How to Make Chile Relleno: Authentic Mexican Chiles Rellenos Recipe

Chiles rellenos are Mexican stuffed peppers, typically battered, deep-fried, and served with salsa. There are many types of chiles rellenos, but the version found in most Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurants is made from large, mild poblano peppers (sometimes incorrectly labeled pasilla peppers) stuffed with Oaxacan cheese and served with tomato sauce or salsa roja.

Chiles rellenos can also be made with Anaheim peppers, jalapeños, or—a favorite in New Mexico—Hatch chiles. Some variations on chiles rellenos include:

• Chiles en nogado, from Puebla, Mexico, which are covered in walnut sauce and topped with pomegranate seeds.
• Chiles rellenos con picadillo, which are stuffed with spiced beef and raisins.
• Chiles rellenos de puerco, which use pork as a stuffing.
• Chiles rellenos divorciados, which are served with both a red sauce and a green sauce.

There are a few secrets to making restaurant-quality chiles rellenos.

1. 1. Broil the poblanos. When charred, poblano peppers take on a deeper sweetness, and their skins are easier to remove. Since deep-frying them barely cooks the peppers, you’ll want to char them first on a grill, a gas burner, or the simplest method: in the broiler.
2. 2. Use cheese that melts easily. Traditionally, chiles rellenos are made with Oaxacan cheese, which melts easily and becomes stringy. If you can’t find Oaxacan cheese, try substituting another cheese that melts well, such as low-moisture mozzarella, mild cheddar cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese. Queso fresco and cotija won’t melt and are better as toppings, added after the chiles are cooked.
3. 3. Shallow fry the chiles. At restaurants, chiles rellenos are often deep-fried. If you don’t have a deep-fryer at home, you can achieve similar results by shallow-frying in a deep pan. Work in small batches of two to three chiles at a time to avoid lowering the temperature of the oil.
4. 4. Bake instead of frying. Baked chiles rellenos won’t have the same crispy crust as the deep-fried version, but they’ll have a wonderful roasted-poblano flavor and the same melty cheese.
5. 5. Freeze peppers after stuffing. One of the hardest parts of making chiles rellenos is preventing the delicate stuffed peppers from falling apart. To make the peppers easier to fry, try freezing them. After stuffing the peppers, arrange them in a single layer on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and freeze about 20–30 minutes.