Chile Relleno Egg Batter Recipe (Traditional Cheese-Stuffed Poblanos)

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What are Chiles Rellenos?

The classic chiles rellenos (CHEE-lays reh-YAY-nohs) dish includes roasted poblanos filled with cheese (or sometimes ground beef or shredded chicken). The stuffed poblanos are then battered in whipped egg, lightly fried, and simmered in a red tomato sauce.

How to Make Chile Relleno Egg Batter

Traditional chile relleno batter is just whipped eggs and a light dusting of flour. There’s no flour stirred into the batter itself. Use about 1 egg for every 2 poblanos.

1. Separate the eggs while they’re cold, then let the whites sit for a few minutes. Slightly warmer whites whip higher.
2. Whip the whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes in a stand mixer.
3. Gently fold in 2 of the yolks, one at a time. Stirring hard deflates the batter.
4. Roll each stuffed pepper lightly in flour and shake off the excess, then dip it in the batter. The flour is what makes the batter stick.
5. Fry right away in oil at about 350°F. Whipped egg batter starts to deflate within 10 minutes.

If your batter comes out flat, the whites weren’t whipped stiff enough or the batter sat too long. If it slides off, the peppers were damp or the flour was skipped. If it’s greasy, the oil wasn’t hot enough.

What Chile Peppers are Best for Chiles Rellenos?

The classic pepper for rellenos is the poblano. Its size and sturdiness make it a good option for stuffing. You will see all kinds of roasted chile peppers in Mexican cooking, but the poblano lends itself best to stuffing.

Some cooks that prefer more spice may use very large jalapenos. You could opt for Anaheim peppers if you prefer less spice.

Poblanos are one of the chiles I grow at Heathglen Farm, and when they’re dried they become anchos. My guide to Mexican chile peppers, fresh and dried explains how the two differ in the kitchen.

How to Roast, Peel and De-seed Chile Peppers

Roasting:

The typical method for roasting the chiles is on an ungreased comal or in a cast-iron skillet over high heat, turning them over every couple of minutes. The goal is uniform blistering, and it will take 10-15 minutes to get there.

Once they are blistered, place them in a bowl covered with a plate or a sealed plastic container for about 10 minutes.

I find it easier to place the peppers on a sheet pan and put it under the broiler on high, turning them when they start to blister.

Some people will just hold them over a gas burner on high with a pair of tongs, but I find this to be way too time-consuming.

Peeling:

When they are cool enough to handle, gently remove the charred skin from the peppers, trying not to tear them as they will be pretty tender.

Use the back of a knife to remove the larger pieces of skin and then pick the smaller pieces off with your fingers. Take some care to get all of the peel off as it can be quite bitter.

De-seeding:

After the skin is removed, slit the pepper from the stem to the tip and gently reach in and remove the membranes and the seeds. Don’t rinse the chiles as it can remove some of the flavor.

Are Chile Rellenos Spicy?

Generally speaking the poblanos in chiles rellenos give the dish a mild heat.

Like all chile peppers however, the spiciness of poblanos varies from farm to farm and from season to season. As a general rule, the more stressed the peppers are the spicier they will be. This is why peppers grown in hot, arid conditions are often quite a bit hotter than those grown in temperate climates.

The membranes and the seeds carry the most heat, so if you clean them thoroughly they will not be as spicy.

If you want a spicier version of rellenos, you might try using the dried Ancho chile, and reconstituting it before stuffing. Dried anchos have a deeper, sweeter, raisin-like flavor than fresh poblanos.

Using dried and reconstituted anchos for your rellenos won’t be as traditional but you would save yourself the roasting and peeling and deseeding.

Soft, Crispy, or Baked Chile Rellenos

I recently ordered chile rellenos at the Rio Grande Mexican restaurant in Boulder, Colorado after an annual hike with my son and they came two ways on one plate, one fried and one baked.

In this case, the fried one was the clear winner. I loved that the shell was crispy but not hard like an overly deep-fried one. It made me realize there’s more than one right way to enjoy them. Here are three different styles of chile rellenos. As they say…”it’s all good”.

• Soft (this recipe): Fried just until puffed, then simmered in tomato sauce, so the egg coating turns tender and soaks up the sauce. This is the home-style version I learned from mi amiga. It is also the way we learned to make them at the Seasons of my Heart cooking school in Oaxaca, Mexico.
• Crispy: The same batter, fried in a little more oil and served straight from the pan with the sauce spooned over the top. This is the restaurant style you’ll see across the Southwest. In Colorado and New Mexico they’re often smothered in green chile, and my roasted chile verde sauce works beautifully here.
• Baked: Skip the batter, nestle the stuffed peppers in the tomato sauce, top with cheese, and bake at 400°F until bubbling. This is how I make them when I’m eating slow carb. Without the batter, they’re closer to stuffed poblano pepper recipe.
• Chile relleno casserole is another no-fry option: chopped poblanos, ground beef, tomatoes, and cheese baked under an egg batter. This would be similar to my chile verde enchilada casserole recipe.

Chile Rellenos without frying

When poblano chiles are made without frying in the egg batter they are referred to as stuffed poblano peppers. They are very good, but most Mexican cooks do not view them as traditional rellenos.

Another way to enjoy the chile rellenos ingredients is as a casserole. Typically a chiles rellenos casserole will mix fresh chopped poblano peppers with ground beef, canned tomatoes, spices and cheese. An egg batter is then poured over the casserole dish and baked in the oven.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

The following photo shows you all the ingredients you will need for this recipe. For details on measurements, see the recipe below.

The pepper: Poblanos are definitely the go-to pepper to use for rellenos. If you want it to be spicier, you could substitute in large jalapenos or you could use the dried ancho pepper and reconstitute it in liquid.

The batter: The traditional batter consists of mostly whipped egg whites with a few of the yolks added in towards the end of the whipping process.

The Sauce: Some rendition of a red tomato-based sauce is a typical accompaniment. If fresh tomatoes are out of season, use canned tomatoes (which are better than bad fresh tomatoes).

The Stuffing:

A melting cheese like whole-milk mozzarella or a good queso is the most common stuffing for rellenos. If you want it to be a more protein-rich dinner entre however, ground beef, shredded chicken or sometimes shrimp is often added.

The added protein would help make the dinner complete if you are following a low carb lifestyle.

Common stuffing ingredients might include:

• Rice
• Ground beef
• Shredded chicken
• Beans
• Shrimp
• Different cheeses

Poblanos, dried anchos, and good melting cheese are essentials for anyone cooking Mexican food regularly. For the full list of Mexican pantry staples from dried chiles to masa harina, here’s a guide to getting your kitchen set up.

Are Chile Rellenos Slow Carb?

Because the poblanos are large peppers and the filling is often rich with cheese, most people will only have one stuffed pepper. The rellenos themselves are low carb, but often the side dishes which accompany it, like rice and tortillas, are not compliant.

Typically some flour is dusted on the peppers to help the egg adhere better, and flour is not slow carb compliant. It is not much flour however, and you can substitute in almond flour if you want to avoid all purpose flour.

Foregoing the rice or tortillas and having two of the stuffed peppers keeps this dish in the low carb or slow carb category. Adding beans as a side would be compliant with slow carb, but not strictly low carb.

See this article if you want to learn more about the similarities and differences between Low Carb, Slow Carb and Keto diets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Similar Types of Mexican Rellenos

Poblanos are used in a range of traditional Mexican dishes. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Mexican Rajas con Queso
• Poblanos in Cream Sauce
• Mexican Turkey Chili with Squash, Poblanos, and Black Beans
• Mexican Pumpkin Ancho Soup
• Low Carb Stuffed Bell Peppers or Poblano Peppers