Chile Relleno

This cheesy Mexican-style Chile Rellenos recipe is made with roasted poblano peppers, homemade salsa, and a light egg batter. Delicious & vegetarian! The post Chile Relleno appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Apr 29, 2025 - 14:37

Mexican night goes fully vegetarian with these crispy, flavorful, budget-friendly Chile Rellenos! The deep flavor from the poblano peppers is perfectly complimented by the subtly spicy homemade salsa, creamy cheese, and the super light fry batter. The natural flavors of each ingredient really come together to make this meal a showstopper. I’ll warn you, it’s not effortless! But the result is delicious and absolutely worth the extra effort.

Side view of a homemade chile relleno on a plate with a slice though the end.

Easy Recipe for Chile Relleno

These chile rellenos are roasted, peeled, and gently stuffed with creamy cheese before being dipped in an airy whipped egg batter and pan-fried until golden. I then serve these stuffed peppers with a rich, slightly spicy tomato salsa made from scratch. Believed to have originated in Puebla, Mexico, chile rellenos have long been a favorite for their rich flavors and the impressive hands-on care that goes into making them.

My recipe stays true to the spirit of the traditional dish while using ingredients that are a little more approachable for the home kitchen. And while you can make four servings at home for the price of one restaurant entrée, you’ve still gotta work for it! If nothing else, learning how to cook foods from other cultures deepens my appreciation for the kitchen staff at my favorite local restaurants even more—and it already runs deep.

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Chile Relleno Recipe

This cheesy Mexican-style Chile Rellenos recipe is made with roasted poblano peppers, homemade salsa, and a light egg batter. Delicious & vegetarian!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Total Cost $9.45 recipe / $2.36 serving

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 30

Total Time 55

Servings servings (1 pepper each)

Calories 694kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper
Blender (Optional)
Hand Mixer

Ingredients

1 yellow onion diced $0.78
1 Tbsp olive oil $0.19
1 tsp salt $0.02
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.23
1 tsp ground cumin $0.08
4 poblano peppers $2.64
1 28 oz. crushed tomatoes 1 can $1.52
1 10 oz. diced tomatoes with green chiles 1 can $0.96
5 cloves garlic minced $0.21
1 cup shredded queso cheese $0.98*
3 eggs $1.23
½ cup all-purpose flour $0.08
½ cup vegetable oil $0.45
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro for garnish $0.08

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400℉.
Dice onion and sauté on medium heat with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin until softened, about 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, on a lined baking sheet, place 4 poblano peppers. You want them to bake as-is (no oil or seasoning) for 10 minutes. Then, flip and bake for another 10 minutes.
Once finished in the oven, transfer peppers to a heat-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap so they will steam, loosening up the skin even further. You will peel them later once they have cooled.
To the sautéed onions, add canned crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chiles, and minced garlic. Stir and turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Optional step: Once the sauce has simmered for 15-20 minutes, purée it until smooth in a blender. Then, pour the sauce back into your original sauté pan and simmer on low.**
After the peppers have steamed for 10 minutes or so, gently peel them and cut a slit down the middle of each with a knife. They will be very tender, so be careful to not cut through to the other side. You want the pepper to function as a vessel for the cheese in the next step!
Carefully seed each pepper. This step is a bit tricky, so be careful! It’s easy to do with a little patience and a spoon.
Carefully tuck ¼ cup of shredded queso cheese inside each pepper, being careful to not tear them.*** Set the stuffed peppers aside.
Separate the egg yolks into a small bowl and the egg whites into a medium mixing bowl.
Whip egg whites until they form stiff peaks using a hand mixer. Then, add one yolk at a time until well combined and fluffy.
Dip the stuffed peppers in flour and then in the egg mixture. Do this to all of them while ½ cup vegetable oil heats in a second pan. They will be kind of foamy-looking and very messy, but it makes the fry batter nice and light!
Fry each poblano pepper for about 2-3 minutes per side or until it’s gold and crispy. Do this in batches as they are fragile.
Serve immediately on top of the warm salsa. Garnish with fresh cilantro and additional cheese if you have more on hand. Enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*Slices of queso or cheddar would also work, but I went with shredded because I found it melts better despite it being a bit messier to work with!

**This step is optional. You do not have to puree the sauce. If you like it chunky and don’t want to clean a blender, you can totally skip this step!

***Be careful not to overfill your peppers, but if you can fit a little more than ¼ cup in each, go for it! You want the sides of the cut on each pepper to slightly overlap when you close them up.

Nutrition

how to make cHILE rELLENO step-by-step photos

Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 400℉. (You’ll also need some all-purpose flour and vegetable oil, but I accidentally left them out of this photo!)

Sauté the onion: Add 1 diced onion to a sauté pan over medium heat with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp cumin. Sauté for about 4 minutes or until the onion softens.

Four poblano peppers on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake the peppers: While you sauté the onions, add 4 poblano peppers to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Don’t add any oil or seasonings to the peppers; we want to bake them as is.

Kitchen tongs flipping over a roasted poblano pepper on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake the peppers in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then, flip them and bake for another 10 minutes. While the peppers bake, you can start on the sauce (see below).

Finished roasted poblano peppers on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Once done, the peppers should be browned, and the skin should be wrinkled, as shown here.

Roasted poblano peppers in a bowl, with hands covering them with plastic wrap to steam.

Steam the peppers: Immediately transfer the baked peppers to a heat-safe bowl and cover them securely with plastic wrap. The residual heat will steam the peppers and loosen the skin even more. Let them steam for about 10 minutes.

Crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with chiles, and garlic added to a skillet of sauteed onions.

Make the sauce: Pour 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 1 10 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, and 5 cloves minced garlic to the pan with your sautéed onion. Stir and turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Blend the sauce (optional): Let the sauce cool for at least 5 minutes (you shouldn’t add hot sauces to a blender straight from the stove) and then pour it into a blender.

Spicy salsa in a blender after blending.

Blend the sauce until smooth, and then pour it back into your original sauté pan and simmer on low.

Three roasted poblano peppers on a wooden cutting board, with a hand peeling the skin from one.

Prep the peppers: After the peppers have steamed for 10 minutes or so, gently peel them and cut a slit down the middle of each with a knife. They’ll be very tender and easy to slice through, so be careful not to cut all the way through to the other side. You want the pepper to function as a vessel for the cheese!

A hand holding a spoon scooping out the seeds from a roasted poblano pepper.

Gently remove the seeds with a spoon. It can be a little tricky (again, you don’t want to accidentally split the pepper beyond the slice we’ve already made), but it’s easy to do with a little patience and a spoon.

Roasted poblano peppers on a wooden cutting board being stuffed with shredded cheese.

Stuff the peppers: Carefully tuck ¼ cup of shredded queso cheese inside each pepper, being careful not to tear them. If you can fit more cheese, then go for it! But don’t overstuff them. Each side of the cut should be able to overlap to close them once stuffed.

3 egg yolks and the separated egg whites in different bowls.

Make the batter: Separate 3 egg yolks into a small bowl and the whites into a medium mixing bowl.

A hand mixer about to whip egg whites in a bowl.

Use a hand mixer to whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. When you lift the beaters, the peaks should stand straight up without drooping.

A yolk being poured into whipped egg whites in a bowl.

Now add one yolk at a time, whipping after each addition, until combined and fluffy.

A flour-dipped roasted poblano pepper being dipped into a whipped egg batter.

Pour ½ cup flour into a shallow bowl and gently roll each stuffed pepper in the flour (be sure to hold the opening closed) and then into the egg mixture, making sure it’s lightly coated all over. Do this to all of them while ½ cup vegetable oil heats in a second pan. They will be kind of foamy-looking and very messy, but it makes the fry batter nice and light!

Fry the peppers: Place each pepper into the oil and fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy. I recommend doing this in batches as they are very fragile.

Finished homemade chile rellenos on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Serve: Once they’re all fried, serve them immediately on top of the warm salsa. I garnished my chile relleno with 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro and additional cheese, as I had some extra to hand. Enjoy!

Overhead view of a chile relleno on a plate with a fork taking some.

The larger the poblano peppers, the easier they are to stuff…and the more cheesy goodness you can tuck inside! Look for ones that feel wide and sturdy at the store. Avoid any that have soft spots or look a bit shriveled.
Be gentle with the roasted peppers while you peel, deseed, and stuff them. The combination of roasting and then steaming makes them very delicate! I carefully slice an opening for stuffing with a knife and take my time to remove the seeds with a small spoon. Try not to tear the pepper, as any holes can let the cheese ooze out while frying!
I recommend frying in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Adding too many chile rellenos at once can lower the oil temperature, making them soggy instead of golden and crisp. Having more room in the pan also makes it easier for you to flip them over.
To reduce prep time, you can make the salsa sauce a day in advance and gently reheat it on the stove before serving. Then, you can concentrate on making the stuffed poblano peppers the day of!
Feel free to add in some seasoned and cooked taco meat (I’d use the one from my taco salad recipe), Mexican chorizo, or slow-cooked carnitas if you want to add some meat to your filling.

Serving Suggestions

I lay each chile relleno on a warm bed of that homemade tomato salsa and like to sprinkle any extra cheese and fresh cilantro over the top—it’s simple, but it looks and tastes amazing. To round out the meal, I love serving these with a scoop of my Spanish rice on the side. If we’re making a night of it, I’ll throw together some air fryer tortilla chips for dipping in the sauce and maybe even blend up a round of avocado margaritas. They’re creamy, zesty, and the perfect match for the tangy spiciness of the peppers.

Storage & Reheating

If you’ve got leftovers, I recommend storing the sauce and peppers in separate airtight containers in the fridge. They’ll stay good for up to 3–4 days. Reheat the sauce in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through. For the peppers, I like to reheat them in a skillet over medium heat or pop them in the oven at 350°F until heated through and crisped up. The microwave works, too, in a pinch, but the texture is best when you reheat them gently.