Chiles Rellenos are probably my favorite Mexican dish. If they are on the menu at a restaurant, I will probably order them! (Evidence: see here and here).
For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Chiles Rellenos, the dish typically consists of battered and fried poblano peppers that have been roasted and stuffed with cheese and other goodness. The idea of a Chiles Rellenos casserole sounded like a fun change of pace, so I decided to try out Cooking Light’s recipe.
To say I am a HUGE Cooking Light fan would be a drastic understatement.
The casserole involves lots of LAYERING. Almost like a lasagna.
For the base, I placed strips of canned whole green chiles on the bottom of a glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
Colby Jack Cheese.
The next layer is a hearty one, consisting of seasoned, cooked ground turkey, onion, and refried beans.
Corn and more green chiles.
More cheese. Duh.
And finally, atop the entire casserole, pour a whisked mixture of milk, egg, flour, and hot sauce. Hey Frank!
It’s going to look a little weird. And milky.
But trust me, it will look better after it bakes for an hour.
And, if you don’t drop the whole casserole dish on the floor like I did, yours will look even prettier than mine! Luckily I salvaged the vast majority of the casserole. That sucker is HEAVY! Be smarter than me kids, and use TWO oven-mitted hands. TWO.
Oh and it gets messier. But that’s how you know it’s good.
Mmm hmm, mmm hmm. Real good, indeed. 
On the side we had baby greens with oranges. Because Eating Well said that the consumption of Vitamin C enhances the body’s absorption of iron.
The Chiles Rellenos casserole is so very flavorful – mild heat from the green chilies, Mexican-inspired seasonings, refried beans, cheese – and very satisfying. The leftovers are even better! This one is going in my Recipes To Repeat file. Er, well, I don’t actually have a file by that name, but I will keep this one on my mental shortlist of recipes to make again.
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Chiles Rellenos Casserole
- Recipe from Cooking Light
- (Note: the recipe has a typo. I used two 4 oz cans of chiles, instead of one.)
- Calories per serving: 344 (for 1/6th of the casserole)
- My rating: 8.3/10
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Traditional chiles rellenos may be delicious, but preparing them is no small task. First the chiles are roasted, next they’re stuffed with a cheesy beef filling, and finally they’re dipped into batter and fried until they’re golden and crisp—not to mention the step of making a spicy tomato sauce to serve with the peppers. Instead, we captured each of these elements in a casserole with a fraction of the fuss. We combined sautéed chiles, beef, and piquant Ro-tel tomatoes and finished the dish off with a baked puffed egg white and cheese topping.
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