Vegetarian friendly

Chile relleno

published

Aug 2026

It's pepper season at the farmer's markets, so we are eating chile rellenos.

Chile relleno is a traditional Mexican dish in which chiles (typically large mild ones like poblano) are stuffed with cheese and deep-fried after being dipped in egg. To avoid the frying, I have developed this recipe to approximate my favorite version, from La Estrellita restaurant in Seattle. It is one of our family favorites now. La Estrellita served it in individual baking dishes, with two stuffed chiles smothered in sauce and topped with a crispy egg and cheese mix. I make my version with all of the chiles together in a rectangular casserole dish to make it easier to do for a family.

Ingredients

  • 10–12 whole poblano chiles (fresh or canned, seeded — enough to fill the dish)
  • 16 oz good quality salsa (red or green)
  • ~1 cup sliced green onions
  • 4 oz sliced black olives
  • ~8 oz cheddar cheese, grated (adjust to taste)
  • Pepper Jack or Jack cheese, cut into sticks or pieces that fit inside the chiles [quantity?]
  • Chili powder (ancho preferred, but others work well) [quantity?]
  • 6–8 eggs, separated
  • ~¼ cup flour
  • Cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Spray a rectangular casserole dish with cooking spray and arrange chiles evenly along the bottom. Remove any seeds or stem remnants, and stuff the insides of the peppers with Jack cheese.
  2. Cover with salsa, olives, and green onions.
  3. Separate the eggs so that the whites end up in a medium to large bowl. Drop the yolks into a small bowl. Stir the yolks to blend them.
  4. Add chili powder to the whites, and beat them with a hand or stand mixer until pretty stiff. Sift in the flour gradually during this process.
  5. When the egg whites are pretty stiff, fold in the blended yolks and one third of the cheddar cheese.
  6. Spoon the mixture over the stuffed chiles gently, and sprinkle with the rest of the cheddar cheese.
  7. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350°F oven. The egg mixture will puff up like a soufflé, so be sure there are no oven racks above. When the egg has puffed up and is moderately browned, it is done (usually 30–45 minutes).

Enjoy!

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