Chile Rellenos Stuffed with Mexican Queso has been a favorite Mexican dish of ours for many, many years.
So flavorful, yet not too spicy, with a simple, deeply flavorful sauce.
This is Mexican comfort at its most satisfyingly delicious.
HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC CHILE RELLENOS
You can roast the chili in a variety of ways, from broiling to grilling, or, by the method we love, roasting over a gas flame!
Talk about building a flavor sensation.
When roasting the peppers over a hot flame, turn them frequently until they are charred and blistered.
We use all four burners to get them roasted quicker!
For the batter, bringing the egg whites to stiff peaks ensures the batter is light and fluffy when quickly fried.
Let’s hear it for stiff peaks!
You can use a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer. Or, a good ole whisk with a lot of elbow grease!
A SIMPLE RED SAUCE IS PERFECT FOR CHILES RELLENOS
You can make the simple, yet super flavorful red sauce ahead of time.
It’s not a thick sauce, yet compliments the stuffed chilis perfectly.
Oh, nothing better than a nice tomato-based sauce with some simple aromatics. Straining the sauce before cooking it down slightly produces a silky and smooth texture. And so delicious!
Carefully cut a slit in the side of the roasted, skinned pepper.
You’ll need to handle the pepper gently, because once the skin comes off, it is a little more fragile.
Ready! Set! Stuff!
You’ll want to go with a good melting cheese to stuff the chilis with.
We love using Asadero, or Chihuahua, or Oaxaca, but if you can’t find any of those, you can use good ole Monterrey Jack, or even cheddar.
Mmmmmm….cheese, please.
THE BATTER FOR CHILE RELLENOS IS LIGHT AND AIRY
Once the batter is ready and the chilis have been stuffed, it’s time to coat the peppers.
It may require a couple of dips and rolls in the batter. And don’t worry if the pepper isn’t 100% covered in the batter. It will still fry up beautifully.
We’re getting close now!!
To prevent any cheese spilling out of the chili into the hot oil, we carefully lower the coated peppers into the hot oil and then spoon more hot oil over the area where the seam is.
This will firm up the batter and make a seal so the cheese doesn’t come out. This isn’t difficult, but it may take you a couple of tries to find the best technique that works for you.
Yum.
CHILE RELLENOS CAN GET STARTED THE DAY BEFORE
Prepare the chiles and sauce a day ahead, and then quickly make the batter and fry ’em up just before ready to serve!
This dish is sure to please. It never fails to impress at our house.
The cheese, just look at that melty cheese!
OTHER MEXICAN DISHES TO TRY
Steak Fajita Quesadilla
Albondigas (Mexican Meatballs)
Mexican Rice
Mexican Black Beans
Veracruz-Style Shrimp Enchiladas
But for now, go and make this amazing Chile Rellenos Stuffed with Mexican Queso Recipe!
You will be so very glad that you did!
This is Mexican cuisine at its very best!
Chiles Rellenos Stuffed with Mexican Queso
Video
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1½ lbs tomatoes chopped, or 1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, with juice
- 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock, or water
- ¼ cup onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano dried, or regular oregano
- 1¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon corn oil
For the Chiles
- 4 large poblano chiles about 1 lb
- ½ lb Asadero cheese or Chihuahua or Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated
- 2 to 3 cups corn oil or vegetable oil, for frying
- 4 large eggs separated
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour divided
Instructions
Make the Sauce
- Puree all sauce ingredients (except oil) in a blender until smooth, then strain through a mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids, then discarding them.1½ lbs tomatoes, 1 cup chicken stock, ¼ cup onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Heat oil in a deep, heavy large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.2 tablespoon corn oil
- Carefully pour in the sauce and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. (Sauce will still be thin).
- Taste, and season with pepper and more salt, if desired.
- Set aside, but keep warm over low heat.
Roast, Stuff, and Fry the Chiles
- Roast chiles on their sides over a gas flame over medium heat, turning with tongs, until skins are blistered and slightly charred, 4 - 6 minutes. (Or, broil on a rack about 2 inches from the heat)4 large poblano chiles
- Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let stand for 20 minutes. (This can be done ahead of time.)
- Carefully rub off skins from chiles, leaving stems attached.
- Cut a slit lengthwise in each chile using kitchen shears or a sharp knife.
- Carefully cut out the ribs and the seedpod. Clean out all seeds with a wet paper towel, if necessary (Leaving the seeds will make the peppers hotter).
- Stuff chiles with cheese and enclose filling by overlapping the slit slightly, then transfer to a plate. (All of this can be done the day before.)½ lb Asadero cheese
- Heat ½-inch of the oil in another large heavy skillet over medium heat until it registers 350°F on a thermometer.2 to 3 cups corn oil
- While the oil heats, beat egg whites with ½- teaspoon salt, using an electric mixer until they just hold stiff peaks.4 large eggs, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Whisk in the yolks, two at a time, just until incorporated. Next, whisk in ¼ cup flour.1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Spread 1 cup of flour onto a plate. Generously dust chiles with the flour, coating all sides. Gently shake off excess flour.
- When oil is ready, dip chilies, 1 at a time, into egg batter, spooning it over chile to cover completely.
- Fry the chiles, turning once, until golden on all sides (Lap oil over any lighter areas, 4 to 5 minutes).
- Transfer chilies with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. At this point, you can heat your oven to 300°F, place the chiles on a baking rack, and then bake for 15 minutes. This will keep the chees nice and melty, crisp up the exterior, and render out a little more excess grease. Remove from oven.
- Meanwhile, re-heat the sauce.
- Ladle sauce onto plates and place a chili on top of the sauce.
Notes
- Chile choice: Poblano chiles are traditional and offer mild heat. For spicier rellenos, substitute Hatch or Anaheim chiles.
- Roasting tips: Roast chiles until skins are fully blistered for easy peeling. Steam in a covered bowl or bag for 10 minutes before peeling.
- Cheese options: Asadero and Oaxaca are classic, but Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or Chihuahua cheese all melt beautifully. Avoid pre‑shredded cheese.
- Batter success: Separate eggs while cold, then bring to room temperature before whipping whites for a lighter, fluffier batter.
- Frying advice: Keep oil at 350°F (175°C). If the oil is too cool, the batter will absorb oil; too hot, and it will brown before cooking through.
- Make‑ahead: Chiles can be roasted, peeled, and stuffed up to 1 day ahead; batter and fry just before serving for the best texture.
Susan says
Looks delicious! I have a question, though. Can I prep and fry the chilies the night before and then back them in the morning for a brunch? It would save a lot of time.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Susan! Well, I wish I could say that would work, but, I’m pretty certain the fried rellenos would get pretty soggy if they sat over night. You can certainly roast them and even stuff them the night before. If you’re making a sauce to serve with it, you can do that the night before. The night
before you can have everything prepped (the batter, the oil) and ready to go for the next morning. And then coat with the batter and fry before serving. They fry up quickly, so it’s not a ton of time. I understand your concern, though. We’ve served these for brunch before, and to say they were a hit would be an understatement. Everyone had fun watching us frying them up. Keep us posted and let us know if there’s anything else we can help with. Best, Kris & Wesley
Mark Hall says
Best ever- had to make some modifications because the Mexican cheese was not available. Used Monterey Pepper Jack instead. Delicious!! as usual.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Mark! Woo hoo!!! So so took on making homemade chile rellenos and had such great success! Monterey Jack is great! Thanks so much for sharing and for the great review! That always means so much to us!!! Keep on cookin’!!
Sandra Kisling says
This was good however at the end of your video do you put it on the oven for 5 minutes or was it the broiler for 5min?
Kris Longwell says
Hi Sandra! Sorry for the delayed reply and sorry for the confusion. This recipe has evolved for us over the years. We should have updated the recipe to reflect that we often place the prepared chilis into the oven for about 15 minutes. This is especially good if you are having to make the rellenos in batches. Then, they will all reheat evenly, and even crisp up a bit more. We’ve update the recipe to reflect this. Thank you SO MUCH for bringing this to our attention!!! Thank you so very much for sharing and for the GREAT review. That means the world to us!!! Please stay in touch! Best, Kris & Wesley
Marilyn says
Can’t wait to try since I am a New Mexican girl I prefer hatch chili’s. Believe it or not I found Hatch Chili’s at our local Fred Meyers in Alaska. So, yes tomorrow is Chilli relleno day, my mom’s favorite. I intend to add chorizo. Thank you for the fun lesson
Kris Longwell says
Hi Marilyn! Hatch chiles are FANTASTIC! And the addition of chorizo will be amazing. Please let us know how it turned out!! Best, Kris & Wesley
Nancy says
Ok guys, this was stupid good! But could I make the sauce thicker some how? And if I wasn’t super gentle the egg mixture would come off. But I am officially following you two.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Nancy! We love the slightly thinner sauce for this, but you could certainly thicken it with a little cornstarch slurry (mix together 1 Tbsp cornstarch with just enough water until its syrupy). Add a few drops to the sauce and stir until thickened to your desire. We find that spooning the hot oil over the top of the relleno as it is cooking helps the batter adhere to the pepper. Hope this helps!
Adri says
Made this for Mother’s Day! We are Mexican and the sauce was on point *chef’s kiss*! The ratios of the ingredients were balanced, and it was new to us to strain the sauce, but I’m glad I did it, it did have a silky texture. I didn’t add the sugar, but I did simmer it twice as long and it was sweet enough. Chile rellenos is my mom’s favorite dish, but she has different dietary needs nowadays so I made some modifications. We wanted gluten free and lower fat, so I dusted with cornstarch instead of flour. The batter was just egg, and we baked it in the oven I think around 30 minutes until golden brown. We used silicone mat for nonstick. It came out really really good, she loved it! We’ll be making it again.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Adri!! We can’t even begin to tell you how thrilled this makes us!! Sounds like you made it perfectly and what a lovely way to show your mother how much we love her. And we’re so honored that we helped a little bit. Thanks so much for letting us know and for the wonderful review. That means the world to us!!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Seth says
Looks great! Will be making for my sister when she comes to town next. Great to have the sauce recipe as well.
Kris Longwell says
Hi Seth!! Thanks much! This is one of our all-time favorite dishes! We really hope you and your sister enjoy it as much as we do. And please let us know how it turns out! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Katherine says
Very fresh, simple and delicious, thank you for sharing. I used Anaheim chilis instead and they were fine, but I’ll use Poblano next time. My finished product wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours (the batter was not sticking very well), but that’s just inspiration to keep trying! Served with spanish rice and refried beans and my teenage son and husband could not stop raving…
Katherine says
Also wanted to add that I used the Vitamix for the sauce so didn’t feel the need to strain it.
Kris Longwell says
Wow! Katherine! That all sounds wonderful. Glad you had success with the anaheim peppers! When you can, give the poblano’s a go, we think you’ll like them a lot, too. The batter definitely can be tricky when getting it to stick. Just takes practice, but sounds like you did fantastic. Thanks SO MUCH for letting us know and the great review. That means the world to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley