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Fried and grilled

Chile relleno

Roasted poblano chillies stuffed with cheese, coated in a fluffy egg batter and fried, served in tomato broth.

Chile relleno, stuffed chilli, is a roasted and peeled poblano pepper filled with cheese or with picadillo, a spiced minced meat. It is dipped in a light batter of whipped egg whites and yolks, fried until golden and puffy, and served in a thin tomato sauce. It is associated with Puebla and eaten all over Mexico.

What goes in

Oaxaca or Chihuahua cheese: 24%24%Poblano chillies: 29%29%Eggs: 14%14%Flour: 5%Tomato caldillo: 19%19%Oil: 10%10%6parts
  • Oaxaca or Chihuahua cheese524%, In thick strips.
  • Poblano chillies629%, Roasted and peeled.
  • Eggs314%, Whipped for the batter.
  • Flour15%, Dusting.
  • Tomato caldillo419%, Thin sauce.
  • Oil210%, For frying.

Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each ingredient's share of the dish.

Made step by step

Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional way, in outline.

  1. Step 1: Bake Char the poblanos over a flame, sweat them in a bag and peel.
  2. Step 2: Layer Slit each chilli and remove the seeds, keeping the stem.
  3. Step 3: Fill Stuff with strips of cheese and close with a toothpick.
  4. Step 4: Knead Whip the egg whites to peaks and fold in the yolks.
  5. Step 5: Fry Dust the chillies with flour, dip in batter and fry until golden.
  6. Step 6: Serve Serve in warm tomato caldillo with rice.
  7. Oaxaca or Chihuahua cheese: 24%24%Poblano chillies: 29%29%Eggs: 14%14%Flour: 5%Tomato caldillo: 19%19%Oil: 10%10%
    Finished Chile relleno, by share.

Puebla

The poblano chilli is named after Puebla, and the city is known for stuffed chilli dishes, including chiles en nogada, served in a walnut sauce in late summer. The cheese-stuffed chile relleno is the everyday version, sold at market stalls and cooked at home. Cooks choose a melting cheese such as Oaxaca, Chihuahua or a fresh queso, which turns soft without leaking.

The batter

The coating, called capeado, is made by whipping egg whites to peaks and folding in the yolks. The chilli is dusted with flour so the batter clings, then dipped and fried in hot oil, spooning oil over the top. The batter puffs into a light shell. Some cooks then simmer the fried chillies briefly in caldillo, a thin tomato broth.

Where it is used

Market lunchLent mealFamily dinner

The cheeses in it

Oaxaca cheeseCommon stuffing cheese.Queso ChihuahuaAnother melting choice.

Also part of it, and being written: White cheese (Fresh queso fresco is used in some regions.).

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Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text and drawings by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and kitchen makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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