Cheesy Stuffed Peppers (Easy Chili Rellenos)

This is our version of a simple homemade Cheesy Stuffed Peppers recipe. The dish is a take on the classic Mexican recipe known as Chili Rellenos, where Poblano Peppers are stuffed with Cheese, covered in a batter and then fried until crispy. When you cut into the Pepper an abundance of gooey golden cheese will ooze out. The dish is typically served with a Red Chili Sauce, and makes for a delicious appetizer or a fun lunch

This is a great recipe to make if you’ve got a few leftovers Poblano Peppers

You can absolutely make this dish from scratch, but I find it works great to utilize some leftovers. Mainly because it only requires a small handful of ingredients, of which you would likely have them all readily available in the pantry

We’re not going super-authentic with this dish, instead we’re happy for you to use the best version of the ingredients you have available to avoid making this a costly endeavor. By that we mean, you don’t need to use specialty Mexican cheese like Oaxacan Cheese (known for its melting qualities), or roast down specialty Red Chilis like Ancho Chilis for the Red Sauce

You absolutely can use these ingredients if you have them, but to make this a quick and simple dish, we’ll share with you the best alternatives to use for these specialty ingredients. The results are still great. Amazing tasting Cheesy Stuffed Peppers that are light and crispy, and a Red Chili Sauce absolutely loaded with flavor

What ingredients are needed to make this dish

Let’s kick off with the Peppers. For the best result we recommend using large Peppers, which is why Poblano Peppers are the ideal choice. If you don’t have any Poblanos you can easily replace them with other Peppers (any color is fine too!)

Suitable alternatives are Jalapenos or even Bell Peppers. Just be aware that the different sized peppers will require filling. You’ll obviously need a lot more Cheese filling to stuff a Bell Pepper than you would a Jalapeno! Also, each Pepper is going to vary wildly in their spice levels. So, choose warily based on your spice tolerance. A little spice is fine, so we recommend keeping a few of those seeds in the Peppers as you go

For the cheese, a great alternative to Oaxacan Cheese is simple Mozzarella. You will achieve the same gooey, melty texture using Mozzarella along with that famous ‘cheese pull’ that we all know and love. Mozzarella doesn’t pack a lot of flavor, however. Therefore, we recommend mixing in some Sharp Cheddar Cheese to give the dish some real cheesy flavor

For the Red Sauce, you can roast down some beautiful Ancho Chilis to produce an authentic Mexican Red Sauce. Alternatively, you can make a super easy Red Sauce using canned Tomatoes and just load the dish up with spices. We combined Chipotles in Adobo Sauce along with a spice mix of Smoked Paprika, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, and Chili. It’s a simple, affordable, and delicious way to make a beautiful tasting spicy Red Sauce that’s perfect for our Cheesy Stuffed Peppers recipe

Stuffing the Peppers with Cheese

The best method to stuff the Peppers is to make a cut along one side of the Pepper with a sharp knife. Then at the top (near the stem), make a small T cut. You will then be able to slightly open up the Pepper enough to pull out the Seeds and flesh inside

You don’t want to make a particularly large cut. In fact, the smaller the cut you can make to be able to get the Cheese inside the better. The ‘T cut’ is a great way to get inside the Pepper without having to remove any of the actual Pepper to do so

Once all the flesh is removed, stuff it with the shredded Cheese. You can really pack it in there, so keep stuffing until there’s no more room. Repeat this process for the remaining Peppers and then it’s time to heat up the Oil ready for frying

Our Cheesy Stuffed Peppers are Deep Fried in Oil at 320F

Unlike other frying, the Peppers are fried at a slightly lower temperature. Usually, you would look to deep fry at around the 350F – 375F mark, however for this dish we fry at 320F. This is mainly due to the balance of cooking required to cook everything evenly

The outer shell of the Poblano Pepper is quite thick, so requires a little bit more time in the Oil to get perfectly cooked. Reducing the temperature ensures the Pepper gets properly cooked without the Batter burning. Fry the Peppers for about 5 minutes until the Batter is a rich golden-brown color and then lay them on a wire rack to cool

Preparing the simple Spicy Red Sauce

For the Red Sauce we are keeping things very simple and easy for this recipe. Simply add a can of Crushed Tomatoes into a saucepan along with Paprika, Cumin, Coriander Powder, and Chili. The secret ingredient to extract some authentic Mexican smoked flavor comes from the addition of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

This amazing ingredient consists of wonderful Chipotle Peppers which are grilled and then jarred in a Tomato based sauce. The flavors are rich, with smoky, spicy flavors that will instantly transport any home cooked dish to a Mexican-restaurant quality level

Cook the sauce for about 15 minutes over a medium heat. You want to ensure that it’s simmering, but not a ranging boil. After 15 minutes the sauce will be a beautiful thick consistency which is great for coating / dipping the Peppers

If you want your Red Sauce to be a little more developed in flavors, we recommend you can add some oven roasted Red Bell Peppers. This will add about 1 hour to the cooking time, as it involves roasting, cooling, then peeling the Peppers before they are blitzed in the blender. If you’re interested in this sauce, check out our recipe here. Otherwise, the simple Red Sauce in our recipe below will be great with your Cheesy Stuffed Peppers

Cheesy Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 large Poblano Peppers
• ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
• ½ cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 ½ cups Whole Milk
• 1 Egg
• Frying Oil (Vegetable / Canola) enough to fill a medium saucepan halfway)
• Salt
  
  

For the simple Red Sauce

• 400ml / 14 oz. Canned Tomatoes
• 1 tsp. Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
• ½ tsp. Chili Powder
• 1 tbsp. Chipotle in Adobo Sauce
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Add the Red Sauce ingredients into a Saucepan and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside
2. Combine the Flour, Egg and half the Milk into a bowl and mix well. Gradually add more Milk until you achieve a smooth batter that is runny, but still sticks to the Whisk
3. Add the frying Oil to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Use a thermometer to bring the temperature up to 300F
4. Make a cut along one side of the Peppers, and another at the top (near the stem) to form a ‘T’. Carefully press into the Pepper with your finger and remove the inner flesh and seeds, being careful not to tear the Pepper
5. Fill the Peppers with as much Cheese as you can and then coat generously in the Batter
6. Deep fry the Peppers for 5 minutes until golden brown and then set aside on a wire rack and season with Salt
7. Reheat the Red Sauce and serve along with the freshly cooked Peppers
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can replace the Poblano Peppers with Jalapenos or Bell Peppers. Just adjust the filling quantity based on the size of the Pepper you use
• You may not require all the Milk to make the batter. Just whisk until smooth and slightly thickened, adding small amounts of Milk as you go
• For some added flavor, try frying up some Shallots in Oil before adding the Sauce ingredients to the pan
  
  

This simple yet delicious Cheesy Stuffed Peppers are a great way to enjoy a little homemade treat without having to put in too much effort. It’s a fantastic recipe to use if you’ve got a few leftover Peppers in the fridge. You can enjoy them with the Red Sauce we’ve included in the recipe, or simply serve it with some Sour Cream or Guacamole

For more simple and tasty recipes using Leftovers, check out some of these delicious dishes of ours:

• Peking Pork Belly Pancakes
• Croque Monsieur Sandwich
• Fried Lasagna Rolls
• Beef Teriyaki Tataki
  
  

Happy Cooking!