I already posted a 5 star review and am replying to your comment to my review 🙂 I wanted to reiterate that the recipe as you presented it is AWESOME! No need for any changes. I always make a recipe as is first and then tend to change things up just for fun 😉
Your Ranchero Sauce recipe is AWESOME too! The next thing I am going to try is your Rajas Poblanas Con Crema Recipe. We are a vegetarian family so these recipes are perfect! Thanks so much!
Sandy
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Sandy! I appreciate it, though I honestly think it's GREAT that people can adapt recipes to their own palates and what's on hand. I do this all the time! Super happy you liked it, and I hope you like the Rajas as well. We LOVE those! Take care...
Sandy says
DELICIOUS!!! I have made this twice so far. This is a keeper and very share worthy!! It is delicious made exactly as the recipe instructs !! BUT the second time I changed it up a bit and imho I think it was even better! The second time I used 1 and 1/2 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, Smoked Paprika instead of regular, 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle pepper and added about 1 tsp. of Vegetable "Better than Bullion" along with 1/2 cup of water and simmered till thickened. On a whim I also added 1 can of drained whole kernel corn to the egg and (Colby)cheese mixture. I used Anaheim peppers from my garden. Baked it in a cast iron pan. Served with homemade corn tortillas, greens from the garden, homemade salsa and a dab of sour cream. A huge hit!!! Will make this again and again! Thanks for this awesome recipe!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
EXCELLENT! I'm glad you enjoyed it, Sandy! I love how you changed it up. Make it your own.
Sue says
Best recipe I've ever tried!!!! I can't explain enough how great this recipe is. I have fixed it now three times for my granddaughter. It is really hard for us to save half of it for the next day because it is so delicious. Making it this weekend from my daughter and son-in-law can't wait till they try it. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Sue! I'm glad you both love it! We really love this one. Take care...
Mary Burns says
I made this today for a friend who absolutely loves chile rellenos. It was delicious! I followed the recipe using fresh anaheims but I think I will use canned chiles next time to save a little time. How many 7 oz. cans would be equivalent to 10 fresh chiles? I'm thinking 4.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Mary! I would say 2-3 cans, honestly, though you could easily use 4 for a more pronounced flavor.
Zion M says
I made this tonight using your ranchero sauce and queso Oaxaca. I added a diced potato to the mix, and it turned out great. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for another terrific recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Zion. I think the potatoes would be excellent!
Nancy Allan says
I loved this recipe. So simple and amazing flavour. I love tortillas, however going to scoop it all up with a baguette. Thank you for transforming this wonderful traditional dish into a casserole.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Thanks, Nancy! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Brian Schmidt says
Hi Mike, this recipe is spot on! I made this on 12.8.19 for breakfast and it is absolutely delicious. We have family coming for Christmas and this dish will be served for breakfast a time or two! Thanks for sharing your madness.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Brian! I appreciate it! Super happy you enjoyed it. It's definitely a keeper.
b says
I cut this recipe down for two people, it was delicious.
I served it with a Cheese torte wedge and my favorite
kale salad with chipotle dressing.
Loved it and will make it all the time.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, B! Super happy you enjoyed it. I really love this recipe. It's one of my wife's favorites.
jimAND ROSE nashwinter says
going to try this?As I love chilie rellenos?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I hope you enjoy it! Tasty!
Tony says
Just a FYI, you wrote " I used poblano peppers here, as they are traditional for chiles rellenos" they are not, Anaheim peppers are. but your recipe does sound excellent.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Tony, if you have a specific source for this, I'd love to review it. Otherwise, everything I've learned and read is that poblanos are traditional, but other peppers can be easily used, such as Hatch chiles, Anaheims, pasillas and even jalapeno. It could depend on the region. I appreciate the comments!
Candie says
I think it depends on what part of the country your in and what is traditional for your family. My Mom made the best chile rellenos, stuffed with Longhorn cheese, using Anaheim peppers. But, I've known other people who made them with Poblabnos. Naturally, they weren't as good as what my mom made, but they were still good.
Great recipe btw,
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Candie. I appreciate it!