This low carb Chile Rellenos Casserole has all the flavor of regular chile rellenos, but without the breading and frying.
Once a year, my girlfriend Jelayne has a Chile Rellenos party. Her family is from New Mexico, and her uncle sends a large care package of assorted Hatch chiles. Jelayne and her husband, Dan, spend the afternoon charring, filling, battering and then deep-frying dozens of chiles. The thing is, she never called them “Hatch chiles”, they were just chiles to her. Because to New Mexicans, Hatch chiles are the only chiles! (This post was originally posted on July 17th, 2013, I’ve updated the photos and the recipe. Affiliate links help offset the cost of providing free recipes, at no additional cost to you.)
You can see the layers, 3 each of chiles and cheese.
Many years later the Hatch chile craze came to Southern California, with roasting events popping up all over the city, and I finally figured that we’d been eating Hatch Chile Rellenos for years, but just didn’t know it. Now, it’s hard not to miss the word “Hatch” in August and September! There are roasting events all over the country now! If you can’t find a chile roasting event near you, you can roast them yourself.
How to roast chilies
Don’t worry if you don’t have access to Hatch chiles, you can always use poblanos, pasillas, or Anaheim chiles. There are a couple of ways to roast them. First, you can throw them on the grill, no need to do anything to them. Just rotate them until the skin is charred and blackened. 
You can also roast them over an open flame, or under the broiler. Then pop them in a brown paper sack and close. Let them sit and steam in the bag for a few minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
If you don’t use plastic gloves to remove the skins and seeds, be mindful of your hands and don’t touch your face or eyes.
The skins should peel of very easily. Scrape the seeds out and remove the stem end. I usually give them a quick rinse and pat them dry with paper towel to get the last bits of skin and char off.
Roasted chiles. The Hatch ones are the lightest green.
If you are lucky enough to pick up pre-roasted Hatch chiles, you might want to buy a case. (I did just that last weekend when I bought 10 pounds of roasted chiles from my local grocery store). What do you do with TEN pounds of Hatch chiles? Well, I’ve make Hatch Chile and Cheddar Egg Bites, which make a nice grab and go, breakfast that’s low-carb and gluten free. Or this Hatch Chile Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich, which is definitely not low-carb! (Spencer gets to eat that!) Or we’ll just dice them up and pop them in omelets or scrambled eggs.
How to Freeze Chiles
Roasted, but un-peeled Hatch chiles ready for freezing.
If you do buy more chiles than you can possibly use in a week, you’ll want to freeze them. First pat them dry or lay them flat on some paper towels to absorb some of the moisture. DO NOT PEEL them, the skins will help keep them moist. Freeze them flat in plastic bags and then stack the bags. Once they’re defrosted, the skin should easily slip off.
This low carb Hatch Chile Casserole doesn’t involve any stuffing, breading, or frying, so most of the work is in prepping the fresh chilies. Once you’ve got them skinned and cleaned, it takes just a few minutes to pull the casserole together.
We’ll have this for breakfast, lunch or even as a side dish to go with dinner. Since it’s vegetarian, it also makes a great entree. Did I mention that it works well with a Keto diet too?
Step 1:
Roast, skin and rinse chiles. Pat dry on a paper towel.
Pat dry the roasted, skinned and seeded chiles.
Step 2:
Lightly grease a baking dish with olive oil. Line chiles on the bottom of baking dish.
Layer chiles in casserole dish.
Step 3:
Layer 1/3 of the cotija and sharp cheddar over chiles.
Layer 1/3 of both cheeses over chiles.
Step 4:
Add another layer of chiles.
Step 5:
Repeat, ending with a layer of both cotija and cheddar cheeses on top layer. Beat eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl and pour over chiles and cheese.
Bake at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly.
Some of the items used in this post are available at my Amazon store.
Chiles are layered with two kinds of cheese and baked. This recipes serves 6-8 depending on whether you're serving it as a main dish, side dish or breakfast casserole.
- 1 1/2 pounds chiles, Hatch, poblanos, pasilla, or Anaheim chiles, charred, skins and seeds removed.
- 6 ounces queso fresco or cotija cheese, you can also substitute ricotta cheese for a similar texture and flavor.
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
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Roast chiles under the broiler or on a charcoal grill, turning often, until the skin is blackened. Place them in a paper bag and close tightly. When chiles are cool enough to handle, pull away and discard the seed and inside veins.
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
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Brush olive oil on the bottom of a 10.5" x 7.5" baking dish. Line with chiles.
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Cover chiles with about 2 ounces of crumbled cotija and 4 ounces of shredded cheddar. Repeat, ending with cheeses on top.
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In a bowl, beat 4 eggs, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over chiles and cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 40 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let rest 5-10 minutes to set.
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Casserole can be frozen. Cut into squares and wrap well.
Mimi says
Those chiles are absolutely beautiful!
Cynthia says
Thanks Mimi!
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says
Wowza, this looks awesome! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂
Hope your week is great!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Cynthia says
Thank you Cindy!
Mimi says
This is really lovely. I like the two cheeses, too. Without tortillas it’s definitely low carb, but also delicious!
Jere Cassidy says
I love roasting chilis and peppers, the flavor is wonderful. Great post to show how to do it correctly.
Cynthia says
It was something we learned in cooking school…(the brown paper sack part). I’ve noticed that chile roasters at events just put them in boxes, but I think the skins peel off much more easily if they have a chance to steam for a few minutes.
Jeanette says
Plastic bags work much better than paper
Cynthia says
I do try to avoid plastic…especially with something hot which could release chemicals.
Mary says
My mom and dad are both from NM and we grew up with Hatch peppers and the wonderful aroma of them roasting and of course the taste.
My mom would like the roasted chilies on a moist kitchen towel and then placed in the refrigerator to cool off to await peeling them. Yum!
Cynthia says
Wow! Lucky you! I really only caught the Hatch chilie “bug” 10 years ago. They are awesome! That reminds me…I have some in the freezer I need to defrost!
Natalie says
Looks so delicious and comforting! Such a great idea for dinner!
Tara says
Such a comforting casserole! I love all that cheese. I am still kicking myself for not trying a single Hatch Chile when we drove through New Mexico during our cross country move this summer.
Brian Jones says
What a great sounding recipe, I love all things chili so this is definitely for me.
Amy | The Cook Report says
This looks so amazingly cheesy!
Ginny says
I’ve been to Hatch, New Mexico and I cherish recipes using that beautiful chile. It looks like you did a beautiful classic recipe. Thanks!
Cynthia says
Thank you Ginny! I’ve been to Santa Fe and Albuquerque, but never Hatch!
Kristina says
Hello,
I made this wonderful dish last week. Amazing! SUch a great fall meal. I was wondering if you have the nutritional breakdown for those watching their macros. Thanks for posting !
Cynthia says
Thank you Kristina! I am working on getting nutritional info on my site. the only carbs are really from the chiles though.
Priya Shiva says
wow! This looks so creamy and those roasted chillies would be absolutely delicious!
Cynthia says
thank you Priya! I love roasted chilies!
Matt @ Plating Pixels says
What a great idea. Been trying to cut back on carbs and these look great.
Jeff the Chef says
I’m not super into chilis per se, but I love them in other things, and there are few other things I love as much as I love cheese!
Cynthia says
haha! Me too…I could never give up cheese!
John says
very nice… i really like your blog…
Cynthia says
Thank you John!
sue | the view from great island says
This is one of my favorite Mexican dishes, but I never thought to make them with Hatch chiles, this is genius!
Cynthia says
I love the taste of Hatch chiles and chiles rellenos, but not all the carbs!
Mona says
How many carbs per serving?
Cynthia says
under 5 per serving. The only thing with carbs are the chilies and they’re only 2grams per cup. hope that helps.
Carrie says
Delicious! I didn’t have fresh chilies so I used a 25 oz can of whole Ortega Green Chilies. I also added chili powder and cumin to the egg mixture. I think in the future, I would use 5 or 6 eggs to add a bit more structure to the pieces.
Cynthia says
Canned chilies work just great! The good thing about adding more eggs is you’re just getting more protein! Chopped green onions would be great too. My oldest daughter has a strong aversion to cumin, but I love it…Sounds great.
Maria A Flores says
If you rinse the chiles they lose their flavor, just clean with a paper towel
Cynthia says
Great to know! I can’t ever seem to get all the seeds out unless I rinse them, I’ll try that next time!
Om says
Thank you for sharing very good recipe, god bless you dear.
Cynthia says
You’re very welcome!
Vicki Traylor says
Can this be out together the night before?
Cynthia says
Out together? You can make it the night before, but it will need to be refrigerated. It lasts for 2-3 days in the fridge.
Kathryn says
Just made these tonight for my husband. We thought they were delicious! I used poblano peppers. I will definitely be making them again. Thank you!
Mary Ker says
I added soyrizo (vegan chorizo) to this and took it to a brunch where there was a ton of other delicious food, and every scrap was eaten and I as asked for the recipe. I was concerned that there was no milk to make it a custard, but it as great!
Cynthia says
The addition of chorizo or soyrizo would be fabulous!