Chile Relleno Casserole
Chile Relleno Casserole takes everything you love about traditional Chiles Rellenos—cheesy, smoky, and satisfying—and makes it weeknight easy.
Call it a shortcut if you want, but I think it’s pure genius!
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Layers of roasted poblano peppers, gooey cheese, and savory chorizo come together under a light, creamy egg batter. Serve with Mexican rice, refried beans, and a crisp salad for a well-rounded meal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Get to know Chiles Rellenos – The Dish!
Chiles Rellenos, meaning “stuffed peppers,” are a classic Mexican dish featuring mild but sometimes spicy poblano peppers from Puebla. Originating in the 1800s, this beloved recipe was created by nuns and has since become a staple of Mexican cuisine.
This Mexican classic features roasted peppers stuffed with cheese, coated in a light, airy egg batter, then fried until golden. They’re finished by simmering in a rich, savory sauce that adds depth and creates a soft, creamy texture.
Ingredients
How to make Chile Relleno Casserole
Start the Salsa
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and roast for about 45 minutes, or until softened and slightly charred. Set aside to cool.
Prep for Casserole
Char the poblano peppers on a comal over medium heat, turning until blackened on all sides. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let them steam for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins, remove stems and seeds, and set aside uncovered.
In a large nonstick pan, fry the corn tortilla in oil until golden and crispy on both sides. Set aside for the salsa.
Lower the heat to medium-low. In the same pan, cook the onions until just softened. Add the chorizo and fully cook, then drain excess fat. Set aside.
Make the Batter
In a blender, combine eggs, crema, and melted butter. Blend on medium-high for about 5 minutes until light and bubbly. Transfer to a bowl.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, ground onion, and ground garlic. Add salt and gently whisk just until combined—avoid over-mixing.
Prep the Cheese
Mix the Oaxaca and cheddar cheeses together.
Assemble Casserole
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Layer half of the roasted poblanos, followed by the chorizo and half the cheese. Repeat with the remaining peppers and cheese.
Lightly whisk the batter again, then pour it evenly over the top. Smooth the surface as much as possible for even baking.
Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until the batter is fully cooked, set, and golden on top.
Finish the Salsa
Blend the roasted tomatoes, onion, peeled garlic, crispy tortilla, oregano, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth until smooth.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour in the salsa and simmer gently for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt to taste and remove from heat.
Serve
Remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Top each serving with warm salsa and chopped cilantro.
Serve with refried beans, Mexican rice, and a side salad for a complete meal.
Favorite Tools I Use
Recipe Video Tutorial
Watch my easy video tutorial for step-by-step visuals on making this Chile Relleno Casserole.
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Protein Options
I like to switch it up depending on the mood—beef, pork, chicken, or turkey all work great in this casserole.
Tips for Great Results
Perfect Pairings for This Casserole
Prep Ahead of Time
- Roast, peel, and seed the poblano peppers.
- Cook the chorizo.
- Shred and mix the cheese.
- Prepare the salsa.
Keep all prepped ingredients refrigerated in airtight containers to maintain freshness.
Prepare the batter just before baking. Making it ahead causes it to lose airiness, curdle, and affects the final texture.
Storing Leftovers
Keep leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days to maintain freshness.
For longer storage, transfer the casserole to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months.
Explore More Recipes
Chile Relleno Casserole
8
servings30
minutes1
hour1
hour30
minutesChile Relleno Casserole takes everything you love about traditional Chiles Rellenos—cheesy, smoky, and satisfying—and makes it weeknight easy. Call it a shortcut if you want, but I think it’s pure genius!
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
8 ea poblano peppers
- Meat Filling
1/2 ea white onion, diced
1 lb pork chorizo
- Cheese
1 lb Oaxaca cheese, grated
8 oz yellow cheddar, grated
- Batter
6 ea large eggs, room temp
1 cup Mexican crema (low sodium), room temp
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ground onion
1/2 tsp ground garlic
3/4 tsp kosher salt
- Additional items
Cilantro, chopped (garnish)
Avocado oil, for cooking
- Salsa
1 ea corn tortilla
1/2 ea white onion, roughly diced
4 ea garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 lb tomatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp dry Mexican oregano
3 ea chipotle in adobo
2 TBSP adobo sauce
1 TBSP white distilled vinegar
1 1/4 cup chicken broth, low sodium
To Taste salt
Directions
- Start the Salsa
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and roast for about 45 minutes, or until softened and slightly charred. Set aside to cool.
- Prep for Casserole
- Char the poblano peppers on a comal over medium heat, turning until blackened on all sides. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let them steam for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins, remove stems and seeds, and set aside uncovered.
- In a large nonstick pan, fry the corn tortilla in oil until golden and crispy on both sides. Set aside for the salsa.
- Lower the heat to medium-low. In the same pan, cook the onions until just softened. Add the chorizo and fully cook, then drain excess fat. Set aside.
- Make the Batter
- In a blender, combine eggs, crema, and melted butter. Blend on medium-high for about 5 minutes until light and bubbly. Transfer to a bowl.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, ground onion, and ground garlic. Add salt and gently whisk just until combined—avoid over-mixing.
- Prep the Cheese
- Mix the Oaxaca and cheddar cheeses together.
- Assemble Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Layer half of the roasted poblanos, followed by the chorizo and half the cheese. Repeat with the remaining peppers and cheese.
- Lightly whisk the batter again, then pour it evenly over the top. Smooth the surface as much as possible for even baking.
- Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until the batter is fully cooked, set, and golden on top.
- Finish the Salsa
- Blend the roasted tomatoes, onion, peeled garlic, crispy tortilla, oregano, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth until smooth.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour in the salsa and simmer gently for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt to taste and remove from heat.
- Serve
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Top each serving with warm salsa and chopped cilantro.
- Serve with refried beans, Mexican rice, and a side salad for a complete meal.
Recipe Video
Did you make this recipe?
Show some love! Tag @villacocinaofficial on Instagram and drop a 5-star review. Your support means everything—thanks! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jenny
Delicious! I will be making this again!
Villa Cocina
So glad you liked it! thanks for sharing your experience.
Michael
This Chili Relleno casserole is outstanding! So tasty! The chorizo in it really makes it and that sauce is delicious. This a keeper. Watched you make it on YouTube. Thanks for this delicious recipe.
Villa Cocina
So glad you liked it, thanks for sharing with us!
Patty
My daughter in law made this over the weekend to celebrate our son’s birthday and it was delicious! I asked for the recipe and can’t wait to make it myself. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Villa Cocina
Wow! love it! thanks for leaving us a comment on your experience. This is a great recipe and I know you will be making it many times.
Patty
My daughter in law made this on Sunday to celebrate our son’s birthday and it was delicious! I requested the recipe, purchased all the ingredients and will make it tonight for me and my husband.
Carol
This looks delicious and I have to try it. Do you have any advice on how to keep and reheat any leftovers?
Villa Cocina
Store an airtight container in the fridge or freeze in a freezer-safe container. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen, and reheat in the microwave until heated through.
Carol
This casserole is really, really tasty. I almost didn’t make the sauce but I’m so glad I did. It’s such a great companion to the casserole, definitely think it’s a must. I could not find Oaxaca cheese in the three grocery stores I visited so I used jalapeno jack. Thanks for a delicious recipe.
Villa Cocina
Glad you liked it and made it work. You made the salsa, good for you!
Yvonne
This is so delicious! The salsa is incredible too. I will definitely make this again! And so much easier than traditional Chile Rellenos. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Villa Cocina
My pleasure!
Adriana
Hi, I just found your recipes and I think they look amazing. I´m mexican and I live in Mexico, and all the recipes although they are different to the way we cooke here, they all look delicious. I will be trying them. I just have one suggestion for peeling poblano chiles (the ones you use for your chile relleno cacerole): you can put them into the air fryer to roast, let them roast perfectly till they´re black all around, then pop them into a sealing bag, and let them sweat. Once they are completely wet, take them out, you´ll be able to peel them easily. Then, to reduce the heat, open them, scrape off the seeds, put them in hot or warm water with a lot of salt and let them sit there for a couple of hours. If you repeat this several times, they will not be hot at all, and you´ll keep their delicious flavor.
Villa Cocina
Hi there! I appreciate you sharing your technique with me. While I haven’t tried soaking them in hot water myself, I’m always eager to learn and explore new methods. I’m curious, doesn’t the pepper become even more tender from cooking further in the hot water? Thanks again for sharing your insight!
AutumnM
My family are crazy meat eaters, so I made this with 3lbs of homemade lean chorizo (it’s easy using common pantry spices). The other changes were extra poblanos and halving the Oaxacan cheese. I kept all of the other measurements the same and baked in a 9×13 casserole dish. The salsa was a fantastic accompaniment. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Villa Cocina
Love it! Your own creativity is bringing this recipe to life.
Patty
I can’t wait to make this for my daughter in law, chile relleno is one of her favorites.
Villa Cocina
That’s so sweet—I bet your daughter-in-law is going to love this!
Rachel
This looks outstanding and is the kind of recipe I aim to incorporate in our family’s rotation. Thanks to health issues, we will be using a few simple shortcuts and tricks (in place of all purpose flour, gluten free flour, etc), but my family will not be missing out on great flavor, thanks to this lovely list of flavorful ingredients! Thank you. <3 GOD BLESS you and your family! <3
Villa Cocina
That means so much—thank you! I’m so glad the recipe can be adapted to fit your family’s needs. Flavor should not be sacrificed, and it sounds like you’ve got it covered! God bless you and your family as well. ❤️
Surati Ivey
This looks amazing ! I will make it. I always enjoy you and Nelson in the kitchen getting all excited about the food, and esp the way you LOVE eating it. Very enjoyable
Villa Cocina
Thank you so much! Nelson and I really love sharing our passion for food—it makes cooking even more fun.