Chili Relleno Casserole on the Kamado Joe

Up today is probably the best chili relleno casserole recipe that can be made outside on the grill or inside in your oven.

If you’re craving a chili relleno then you have got to check this recipe out.

This chili relleno casserole is real easy to make. The neighbors will be climbing the fence once they see what you’re cooking up.

So grab a cold adult beverage and let’s get started.

The Best Chili Relleno Casserole

Yes, this can be made outside on your grill or inside the house. With these summertime hot temperatures, we cook outside quite a bit.

You might also call this a keto chili relleno casserole. We’re mostly low-carb, so a keto chili relleno casserole recipe fits right in. It’s darned good right out of the skillet, or cold, straight from the fridge.

Adding up nutrition label information on our ingredients, we calculated that each of the 8 servings has about 450 calories, 36 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbs, and 20 grams of protein. The poblano peppers do add a bit of fiber, so the net carb count is actually a bit lower.

It’s also a budget-friendly recipe coming in under $15.00 total for 8 servings. So that’s less than $2.00 per serving.

If 8 servings are too much, well this casserole freezes and thaws well. So stock up that freezer.

Chili Relleno Casserole Ingredients

You don’t need much in the way of supplies or ingredients for this recipe. You might have almost everything already in the kitchen pantry.

Also, almost everything in this recipe can be cooked up in the cast iron skillet. A one-pan meal for easy clean-up.

Actually, most of this recipe can be prepared a day or two in advance to save time.

Supplies Needed

10-inch cast iron skillet
barbecue towels
long toothpicks
heat resistant gloves

Favorite Products We Using Today

These are the products we use; they have been described many times over here in our grilling and smoking recipes.
the Lodge L8SK3 10-inch cast iron skillet is a real workhorse and you need one, enough said. Check it out here on Amazon. It’s under $20.00 and has well over 130,000 of mostly 5-star customer reviews.
NoCry heat resistant gloves. These heat resistant gloves help protect your hand and forearms from that grilling heat and while handling your Lodge skillet.
barbecue towels. Read about why you need these here in an earlier review. You’ll be glad you did.
Check out our book, Wood Smoke and Smoking Wood, available only on Amazon.

Ingredients

This recipe makes 8 servings. Or maybe 4 servings, depending on how hungry you might be.

8 medium poblano chilies, or 4-6 larger ones, about 2 cups of prepared fire roasted poblano pieces
1 pound sausage, you could substitute hamburger or leftover pulled pork
1 – 2 tablespoons bacon grease
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped, about 2 or 3 tablespoons
8 ounces of your favorite finely shredded Mexican cheese blend
4 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 – 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 – 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

Optional Ingredients

salsa for topping
sour cream for topping

Putting It All Together

This chili relleno casserole is real easy to make. This is how we put everything together. But do it your way.

Prepping the Peppers

This is our favorite first step, charring the poblano peppers. We love the aroma of the fire-roasted poblano peppers as the skin blackens over a hot grill.

After the peppers have been blistered, place them in a large bowl and cover them with plastic wrap and top them with a barbecue towel to steam for 15 to 20 minutes to soften. Have patience.

Next, cut the top stem end from the steamed poblano peppers and remove the seed cluster. Then using your fingers, rub and remove the charred pepper skins. Don’t water rinse the peppers, you’ll wash away all of that charred fire-roasted pepper flavor you want. It’s okay to have charred bits of pepper skin remaining.

Lastly, cut the peppers in half, from top to bottom, then scrape out any remaining seeds if desired. Then cut the poblano peppers into strips, then cut the strips into bite-size pieces.

The Filling – Meats

Over medium heat, grill or stove top, cook up the sausage. Then scoop out the cooked sausage from the skillet into a bowl and set aside.

Note: The sausage could be cooked and prepared a day or two in advance.

The Filling – Onions and Garlic

Depending on the amount of remaining sausage drippings, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of bacon fat to melt. Then, dump in the onions. Stirring frequently, let soften a bit, then add the garlic and let the mix cook down a bit more until the onions are translucent. Scoop out of the skillet into another bowl and set aside.

Final Assembly

First, line the bottom of the skillet with your prepared fire-roasted poblano peppers.

Next, layer in the cooked and crumbled sausage.

Now finish it up by spreading over the top of the sausage your onions and garlic, followed by the cilantro. Lastly, layer on the Mexican cheese blend for even coverage.

At your final cooking station, at the grill or the oven, mix the heavy cream, 4 eggs, cumin, chili pepper, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

Now pour the heavy cream egg and spice mixture evenly over the skillet ingredients.

The Cooking Vessel

Stabilize your grill at 350 °F / 177 °C, and set it up for indirect cooking or set the oven dial as appropriate. Since we’re cooking outside today and using our grill, we added a chuck of cherry smoking wood to the charcoal basket. Of course, this is optional, but we like wood smoked foods.

You’ll bake the chili relleno casserole at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Chili Relleno Taste Test

Okay, this might not look like a chili relleno swimming in a red sauce that you might find at the high-end Mexican eatery down the street. However, this is absolutely some pretty darned good eats.

If you’re low-carb, you’ll love this keto chili relleno casserole recipe. Adding up all the ingredient

If you want, top this chili relleno casserole with some good sour cream and your favorite salsa.

It warms up great in the microwave for convenience. However, we do like it straight out of the fridge. If you like cold pizza, you’ll love this cold chili relleno casserole for lunch, dinner, or a midnight snack.

Check out my other Kamado Joe and JoeTisserie recipes and links here on my Outdoor Eats page.