Chile Relleno Casserole
No frying, no stuffing, but plenty of tasty Chile Relleno flavor.
Chile Relleno has to be one of the most well-loved Mexican dishes in existence. Because what’s not to love about a pepper that’s stuffed with ooey-gooey cheese, coated in an eggy batter and then fried? There’s just not a lot to argue with there, which is why we’ve taken the very same combination and transformed it into a casserole. You get all of the same flavors but you don’t have to stuff or fry a thing!
Normally your Chile Relleno would be plated with a tomato-y sauce but in this case, it’s incorporated into the casserole. You just sauté some onions, garlic, and crushed tomatoes to form a quick sauce and spread it in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Now, it’s pretty common for a Chile Relleno to be a vegetarian option, but our casserole features spicy chorizo so it’s plenty hearty.
On top of the tomato sauce, you layer canned green chiles, cotija and Monterey Jack, and the chorizo.
A quick mixture of eggs, baking powder, and flour takes the place of the fried batter. Here, it gets poured over the top of the casserole and it bakes into a topping with the same light and airy texture.
It’s such a yummy bake – a little spicy, plenty cheesy, and that same green chile and light batter combo you know and love from the original Chile Relleno. It’s a crowd pleaser if I’ve ever seen one and it just so happens it’s also super simple to make!
Chile Relleno Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 (7 oz each) cans whole green chiles
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 lb chorizo sausage
- 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
- 1 1/2 cups cotija cheese, crumbled
- 12 eggs
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add onion and cook until onion has softened, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in crushed tomatoes and oregano and let simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, brown the chorizo sausage in a separate skillet until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Spread tomato sauce in bottom of baking dish.
- Slice green chiles wide open, rinse out any seeds, then drain. Arrange half of the chiles over tomato sauce.
- Sprinkle chiles with half of the cotija and Monterey Jack, followed by the chorizo. Layer with remaining green chiles.
- Whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour evenly over casserole and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake until eggs are set but soft and top starts to brown, about 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes.