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Chile Relleno Casserole

Name: Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
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

by Mike Hultquist · Oct 21, 2022 · 46 Comments

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This chile relleno casserole recipe is all your favorite chiles rellenos ingredients in a one-pan dish, with roasted poblanos, eggs, and cheese, delicious! 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.

Chile Relleno Casserole in a hot pan, ready to serve

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. You can have this done in WAY less than an hour, closer to 40 minutes or so, with a little prep.

Sometimes we like to toss in some Mexican chorizo or shredded chicken before baking it, and then serve it for a simple but satisfying dinner.

Just don't forget the hot sauce! I love this with a good dose of spicy hot sauce.

Let's talk about how to make chile relleno casserole, shall we?

Chile Relleno Casserole in a hot pan with a slice gone

Chile Relleno Casserole Ingredients

Poblano Peppers. For roasting. You can also use other stuffing peppers, or pre-roasted peppers, like Hatch chiles, or other green chiles.
Olive Oil. For cooking.
Jalapeno Peppers. For extra spicy heat.
Onion.
Garlic.
Tomatoes. Fresh, chopped, or canned. Tomato sauce is good as well for a smoother casserole.
Seasonings. Mexican oregan, paprika, ancho powder (or similar chili powder), cumin, salt and pepper.
Eggs.
Cheddar Cheese. Or use Monterey jack cheese, pepper jack, or a combination, or other melty cheese of your liking.
For Garnish. Spicy chili flakes and fresh chopped herbs.

How to Make Chile Relleno Casserole - the Recipe Steps

Roast the Peppers. 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 10 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.

Poblano peppers and jalapeno peppers, sliced and on a baking sheet, roasted

You can also use pre-roasted peppers, like these Hatch chiles, which I use in the video below.

Roasted chiles for making Chile Relleno Casserole

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.

Preheat 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.

Cooked down vegetables for my Layering on the cheese

Layer in half of the roasted chiles.

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 egg batter over the top of the casserole. Turn the pan to let egg mixture move into all the nooks and crannies.

Bake the casserole for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the egg sets and the cheeses are nice and melty. It should turn a nice golden brown.

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.

Just like a chili relleno. Only as a casserole!

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. We're cooking up our own sauce for this recipe, but you can use other sauces you've made in advance. 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, Mexican chorizo, or cooked ground beef or pork for a protein, or add refried beans to round it out.

You'll get a heartier meal this way.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Super easy! 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!

Everyone loves chiles rellenos.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

Mike serving a slice of Chile Relleno Casserole

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

This chile relleno casserole recipe is all your favorite chiles rellenos ingredients in a one-pan dish, with roasted poblanos, eggs, and cheese, delicious! It's perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner.

Save Recipe

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: brunch, casserole, poblano

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Calories: 212kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings:

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5 from 21 votes

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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 10 minutes, or 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 (or rough chop them, if preferred) 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.

Video

Notes

Serve it with warmed tortillas. I enjoyed the leftovers the next day, just reheated, popped some onto warmed flour tortillas with hot sauce. YUM!!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 212kcal Carbohydrates: 12g Protein: 12g Fat: 14g Saturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 112mg Sodium: 220mg Potassium: 495mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 6g Vitamin A: 1638IU Vitamin C: 131mg Calcium: 246mg Iron: 2mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

NOTE: This post was updated on 10/21/22 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 12/2/19.

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