Stuffed Chile Relleno Recipe

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This Stuffed Chile Relleno Recipe stuffs ground beef Picadillo inside roasted poblano peppers and smothers them with melted cheese to make a flavorful, zesty, and cheesy Mexican dinner.

With a few simple ingredients, you can have a delicious, zesty Mexican dinner on the table in just over 30 minutes.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

If you love Tex-Mex and Mexican Food Recipes, then you will love this Stuffed Chiles Rellenos Recipe with its picadillo stuffed poblano peppers with melted cheddar cheese on top! It’s like a Mexican version of a stuffed pepper.

Unlike the traditional Mexican dish, for this one, we do NOT fry the poblano peppers, and there is no fried fluffy egg batter, making it a little more wholesome, and guilt-free. While this is not an authentic chile relleno recipe, it is delicious and a little better for you since the roasted peppers are not fried.

Instead, like our Chile Relleno Casserole, we roast the poblano peppers in the oven, and then stuff it with my Picadillo Con Papas, or ground beef Picadillo with potatoes, and then melt cheddar cheese all over the top of it.

Sprinkle some chopped fresh cilantro or chopped green onions, or drizzle some Mexican Crema or Sour Cream, Salsa Verde, or Green Salsa, or Salsa Roja over the top, and you have a restaurant-quality Mexican dinner that you can be proud to serve to your family!

Start By Making Picadillo

The first thing I do is make a batch of my Picadillo Con Papas Recipe, which is like a Mexican Ground Beef Hash, or taco meat, and can be used as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, empanadas, or in this case, Stuffed Chile Rellenos. Click on the link above to take you to the recipe that has step by step instructions and photos.

I like to make a batch at the beginning of the week and then use it in several different recipes during the week. Once the Picadillo Con Papas is ready, then we can start making our Stuffed Chile Rellenos or Stuffed Poblano Peppers.

Why Do You Roast Poblano Peppers

Before stuffing the poblano chiles, you have to roast the poblano peppers to soften them up and give them that earthy roasted flavor. If you don’t do this, the poblano peppers would not be soft enough to eat easily. Before roasting, slice the poblano peppers in half and remove any seeds. See the printable recipe card below for roasting instructions. After roasting the peppers, the skin may become blistered. Allow the the poblano peppers to cool and then peel the skin off of the poblanos before stuffing them.

How To Make Stuffed Chile Rellenos

Below I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions in case you don't have a specific ingredient on hand. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.

Ingredients

• Poblano Peppers – Look for fresh, firm, large poblano peppers with a dark green color. These peppers have a mild flavor and are not hot like jalapeños. Don’t get red poblano peppers because those are much hotter than the green poblano peppers.
• Prepared Picadillo Con Papas – See my Recipe for Picadillo With Potatoes. It’s like Mexican picadillo or taco meat.
• Shredded Mexican Blend or Cheddar Cheese – For convenience, you can use a shredded Mexican Blend cheese. However, if you have time, for the best results shred a block of cheddar cheese, or Monterey Jack, for the best flavor and texture.
• Sour Cream – I use Mexican Crema or Sour Cream as a garnish. I like to drizzle it over the top of the Stuffed Chile Rellenos  for a nice presentation.
• Chopped Cilantro or Green Onions – I use either chopped cilantro or chopped green onions to sprinkle over the top of the Stuffed Chile Rellenos just before serving. It gives it a nice contrasting color and makes a pretty presentation.

High Level Directions

Making this recipe requires the steps below. For the full detailed directions, scroll down to the bottom of the blog post, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card.

• Make a batch of Picadillo Con Papas. See link above.
• Roast and peel the Poblano Peppers.
• Stuff the Picadillo inside the Poblano Peppers.
• Top with shredded Mexican cheese.
• Bake the Stuffed Poblano Peppers.

What To Serve With Stuffed Chile Rellenos?

• Serve the Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Mexican Crema, or sour cream, and chopped cilantro or green onions.
• For sides, serve with my Mexican Rice Recipe or Mexican Cauliflower Rice, and either refried beans or pinto or black beans.
• For a beverage, try my Spicy Peach Margarita to make it feel like a Mexican Fiesta!

Recipe Tips

• To Make Ahead, make a batch of the Picadillo Con Papas a day or two ahead of time, and then about 1 hour before you want to serve, roast and  stuff the poblano peppers, cover with shredded cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. I prefer making the Picadillo ahead of time because it allows time for all those wonderful flavors to fully develop and will make for an even tastier Stuffed Poblano recipe.
• Poblano Peppers are wonderful peppers for stuffing.  They have a mild spice to them, are nice and big and full of flavor.  Broil the skin to blacken it and remove it, but do not wash them once they are baked.  So much of their wonderful flavor will be lost. If you prefer, you may use tongs and hold each pepper over an open flame
   of a gas stove to roast them.
• Thin Out Sour Cream. To thin out the sour cream to make it more like Mexican Crema, stir in a little milk with the sour cream and then drizzle over the top of the Stuffed Chile Rellenos.

FAQs

Equipment Needed

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• Large Bowl
• Baking sheet
• Parchment Paper or aluminum foil

More Recipes You’ll Love

• Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers
• Chicken Nachos Stuffed Poblanos
• Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
• Baked Green Chile Chicken Empanadas
• Tex Mex Enchiladas
• Texas Tamale Pie

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