This chiles rellenos casserole recipe stuffs roasted poblano peppers with corn, black beans, sweet bell pepper, and cheese and bakes them inside an egg bake for a fabulous brunch dish. Thanks to a little baking powder mixed into the eggs, this casserole may remind you of a soufflรฉ, but so much easier.
Make this casserole ahead up to when you slide it into the oven to bake, cover and refrigerate overnight, and bake off the next morning in time for brunch.
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Need a perfect brunch dish for a special brunch party coming up on the calendar? This recipe is just the ticket, and you don't have to wait for Cinco de Mayo to make it. It's great all year round.
For more brunch recipes, go check out my post for vegetarian brunch ideas for your next party.
๐คทโโ๏ธ What are classic chiles rellenos?
Chiles rellenos (also seen as chilis rellenos, chili relleno, and chile relleno) translates as stuffed peppers, and refers to whole green chiles. Poblano peppers are typically used.
First, the peppers are roasted, peeled and seeded. A long slit is cut, the pepper is stuffed, and then coated with egg and fried. The stuffing is usually cheese, but can include meat and / or corn.
I did a week-long cooking class in Mexico a few years ago, and this was one of the many dishes we made. They are a little tricky to transfer to a fryer since they're slit lengthwise and stuffed, but they're totally worth the effort.
โค๏ธ Why you'll love this recipe
- Much easier than a traditional chiles rellenos, while still keeping the great flavors.
- Make this dish ahead up to when you bake it. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Great for a crowd, brunch parties, or a family meal.
- This dish also works great as a breakfast-for-dinner dish.
๐ง Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minutes meal or less.
For the all of the ingredients, measurements and directions for this chiles rellenos casserole recipe, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Red onion - I recommend this type of onion over white or yellow onions as they macerate in a little red wine vinegar before they're added to the stuffing.
- Poblano chiles - most markets carries these chiles, but if you can't find them, use Hatch or Anaheim chiles.
- Corn - either fresh or frozen is fine.
- Black beans - canned, frozen or cooked from dried beans.
- Red bell peppers
- Cojita cheese - or other mild Mexican cheese, such as Queso Fresco.
- Manchego cheese - or use only cojita cheese.
- Eggs - I always buy pastured eggs (eggs from chickens that are pasture raised). They're much healthier for you.
- Monterey Jack cheese - or any melty cheese you like.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.
๐ช Recommended Equipment
- Chef's knife
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper - for lining the baking sheet
- 9" X 13" baking dish
- Whisk
๐ฉโ๐ณ Why This Recipe Works
- Adding baking powder to the eggs means they bake up fluffy, like a soufflรฉ. But without the work of whipping up egg whites and folding them in, as you do with a regular soufflรฉ.
- This chile rellenos casserole recipe is really two dishes in one with whole, stuffed peppers, and the egg bake they cook in.
- The whole stuffed peppers makes it easy to portion out individual servings.
โฐ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- 12 eggs is a lot to whisk up, so using the whisk attachment with my stick blender makes it go so much faster and easier.
- Roast, peel and seed the pepper ahead of time. Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Make the entire dish up to when you slide it into the oven, cover with plastic, and refrigerate overnight before baking off the next morning for brunch.
- I prefer to grate my own cheese, but packaged, pre-shredded Mexican cheese blends work fine in this recipe. This blend can be used in place of the manchego cheese and added to the eggs at the end.
๐กIdeas for Possible Variations
- Add ยฝ cup cooked quinoa for extra protein.
- Experiment with different cheeses and use Pepper Jack, Colby, and cheddar cheese instead of Monterey jack cheese.
- Pinto beans could be used in place of the black beans.
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Chiles Rellenos Casserole Recipe with Eggs
Equipment
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced red onion ยฝ large onion
- ยผ cup red wine vinegar
- 6 poblano chiles
- 2 ears corn about โ cup
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- ยฝ cup diced red pepper
- ยฝ cup cotija cheese grated, or other Mexican mild cheese
- 1 cup manchego cheese grated, divided
- 12 large eggs
- โ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt (or ยผ teaspoon sea salt) to taste
- ยผ teaspoon black pepper
- ยผ cup your favorite cheese I've used goat, colby and jack cheeses and all are great
Instructions
- Marinate the red onion in the red wine vinegar in a small bowl for 30 minutes.
- Turn the broiler on and lay the poblano chiles out on a baking sheet. Cut a tiny slit in the top of each chile and broil until the skin blackens. Turn the peppers over as needed to evenly blacken the skin. I broil poblano peppers in my toaster oven for 10 minutes, flip them oven, and broil another 10 minutes.Remove the peppers from the oven, and reset the oven to 375หF. Either wrap the peppers in foil, slide into a ziplock bag, or stack in a plastic container you can seal. Let the peppers sit until cooled. Carefully peel the skin. Cut a slit all the way down the front of each pepper and carefully remove all the seeds using a spoon or small knife.
- Cut the kernels from the corn cobs and in a large bowl, mix the corn kernels with the black beans, diced red pepper, cotija cheese and ยพ cup of the manchego. Add the red onion and the red wine vinegar and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill the peppers with the corn filling and arrange in a baking pan.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl with the flour and baking powder until thoroughly combined. Add ยผ cup manchego cheese and ยผ cup of your favorite melty cheese -- Cheddar, Jack, and colby are all good choices. Whisk thoroughly and pour around the peppers in the baking dish. (Or use ยฝ cup of your favorite cheese.)
- Bake in the top โ of the oven for 30 -45 minutes, or until the eggs are set in the middle. Rest the casserole for 10 minutes to let the eggs to set up, and serve warm.
Rodger Helwig
Love chiles rellenos! What a wonderful twist on this classic. Would be great as a brunch item.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Rodger! This would be a PERFECT brunch item!! Or a very casual dinner with a salad.
lizthechef
Love the "WVWarning" - this is a keeper, as this is the "hottest" pepper my husband actually enjoys. A wonderfully updated version of the classic...
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Liz! I think Larry would like this. By the time you thoroughly roast the chiles, much of their heat is gone. I hope you have a chance to try it!
gluttonforlife
This looks delicious and is a kissing cousin to my Mom's chile relleno casserole! (A longtime family favorite and a great way to use leftover pot roast.) http://gluttonforlife.com/2010/05/09/remembering-june/
The Wimpy Vegetarian
What a great idea! This kind of dish offers up lots of opportunities for ingredient options! Hope your back is feeling better!!
Hannah
This will definitely be a family favorite! Chiles, cheese, eggs, beans - say no more. My stomach is rumbling...wish I had this for breakfast right now. ๐
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Hannah! I can tell you it didn't last very long here. I hope you try it!!
Bevi
This looks terrific. I am not much of a cook when it comes to anything other than French toast, pancakes, and simple eggs. This looks like a good place to start branching out!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Bevi!! And I don't believe that for a minute, girlfriend! But, I do think you won't be disappointed in this granola. Just make sure you toss it around a bit at intervals when baking. Otherwise, the sugar in it can make it burn a bit....which is NOT what you typically want in a flavor profile...:-)
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Bevi! You're a wonderful cook, so you'll be fine with this. It's not difficult at all, and so much of it can be made ahead of time, making it a great breakfast/brunch for houseguests over the holidays (or really anytime at all). I'd love to hear how it goes if you make it! Boulangere is testing it this weekend for the Food52 Community Picks thingy.
Susan
How well does this re-heat if made completely the day before?
-Thanks
๐
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Good question! I honestly don't know. I've never done it. But I would be a little concerned about the texture of the eggs in the reheating. I wondering if they would dry out a bit. But I'm only guessing. I think it would be fine to assemble it, leave it in the refrigerator, and then cook it the next day, but not sure about cooking and then reheating (if you're looking for a way to simplify the preparation). Hope that helps!
Susan
Thank you for your're reply!
I'm actually wanting to take it to a second location and want it to be warm, when it's time to eat. Taking it uncooked sounds a bit sloshy. Lol
The Wimpy Vegetarian
The sloshy part would not work well. LOL. One solution would be to assemble the day before, bake it off that morning before you leave the house, and then just rewarm at your destination. I'm just afraid that if you cook it the day before and refrigerate it, it will become also more dense through the refrigeration, losing the fluffiness it has. Just more thoughts ๐