Follow this easy recipe for chili relleno casserole. It’s filled with canned chilies, ground beef, eggs, and lots of gooey cheese! Dinner is ready in 45 minutes. Moreover, you can serve this up for any meal – brunch, lunch, or dinner – even breakfast! Whatever you decide, it will be love at first bite!
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Hearty Relleno Casserole
Chili rellenos are delicious but can take some time to make. The next best thing is a tried and true chile relleno casserole recipe. This ground beef and fluffy egg batter puts all of the flavors together for you in an easy-to-make meal. This dish is baked, not fried, so there’s much less prep work.
I’m confident you’ll love this twist on the original in this delicious and easy chili relleno casserole with ground beef recipe.
What Is Chili Rellenos?
Chiles rellenos is a Spanish term that translates as stuffed peppers. This dish is one of the most popular and well-loved Mexican foods. Most commonly, poblano chiles or Anaheim peppers are stuffed with just cheese, but the stuffing can also include refried beans, shredded chicken, pork, or beef. After being stuffed, the peppers are then battered and fried. The finishing touches can be a cheesy sauce, or a salsa roja, a wonderful tomato spiced sauce.
The next time you get the hankering for the flavors of chile rellenos, as we all have Mexican food cravings you should try this delicious chile relleno casserole.
Is it chile or chili? Either spelling is okay, it just depends on the region.
Chili Relleno Casserole Ingredients
This is what you need to make the chile relleno casserole:
- Ground beef – ground chuck is recommended
- Cheddar cheese – you could swap this for Monterey Jack or even Pepper Jack cheese
- Eggs
- Milk – whole milk or heavy cream is recommended
- All-purpose flour
- Canned whole green chilis
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Chili Relleno Casserole with Beef
- Cook ground beef mixture in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crumbled and browned.
- Whisk together milk, flour, eggs, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Layer chilies and beef in a baking dish.
- Pour egg mixture over layers.
- Sprinkle cheese on top.
- Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tips for Making Chili Relleno Casserole with Ground Beef
- You can omit the ground beef for a meatless casserole.
- You can use a Mexican cheese blend or Monterey Jack cheese instead of cheddar.
- You can use roasted poblano peppers instead of the canned green chiles.
- Garnish the casserole with chopped fresh cilantro or parsley.
- Serve the casserole with a dollop of sour cream, pico de gallo, and hot sauce.
- Have leftovers? No problem – for your morning meal, slice up a portion of your chili rellenos casserole, roll it up inside a flour tortilla, heat it, and voila! A quick and easy breakfast burrito!
What should you serve with Chiles Rellenos Casserole?
This casserole is a hearty meal on its own, but there are some side dishes that are ideal to serve with this recipe. But if you want some side-dish ideas, try Mexican rice or Mexican-style refried beans.
How to Store Leftovers
Allow the casserole to cool to room temperature. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
For longer storage, wrap the cooled casserole with a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Or transfer it to an airtight container that is freezer-safe. Freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight.
How to Reheat a Casserole
The best way to reheat a casserole depends on the ingredients and the density of the food. Microwave reheating can work for single portions.
However, larger, dense dishes in the microwave take too long. The edges get overcooked and tough, while the center can still be cold.
Reheating in the oven means some re-cooking is inevitable, but a tight covering of aluminum foil really helps. It’s better than the glass lid that may belong to your casserole dish.
For more info, see these tips on how to reheat a casserole.
More Easy Casserole Recipes
- Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
- Instant Mashed Potato Casserole Recipe
- Rice Casserole with French Onion Soup
- Crab and Cheese Casserole Recipe
- Hamburger and Corn Casserole
- Kings Ranch Casserole
- Spanish Casserole
- Potluck Potatoes Casserole
- Cheddar Chicken Broccoli Casserole
- Easy Chicken Casserole
Popular Ground Beef Recipes
Check out even more of my easy casseroles and recipes for beef.
Chili Relleno Casserole with Beef
Ingredients
- 16 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can Ortega whole chilies
- 1 pound ground beef cooked (browned and crumbled)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat together milk, flour, eggs, salt and pepper.
- Layer in a 9×13-inch casserole dish: chilies, beef, liquid mixture, then cheese.
- Repeat layers until all ingredients are used.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
kim
so what is the greens that were added….besides the chilies
Stephanie
The chilis are the only thing that is green in this recipe.
Sherika
Oh my goodness! This was tremendous, perfect for Hatch chilie season.
Christie Cherry
What size dish did you use when making the Chili Relleno Casserole with beef?
Stephanie
I used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Baltisraul
Could not wait and had to make last night. Wonderful!!! Could not find whole chilies so I used diced (16 oz). Made it low carb and added 1 heaping tea of Ortega Mexican Blend Seasoning to the egg mixture.
Baltisraul
For those of us on a low carb thingy, use table cream for the milk and Almond flour for the ap flour. Now your carbs just got cut in half at least.
SHARYN BAY
what size can of ortega chilis ??
Stephanie
4 ounce
Cindy
I made this for dinner and it was soooo good and very easy. The “hardest” part was grating the cheese. I served it to company including a 10 year old, 17 year old and 22 year old and EVERYONE loved it. Definitely a keeper.