How to Prepare Chile Relleno
Chile Relleno is a classic Mexican dish that combines roasted poblano peppers’ warmth and the indulgent, savory richness of a hearty filling. Fried to perfection, this recipe offers a delightful balance between crispy exterior and melt-in-your-mouth center, making it a comforting favorite for any meal.
Traditionally, Chile Relleno is stuffed with cheese or a flavorful meat mixture and then coated in a light, airy batter before being fried until golden brown. Each bite combines the mild heat of the poblano, the creamy, savory filling, and the satisfying batter crunch—a true celebration of textures and flavors.
In this post, I’ll explain a straightforward approach to making fried chile relleno from scratch, including tips for handling and roasting the peppers, choosing the ideal filling, and creating a perfect batter. Whether you’re preparing this dish for a special occasion or simply craving a comforting meal, this recipe brings a taste of authentic Mexican cuisine right to your kitchen. So grab your apron, gather your ingredients, and get ready to enjoy a delicious plate of homemade fried chiles rellenos that’s sure to impress!
Prescott Arizona
Chile Relleno is one of my wife’s favorite Mexican dishes. One of the best versions of Chile Relleno I’ve tasted was years ago, just after we were married on a trip across the country looking for the perfect place to live. We took the southern route that brought us through Prescott, Arizona, where we spent the night.
We asked for the best Mexican restaurant in town, and someone told us about a place just down the street from the famous Palace Restaurant & Saloon. It was a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and I can’t remember the decor, but I think it had fluorescent lighting.
It could have been La Cocina De Durango, but it was El Charro Restaurant, and they served some of the best authentic Mexican food I can remember. And their Chiles Rellenos were spectacular.
What is Chile Relleno?
Chili Relleno translates to “stuffed chiles” dipped in an egg batter and deep fried. That’s a fairly broad category, as stuffing can be made of almost anything, from meat to cheese to seafood.
Chile Relleno is a Mexican dish from the city of Puebla. Traditionally, the pepper of choice for stuffing is the Poblano pepper, which means “from Pueblo.”
With the wide variety of worldwide peppers, chiles rellenos can be made with medium or large, relatively mild peppers, such as Anaheims or New Mexican Hatch green chiles. You can even use smaller peppers if you like.
Most of us have enjoyed a mini version of chile relleno when enjoying appetizers at a sports bar: the ubiquitous jalapeno popper is a type of chile relleno.
This is a great dish to serve to a crowd, especially if you entertain vegetarians and omnivores. Alter the filling to suit the eating folks, stuff the peppers with veggies and/or cheese for the vegetarians, and maybe go with a sweet-spicy picadillo filling for the meat eaters in the bunch.
Since there are so many ways to make chiles rellenos, I’m giving you two filling, two sauce options, and two batter options. You can mix and match and discover your favorite way to enjoy them.
Fried Chiles Rellenos Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 large green chiles
- ½ pound cheese Cheddar, co-jack, or Jack cheese cut into ½" x 3 inch strips
- 3 quarts peanut oil for deep frying
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder or use self-rising flour
- ¼ teaspoon soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk plus a little more for thinning if necessary
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
To Prepare the Chiles
- Before roasting, puncture with knife to prevent bursting!! Roast chiles individually over gas flame, on gas grill, under gas broiler, or in preheated 500° F oven until charred and blistered all over.
- Place in a paper bag or in covered casserole for 10 minutes to steam. Carefully peel chiles.
- Make a slit in the stem end of each chile and remove seeds if desired. I do not remove seeds as I can't do it without tearing up the chile.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Beat egg slightly and combine with buttermilk.
- Add to flour mixture, stirring gently to mix. Do not worry if your batter is a little lumpy. It should be the consistency of pancake batter. If it seems a bit thick, thin with a little more buttermilk.
- Set batter aside at room temperature.
- Heat peanut oil in a large, heavy pot (cast iron or enameled cast iron work well here) and bring the oil to 350° F.
- Mix the flour and salt for the dredge and place in a shallow pan.
- Insert a strip of cheese into each chile. Stuff carefully to avoid breaking.
- To coat chiles, dip stuffed chiles into the dredge and then into batter. Let excess drain back into the batter bowl and then carefully lower the chile into the hot oil.
- Fry until golden brown, turning once. Remove from fat and keep warm in a 200°F oven until you have fried all the chiles.
Another Version of Chili Rellenos
They begin with poblano peppers stuffed with a ground pork concoction called picadillo or cheese. They are then dipped in an egg-based batter and deep-fried. They can be served with any of a myriad of sauces.
Poblanos are dark green chile peppers approximately 4-5 inches long and 2½ -3 inches wide. Poblanos are the “bell pepper” of Mexican cuisine.
Poblanos are triangular in shape and flatter than bell peppers. They are also less sweet, more savory, and a little hotter. Their heat level can vary, but usually, they are in the mild to medium range. They are perfect for individuals who like a modicum of spiciness but not too much heat.
Chile Rellenos Recipe
Ingredients
For the Picadillo
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 28 oz whole tomatoes canned
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional for Picadillo
- cumin
- coriander
- chili powder
- hot sauce
- ¼ cup raisins chopped
- ¼ cup slivered almonds toasted, chopped
For the Chile-Tomato Sauce
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1-3 fresh habanero peppers or dried
- 1 small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 oz tomato sauce
For the Chile Rellenos Batter
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 tablespoon flour plus extra for dredging the chiles
- ½ teaspoon salt
To Assemble and Cook
- ½ gallon peanut oil
- 4 large poblano peppers stems attached
- 4 oz Queso Chihuahua or Queso Oaxaca, 4 slices, optional
Instructions
For the Picadillo
- Saute the ground pork and chopped onion until the onions are translucent.
- Add the garlic and continue cooking until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.
- Break up the tomatoes and simmer until a thick consistency is achieved.
- Add the optional seasonings as desired.
- Stir in the optional raisins and nuts about 5 minutes before cooking is complete.
For the Chile-Tomato Sauce
- Roughly chop the bell and habanero peppers, (or grind the habaneros if using dried), onion and garlic.
- Combine all of the ingredients except the tomato sauce in a pan, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes.
- Puree the mixture in a blender.
- Add the tomato sauce to complete.
For the Batter
- In an electric mixer whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
- Mix in the yolks one at a time.
- Finally mix in the flour and salt.
To Assemble and Cook
- Preheat a pot of vegetable oil to 375° F.
- For traditional chile rellenos, begin with four poblano chiles that have their stems intact.
- Roast the peppers over a gas flame on the stove, on a grill, or under a broiler until charred all around. Or drop them in a deep fryer until the skins are blistered.
- When cool enough to touch remove the skin. Do not remove the stems.
- Make a small slit in the side of each chile and scrape out the seeds. Fill each chile with about ⅓ cups of the picadillo.
- Poke the optional cheese in, if using. Do not overfill the pepper. Leave enough room that you can close the slit and make a small flap. Thread the slit in each pepper with toothpicks to close it.*
- Dredge each stuffed Chile lightly in flour.
- Holding the stem, dip each Chile into the batter, let some of the excess drain back into the bowl, and then carefully place in the hot oil.
- Fry until they are a deep golden color, turning them once, for about four minutes.
- Serve with the chile-tomato sauce.
