Baked Chile Rellenos

These Baked Chiles Rellenos are a healthier take on the classic Mexican dish! Broiled poblano peppers are stuffed with a turkey and veggie filling then baked instead of fried. This baked version of the authentic Mexican recipe comes together in just 30 minutes and is full of fresh flavors. Plus it can be made vegan too!

This is one of our favorite weeknight dinner recipes thanks to it being so simple to make and also reheating beautifully – it’s the perfectly lunch recipe the next day. Stuff with your favorite ground meat, veggies, spices, beans and even rice to make a pepper that is customized for each person!

With similar flavors to the Authentic Mexican fried chiles rellenos, ours are broiled for an easier, quicker, and healthier version of the recipe that’s truly a weeknight meal winner! Served with our insanely flavorful roasted salsa verde and cashew cream, you can’t go wrong with this pepper recipe.

What are Chiles Rellenos?

If you’ve had chiles rellenos before, you probably know they aren’t the healthiest choice on a cantina’s menu. The recipe starts with a broiled and charred poblano pepper, stuffed with meat and cheese. The poblano is then dredged and fried to finish for the ultimate comfort food.

We wanted to create a lighter and healthier version of the classic authentic recipe, so got to recipe testing. After several versions of testing, we created this foolproof baked version of the recipe that still packs so much flavor. Plus it’s less messy to make in your kitchen too, no deep frying necessary!

In our baked recipe, the roasted poblano chiles are stuffed with a mixture of lean turkey (or chicken), black beans, crunchy jicama, spices, and a touch of cashew cream. Then a sprinkle of shredded cheese, a quick broil, and a dose of roasted salsa verde creates a satisfying meal you can feel good about.

Bonus points, this recipe can be easily made vegetarian or vegan but subbing out the meat with other veggies.

Ingredients

• Pantry ingredients: olive oil, kosher salt, pepper
• Poblano chiles: poblanos are dark green in color with a thin flesh. They are mild but have a very present pepperiness. Find them in the chilled produce area next to other long peppers.
  Ground turkey: opt for a lean ground turkey, something around 93% lean.
• Onion: I prefer to use white onion, though you can also use yellow onion.
• Garlic: fresh is best! You’ll need 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic which should be about 2 large cloves.
• Spices: ground cumin and chili powder are the only spices you’ll need for this recipe. Cumin adds floral earthiness while chili powder adds mild spice and depth of flavor.
• Jicama: this adds the most delicious crunchy texture to these chiles rellenos! A must in my opinion. Look for it in the produce area. Jicama has a tough brown skin (usually coated in wax) and a crisp pure-white interior.
• Black beans: canned black beans add creaminess, protein and fiber to the fish.
• Serrano or jalapeño: for a spicier dish, use serrano. For a more mild dish, use a jalapeño. You can further control the heat by either keeping the ribs and seeds intact (spicier) or removing them (more mild).
• Lime: a dash of fresh lime juice balances out the flavors and brightens up the savoriness of the dish.
• Cilantro: fresh cilantro adds a brightness to the filling and pairs nicely with the other flavors. If you don’t like cilantro, you can substitute with parsley.
• Cashew cream, sour cream or large-curd cottage cheese: I love using cashew cream here—it’s just so unbelievably lucious. However, sour cream or cottage cheese will also work!
• Cheese: Chihuahua cheese or Monterey Jack cheese are both great options here. Look for Chihuahua cheese in the Mexican aisle of your grocery store, or better yet, your local Mexican market.

How to Make Baked Chiles Rellenos

This healthier version of chiles rellenos is easy to make, ready in 30 minutes, and it sure to satisfy! Here is how to make them:

1. Roast the poblanos under the broiler until nicely charred on all sides.

2. Transfer roasted poblanos to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam.

3. Cook the turkey, onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper until turkey is browned and cooked through.

4. Add the jicama, beans and serrano to turkey mixture and briefly cook to warm through.

5. Remove the turkey mixture from the heat and add the lime juice, cilantro and cashew cream (or sour cream).

6. Peel the poblanos.

7. Then halve the poblanos lengthwise and remove the seeds.

8. Stuff the poblanos with the turkey mixture. Then top with cheese and broil until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Recipe Variations

• Make it vegan or vegetarian. Just swap the ground meat for crumbled tofu or additional hearty veggies liked sweet potato. We also sometimes add rice to the filling too!
• Sub cashew cream out for sour cream or Mexican crema. This is one our our favorite non-dairy alternatives for sour cream and Mexican crema. It also adds a rich and nutty flavor that’s so decadent. You can also use large-curd cottage cheese.
• Swap the meat. We are using ground turkey here to lighten the recipe up, but you can also use ground chicken or ground beef, both would be delicious.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

These chiles rellnos are great for meal prep and store wonderfully.

• For the fridge: Place in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Keep longer in the freezer: Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. They will still reheat beautifully.
• To reheat: Bake in a 300ºF oven for 10 to 15 minutes until warmed through or microwave for a couple of minutes until hot. If baking from frozen, you may need another 10 minutes of bake time until they are fully warmed through.

• Transform your leftovers into tacos! Another fun idea we love to do with our leftovers are making tacos with the filling. Scoop the filling out of the peppers and cut the poblanos into 1-inch pieces. Saute in a skillet until warmed through then place into a street taco corn or flour tortillas. Top with shredded cheese, salsa verde and cashew cream (or sour cream or Greek yogurt).

FAQs

This post was originally posted on January 26, 2017.