Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe: Easy, High Protein, Crowd Favorite

fluffy eggs, browned hamburger, and fresh salsa casserole

Chile Relleno Casserole is a cheesy, flavorful, soft-textured comfort food favorite in my family of origin, and I figured it was high time to get it on the blog!

My family is currently working our way through 12 days of feasting following Christmas this year, and this casserole was one of the requests for our “feasting” menu.

For reference, other requests have included:

So, you know, it’s in good company!

We made it this week, and I remembered to take photos of the process so I could put it up here on the blog. Because if we’re over here feasting and enjoying our meals so much, I want to empower you to do the same!

casserole ingredients for chile relleno

Where does this Chile Relleno casserole come from?

Growing up, my Grandma (my mother’s mother) made this casserole a lot. She’s a big fan of Mexican food. She grew up in Southern California, so salsa, avocados, enchiladas and fajitas are always near the top of her list of favorites.

Since my parents and siblings and I lived near my mom’s parents all through my childhood and frequently we ate dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s, somewhere along the line my mom started making this dish, too.

To be honest, I had kind of forgotten about Chile Relleno Casserole for the past few years because I haven’t found an easy source of canned, mild green chiles here in New Zealand.

But last July, my husband and our four kids were planning a trip home to WA state to visit our families and attend my youngest sister’s wedding. With 12 adults and 11 kids in the family, we ate a LOT of food!

This Chile Relleno casserole was one of the meal requests, due to it being my brother’s favorite dish. And I am SO glad that it showed up on the menu! My kids gobbled it up, I re-fell in love with it, and since Gabe is ALWAYS down for Mexican-inspired food (he and Grandma get on quite well!), it was popular!

I brought a good supply of canned green chiles back with me to New Zealand.

And although this recipe is written exactly as my Mom dictated it to me using canned green chiles, my new goal is to figure out how to substitute the canned green chiles for something I can access more easily here in the Southern Hemisphere.

Stay tuned for updates!

What is Chile Relleno?

Chile Relleno (pronounced approximately CHILL-ee rah-YAY-noh) is a Mexican dish meaning, literally, stuffed peppers.

It is traditionally a green pepper stuffed with a meat and cheese mixture, coated in an egg batter and fried.

Chile Relleno is often served with a tomato sauce, but the sauces apparently vary, as do the types of peppers and the exact mixture of meat and cheese.

cheesy egg high protein casserole with fresh kale salad and jar of kombucha

What to Expect from this Chile Relleno Casserole:

This is a casserole INSPIRED by Chile Relleno, but it seems a lot less labor intensive than the original Chile Relleno concept.

The ingredients are relatively basic for this casserole: hamburger, cheese, eggs, milk, salsa, and green chiles (which are presumably super easy to get if you’re in North America, but harder to source if you’re outside of the USA).

And the directions are pretty straightforward, too. You brown the hamburger, arrange the meat, chiles, and cheese in the casserole dish, whisk the eggs and milk, and pop it in the oven to bake.

There’s a small step about 30-40 minutes after you start cooking the casserole, which is spreading the salsa on top of the dish, then back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so, and then you’re done!

But although the process is simple and the ingredient list is short, this casserole DELIVERS in flavor!

The cheese baking with the whisked eggs and milk makes this tender, fluffy texture. And then the cheesy part gets a little browned and golden on the top, which gives it that awesome toasted-cheese flavor.

The pre-browned hamburger mixed with the green chiles provides this grounding base to the dish. And the slightly roasted salsa on top of the casserole adds just the right amount of tomato-lemon-spice topping.

It’s making me hungry just writing about it!

Basically, it’s a simple casserole with a big pay off. It’s delicious. There’s a reason it is one of my family’s favorites!

egg and cheese, green peppers and hamburger, and salsa casserole

What’s special about this Chile Rellenos casserole?

In a sea of carb-loaded casserole options, this Chile Relleno casserole is the perfect alternative to rice or pasta bake offerings!

It makes a great option if you’re following a high protein or keto diet, since there are no filler carbs. It also, incidentally, makes a fantastic breakfast for leftovers the next day if you’re lucky enough to have any!

I like that this recipe makes a family-sized amount! It is written for a 9×13 inch dish of food. I’ve listed it as 8 servings, which are fairly generous servings. But I really like to make larger quantities of food and then possibly have leftovers rather than making just enough for one meal.

This recipe comes together quite quickly, especially if you have pre-made salsa and pre-grated cheese (for the making of the recipe that I photographed for this post, I did not have either of those things, but it still came together fairly quickly!).

And for those of us with children that don’t have all their molars yet or are losing their teeth, this is a nice casserole for families with young kids because it doesn’t require a lot of mastication! In our house, baby Thad (currently 8 months old) had no problem consuming this casserole and enjoying it along with the rest of us!

ingredients for casserole

What do I need to make Chile Relleno Casserole?

Nothing too complicated, thankfully!

As far as materials and tools, this is what you’ll need to make Chile Relleno Casserole:

  • An oven
  • 9×13 inch baking dish (deep dish might be helpful, as the eggs and milk puff up a bit while cooking, but it isn’t required)
  • Skillet (I’m loving my cast iron skillet, which I just got for Christmas a few weeks ago!)
  • Mixing Bowl (2-3 quarts/litres should be large enough)
  • A whisk
  • A grater (if you haven’t bought pre-grated cheese)

And for ingredients, this is what you’ll need:

  • Spray oil or a Tbsp of oil of choice to grease the pan
  • 500 grams (about 1 lb) hamburger/mince (I used 85% lean, grass-fed beef)
  • 2 cans diced green chiles, mild (7 ounces/198 grams per can)
  • 400 grams grated cheese, colby jack or edam cheese or something similar (a little less than 1 lb)
  • 12 eggs
  • 2 cups whole milk (you can substitute canned, evaporated milk or reconstituted powdered milk, and you can use 1%, 2%, or skim, although the texture may vary slightly)
  • 2 cups salsa (or you can use a 400 gram can of chopped tomatoes, and add 1/2 chopped onion, the juice of one lemon or lime or 3 Tbsp lemon or lime juice, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper)
  • (optional) 1-2 tsp chopped cilantro/coriander

How to Make Chile Relleno Casserole:

This recipe includes 4 simple steps. I’ll break it down for you:

hamburger browning in cast iron skillet

Step 1: Preparation (10 minutes)

Preheat the oven to 350 F (about 180 C).

Set out the 9×13 casserole dish, a mixing bowl, and the whisk.

While the oven is preheating, grease your 9×13 casserole dish. Then brown your hamburger, and season with a bit of salt and pepper. The hamburger doesn’t have to be 100% cooked through, but I like to get it most of the way there.

If you did NOT get pre-grated cheese, this is also a good time to get out your grater and grate your cheese.

egg mixture poured over cheese and meat in chile relleno casserole

Step 2: Assembly (10 minutes)

Layer the hamburger on the bottom of the casserole dish, along with the green chiles.

Then layer the grated cheese evenly on top of the meat and chiles.

Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl, and whisk them up until they are a nice orangey-lemon color. Add the milk to the eggs, and whisk a bit more to incorporate everything together.

Pour the egg and milk mixture over the meat and cheese.

casserole baking in the oven on pizza stone

Step 3: Bake (45 minutes-ish)

Pop the casserole into the preheated oven, about the middle rack. Let it bake until it is starting to set up and get a little bit golden on top.

If you don’t have pre-made salsa, this is a good time to make up your salsa substitute.

Dump a can of chopped tomatoes into a bowl, dice 1/2 an onion and mix it with the tomatoes. Add 1/2 tsp crushed garlic or garlic powder.

Add the lemon or lime juice, the salt, and the cumin. IF you happen to like cilantro/coriander and have that on hand, add it in, too. If you aren’t a cilantro fan, feel free to skip it!

Once the eggs are set up, pull the casserole out of the oven and spoon the salsa over the top of the casserole, spreading it evenly.

Turn the oven up to 425 F (220 C), and return the casserole to the oven.

Let it bake for an additional 10 minutes to evaporate off some of the salsa liquid.

You should be able to insert a knife into the middle of the casserole and have it come out fairly clean when it is all done, and the edges will be getting a little browned.

half eaten chile relleno casserole pan

Step 4: Set up and Serve

You can eat the casserole right away after it comes out of the oven, but I like the texture better if you let it set up for a few minutes.

So if you haven’t finished a side salad, or you need to pop some garlic bread in the oven for 20 minutes, that’s OK. The casserole keeps its heat pretty well, and I think it gets better with a little time to cool slightly and set up better.

casserole and salad on plate with kombucha in background

What to Serve with Chile Relleno Casserole?

This casserole is high in protein, but it doesn’t contain much by way of fiber or carbohydrates. So those are what I’d pair it with!

I like this casserole with a simple kale salad, similar to this one from Two Peas and Their Pod website. It would also go nicely with a hearty green salad like what Love and Lemons website offers, or a crunchy broccoli salad.

And for carbohydrates, you could go the bread route and keep it simple, serving it up with a loaf of my everyday sourdough bread or herb and garlic focaccia.

Or I think it would be delicious with some crunchy roasted potatoes or easy roasted sweet potatoes.

As far as drinks, we are huge fans of kombucha in our house, and we had this casserole the other night with some peach-passionfruit kombucha. It was a good life choice!

But it would also be delicious with soda water and mint with a squeeze of lemon, or a Corona or other pale lager, if you’re a beer fan!

simple casserole and salad dinner with kombucha

Beautifying and storing your Chile Relleno Casserole:

If you want to garnish the chile relleno casserole, a dab of sour cream, some fresh avocados slices, and a sprinkle of cilantro would dress it up nicely!

Perhaps a little pinch of paprika over the sour cream would be impressive as well.

And for storing the casserole, you can keep it in a sealed food storage container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

The texture will change a bit, and the extra water content will start to pool in the bottom of the container, so it isn’t quite as nice after being refrigerated and stored, but it will still be delicious!

I’ve definitely eaten chile relleno casserole cold for breakfast the next day and enjoyed it, but for maximum leftover enjoyment, I recommend reheating it in the microwave.

Give it a try!

I really hope you go and try this recipe. My mom has served it to a LOT of guests over the years, and it is genuinely well received by pretty much everyone! I think, if you like cheese and eggs and hamburger, and you enjoy Mexican-inspired flavors, you’ll really enjoy this recipe.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you give it a go or put it on your meal plan. And if you’ve had actual Chile Relleno (not in casserole form), I’d be curious to hear how this compares. Happy feasting!

Yield: 8

Mom's Chile Relleno Casserole

Tender, cheesy mexican chile rellenos casserole

Cheesy, soft, mild, and oh-so-satisfying! This Mexican-flavor inspired casserole is one of my family's absolute favorite meals. Layered hamburger and chiles form the base of the casserole, with whisked eggs and milk baked with cheese to create the filling, and then topped with a flavorful salsa. Packed with protein and easy to throw together from basic ingredients, it is a win all around!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 500 grams browned hamburger (about 1 lb)
  • 2 cans diced green mild chilis
  • 400 grams cheese, grated (about 4 cups) (Colby Jack or Edam)
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 2 cups milk (fresh or 1 can of evaporated milk)
  • 2 cups salsa (or, 1 can chopped tomatoes + 1/2 onion chopped fine + 3 Tbsp lemon juice + 1/2 tsp crushed garlic + 1 tsp cumin + 1/2 tsp salt + pinch of black pepper to make a salsa substitute)
  • (optional) 1-2 tsp chopped cilantro/coriander

Instructions

  1. Grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  3. Brown the hamburger
  4. Season hamburger with salt and pepper
  5. Spread hamburger in bottom of 9x13 inch pan
  6. Sprinkle diced green chilis over hamburger
  7. Spread cheese over the hamburger and chilis
  8. Whisk eggs
  9. Add milk to eggs
  10. Pour milk and egg mixture over cheese
  11. Bake casserole 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes - until eggs are set
  12. Spread salsa over eggs, turn up heat in oven to 425
  13. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes, until some of the salsa liquid has evaporated

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1/8

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 468Total Fat: 33gCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 36g

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