These cheesy chicken poblanos rellenos is a dinner (or breakfast) from heaven. Each poblano is stuffed with ground chicken, corn, black beans and a blend of cheeses. Baked in the oven in a cheesy egg mixture and topped with a quick tomato salsa, this light dinner is packed with flavor.

Recipe Inspo

Living in Chicago, we have great exposure to some fabulous Mexican restaurants. I had a different rendition of this dish, which was closer to a more traditional chile relleno dish.

I recently learned that chile rellenos was originated in Mexico in the mid 1800’s. The dish usually involves poblanos, jalapeños or other chile peppers. The peppers are then stuffed with cheese. I wanted to add a few more ingredients to make the peppers a more balanced dinner (plus my stomach needs a little more than cheese :))

What are chile rellenos?

So a more traditional chile relleno is stuffed with cheese and then dredged in an egg mixture and then fried until golden brown. It’s really delicious and typically topped with some kind of red or green salsa.

This recipe is a slightly different rendition of this. Instead of frying the peppers in egg batter, the peppers bake is a cheesy egg mixture. It all melts together so well!

Equipment needed to make cheesy chicken poblanos rellenos

Here’s what you need to make this dish:

A cast iron skillet – this is the easiest tool for this dish because you can cook the chicken, prep the peppers and bake them in the oven. Mine is from Le Creuset here.
A sharp knife for chopping.
Tongs – the easiest tool to rotate and char our poblanos.
A whisk – to combine our egg batter.

Ingredients for cheesy chicken poblanos rellenos

½ lb lean ground chicken – you can easily swap ground turkey, ground pork, anything!
4 poblano peppers – you could use bell peppers if you really wanted.
1 ear of corn – just slice off the kernels
¼ cup of black beans – I didn’t drain them! The extra liquid is great for our chicken stuffing.
¼ cup cilantro
1 tsp oregano
Juice of one lime
1 cup Monterey jack cheese – shredded
⅓ cup of mozzarella cheese – diced
A cup of milk – almond or dairy milk works fine
2 eggs
1 roma tomato – diced
¼ cup red onion – diced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions

Let’s make Cheesy Chicken Poblanos Rellenos!

Step 1

Char the peppers. Preheat the oven to 375°F. If you have a gas stove, turn one burner on high heat and use the tongs to hold a poblano pepper over the flame. Char the poblano pepper, flipping the pepper back and forth for about 1-2 minutes. It should look blistered. Repeat for all 4 peppers. Then place the peppers on a plate and cover them with foil to continue cooking for 10 or so minutes.

If you don’t have a gas stove, place the peppers on a sheet pan and put the stove in broil mode. Roast the peppers for a few minutes, flipping them frequently until charred.

Step 2

Cook the chicken. Add olive oil to the cast iron and heat over medium high heat. Add the chicken and brown, about 4-5 minutes, breaking the meat apart as you go. Remove the chicken and place it in a bowl.

Step 3

Make the stuffing. Add the corn, black beans, cilantro, mozzarella and ¼ cup of the Monterey jack cheese to the bowl. Mix.

poblano stuffing: chicken, cheese, corn, beans and cilantro

Step 4

In the same cast iron that you made the chicken, prepare the egg mixture. Crack the eggs into the cast iron and add the milk and ½ cup of the Monterey jack cheese. Whisk together until combined.

egg batter for cheesy chicken poblano rellenos

Step 5

Prep the peppers. With your fingers, peel off any black parts of the peppers’ skin, revealing a tender pepper underneath. You don’t need to remove all of the skin if you don’t want to – just try to scrape off any very burnt parts.

Step 6 & 7

Slice open each pepper down the center and carefully open each one. Stuff the peppers with the chicken mixture until overflowing. Carefully place them into the cast iron with the egg mixture.

Top each pepper with the remaining Monterey jack cheese.

Step 8

Bake the peppers in the oven for 30 minutes. While that’s baking, make a quick salsa. In small bowl, combine the tomatoes, red onion, juice from 1 lime and a pinch of salt, pepper and the oregano. Stir and set aside.

Step 9

Remove the pan from the oven and the eggs should be fluffy and the peppers should be hot and melted. Top the peppers with the salsa and serve!

Recipe Storage

If you have room in your fridge: cover the cast iron skillet with foil and place the whole cast iron in your fridge for a day or two. To reheat, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the cast iron in the oven for 15 minutes and serve.

If you can’t do that, put the peppers in an airtight container with the eggs. Keep for 3-5 days. To reheat, pop them in the oven the same way, either in a cast iron or on a baking sheet.

More Recipes to Try

If you liked these cheesy chicken poblanos rellenos, check out some of these other recipes:

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