Lazy Cook’s Easy Open-Face Chile Relleno Cups

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

These single serve open-face baked chile relleno cups are a faster, easier ‘no fried‘ version of our favorite chile relleno meal. Come see what I did. 

I love chile relleno, but it's more work in the kitchen than I want. Come see my lazy cook's version of chile relleno, baked into single-serve cups! #TexasHomesteader

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RancherMan & I both enjoy Tex-Mex food and we absolutely love chile relleno. But (and I can’t emphasize this enough, y’all) 

I’m a lazy cook! 

So I thought it would be great if I could use a jumbo-sized muffin pan to make an easier, quicker-cooking open-face chile relleno in single-serve portions. 

Open face chile relleno casserole cup. #TexasHomesteader

I gave it a try & RancherMan absolutely raved at this lazy-cook’s version of chili relleno. I must admit it was delicious and so much easier and I presume healthier & lower-fat than its fried counterpart.

Chile Relleno Ingredients

I’ll use freshly-roasted poblano peppers for my lazy-cook’s chile relleno.

      • 6 large freshly-roasted poblano peppers, skinned & deseeded

      • 6 cubes of cheese + more shredded cheese for the tops 

      • 6 eggs

      • 1 cup milk

      • All-purpose flour

      • Baking powder

Roasting & Preparing Poblano Peppers For Chile Relleno

Since I only needed 6 peppers I roasted them quickly on my gas stovetop. 

You can use a gas stovetop to quickly roast poblano peppers. #TexasHomesteader

When the peppers were blistered and black I placed them in a bowl and covered them with a towel. The steam will help the black skin to slip off easily.

Then I removed the skin & cut each pepper carefully so I could fold back the face of the pepper. 

Poblano peppers - where to cut and remove seeds #TexasHomesteader

I like to leave the stem as they often do in the authentic Mexican restaurants. But feel free to remove the stem if you like.

Once the peppers were de-seeded they’re ready to be stuffed. In just minutes everything was ready to begin assembling my chile relleno cups. A lazy-cook’s dream!

How To Assemble Chile Relleno In Jumbo Muffin Cups

I place a silicone jumbo-muffin pan on a cookie tray. This helps support the muffin pan while moving it in & out of the oven.

Then I add about a tablespoon of enchilada sauce into the bottom of each cup.

Kitchen Tip: In the past I’ve substituted the enchilada sauce with salsa verde, a spoonful of salsa or even leftover packets of taco sauce from fast-food places. You know my motto: #usewhatchagot!

Now let’s assemble the chile relleno cups! I spread out a cleaned-out pepper into each muffin cup. 

Chile relleno cups - poblano peppers added to silicone muffin cups. #TexasHomesteader

I cubed about 6 ounces of cheese & shredded an additional cup of the cheese too. 

Then to give me the melty-cheesy filling we love I stuffed each pepper with cubes of cheese. Pepper jack or cubed cheddar both work well here, but use what you like!

Finally I mixed up the egg mixture and poured it over and around each pepper. I was careful to fill each muffin cup only about 2/3 of the way because those eggs will really puff up in the oven! 

I love chile relleno, but it's more work in the kitchen than I want. Come see my lazy cook's version of chile relleno, baked into single-serve cups! #TexasHomesteader

I baked my casserole cups in a 350-degree oven until the egg was set and the tops were lightly brown – about 30 – 40 minutes or so.

Hearty Chile Relleno Filling Options

Most of the chile relleno recipes I see are filled only with cheese. And make no mistake it’s delicious that way! But RancherMan loves hearty meals that include meat.

So it’s not uncommon for me to add a few spoonful’s of cooked ground meat/onions, Leftover Meatloaf or leftover shredded chicken before topping with the cheese and egg mixture. 

Lazy Cook's Open Face Chile Relleno Cups #TexasHomesteader

After the chile relleno cups are cooked I can serve them as they are. But sometimes I’ll top them with something fun.

Topping Ideas For Chile Relleno

Want to top your lazy cook’s chile relleno with something to give it a little more pop? Here are a few ideas:

This creamy hatch chile sauce has a healthy yogurt base and whips up in minutes. #TexasHomesteader

So many options! But RancherMan loves ’em all.

What Sides Go With Chile Relleno?

If you’re looking for great side dishes to go with your chile relleno cups, here are some ideas:

My chile relleno cups were delicious & as I mentioned, RancherMan absolutely RAVED about this dish.

And these little muffin cups would have frozen beautifully as part of my ‘Cook-Once, Eat-Twice’ method of cooking. 

But let me tell ya they never got that far! They were GONE in a short amount of time! They never even got the chance to hit the freezer. 

I love chile relleno, but it's more work in the kitchen than I want. Come see my lazy cook's version of chile relleno, baked into single-serve cups! #TexasHomesteader

Now when your man raves this much, I’d consider this Lazy-Cook’s Chili Relleno Cups meal a screaming success, y’all.

You can bet your boots I’ll be planting plenty of poblano peppers in the garden this year…

Did you make these Chile Relleno Cups? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!

Open-face chile relleno cups. #TexasHomesteader
5 from 1 vote
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Lazy Cook's Chile Relleno Cups

A simplified single-serve version of chile relleno. Poblano peppers, beaten egg and cheese make these chile relleno cups fast and easy, yet delicious!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican, TexMex
Keyword casserole, chile relleno, cups, poblano, single serve
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author www.TexasHomesteader.com

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 6 Poblano Peppers, skinned & seeded
  • 6 oz cubed Pepper-Jack Cheese
  • 1 10 oz can Enchilada Sauce
  • 6 large Eggs
  • 1 Cup Grated Pepper-Jack or Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

Instructions

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Pour a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of each muffin cup. (You may have enchilada sauce leftover, that's ok you can use it to flavor Mexican-Rice side dish!)

    Place 1 (or 2 if small) skinned & seeded poblano peppers into each muffin cup space. Divide cheese cubes evenly & fill each pepper with cubed cheese.

  3. In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Add the grated cheese, milk, flour and baking powder and stir until fully mixed.

  4. Gently pour the egg mixture over the peppers in each muffin cup, filling about 2/3 of the way.

  5. Bake until the egg is set in the center and golden brown, about 30 - 40 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Note: The egg mixture will expand while in the oven, and partially collapse when you bring the dish out of the oven. This is normal.

Filling Options:

Crumbled leftover meatloaf or leftover cooked & shredded chicken make the chile rellenos even more hearty.

~TxH~

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6 thoughts on “Lazy Cook’s Easy Open-Face Chile Relleno Cups

  1. Evelyn Edgett

    When my friend was moving she gave me the contents of her freezers and fridges. Guess what I have a BIG bag of in my freezer? Yup! Gonna make these this weekend–my son and the Redneck will LOVE THEM!

    Reply
  2. Rhonda

    5 stars
    Thanks for this recipe. I still have peppers in this freezer from this past summer and husband has already started the seeds for this years Pepper plants.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I planted poblano last year Rhonda, but none of my peppers did worth a hoot for some reason. I’ve got heirloom poblano seeds now to plant for this year’s garden. Fingers crossed! ~TxH~

      Reply
  3. Miss B

    These looks delicious! I love chile rellenos, but my husband doesn’t. This looks like the perfect way to freeze small lunch servings just for me. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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