We just love chiles rellenos, but I don’t like all the fuss of actually stuffing them and then frying them. So I just layer the ingredients in a casserole dish. It comes out just as delicious every time, plus no frying! Tastes almost exactly the same, but it’s much less trouble for the cook. Of course, to serve this to company, I would go to the trouble to stuff the peppers for plate presentation. This Induction-friendly recipe has been extremely popular of Facebook when I was posting there regularly for Low Carbing Among Friends. This dish is suitable for Primal diners who eat cheese occasionally. It would not be suitable for Paleo followers, however.
INGREDIENTS:
3 poblano peppers (2-2.5 oz. each)
12 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 T. olive oil
2 oz. onion, sliced
½ tsp. dried guajillo chile, seeded, chopped fine (optional)
¼ tsp. dried ancho chile powder (optional)
¼ tsp. chili powder (use ½ tsp. if guajillo & ancho are unavailable)
¼ tsp. garlic powder
3/4 c. Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, solids only (mild)
¼ c. cilantro, chopped
6 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 450º. Roasting your peppers will make them milder and sweeter, so don’t bypass this step. Cut tops off poblano peppers and remove seed cluster. Cut in halves, lay the halves on a non-stick baking sheet and roast in 450º oven for about 15-20 minutes, turning once during roasting. Remove and cool. Lower oven to 350º. Peel tough skin gently off the peppers. While they are roasting, heat oil in non-stick skillet. Sauté onion until tender. Add chicken and sauté until meat is no longer pink. Add all remaining ingredients except the cheese. Simmer 3-4 minutes for flavors to meld together. Lay the skinned poblano pepper pieces in the bottom of 3 individual casserole dishes (or use one larger casserole dish if you prefer). Top the peppers in each serving dish with 1 spoon of the chicken filling. Spread 1/3 of the cheese over the chicken filling in each dish. Place the remaining chicken filling evenly in the dish(es). Top with the remaining cheese. Pop into a 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is melted. Serve at once with a nice guacamole salad (and if you are in Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance, this is nice with a ½ c. of heated refried beans).
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:
547 cals, 35g fat, 07.7g carbs, 2.23g fiber, 5.47g NET CARBS, 47.7g protein, 620 mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 
Hi Peggy, 3/4 c. Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, solids only….. “solids only” does this mean this mean leave the juice out?
Yes, Linda, drain off the juice. You can save and freeze that juice to add to your next “Mexican-style” soup however, if you like. I freeze such things in a plastic ice cube tray I have for just this purpose. Then I pop them into a zip-loc baggie. 🙂
Thank you Peggy. I do the same with ice cube trays. Have a great day
Made this last night. Yum! My whole family loved it. Now I am going to search your recipe for the one with ground beef.
So glad you liked the chicken version, Becky! Here’s a link to the beef version: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/beef-chile-relleno-casserole/
Try making it with carnitas and Pepper Jack cheese…nice variation.
Oh, my, that DOES sound good.
This is a fantastic recipe. I make it often. Thank you Ms. Peggy!!
My pleasure, Dee. So glad you folks like this one. Good food, especially simple to prepare food (my specialty), was meant to be shared. 🙂
Just wondering where the high fat content comes from? Is that just the cheese?
The cheese and the olive oil plus there’s a little in the chicken itself. But if you use skinless chicken and trim all visible fat off the meat, you can probably trim it to 26 grams per serving.
Can these be made ahead and baked later?
Don’t see why not. They do freeze well also.
you only subtract from carbs if you have more than 5grs of fiber. This if your a diabetic.
I assume diabetics already know what they must do according to their doctor’s instructions. Since my site is not targeting diabetics, but all low-carb plans, I use general low-carb guidelines, Audrey, which is to deduct all fiber, sugar alcohols and gylcerine grams.
Great recipe thanks
Welcome Lynn. Nearly 900 here to chose from. Hope you find lots of recipe you want to try. 🙂
Made this tonight omg Best meal ever hubby loved it & so did I
Oh, I’m just delighted, Beth. It’s so easy and really is as good as the peppers people stuff the hard way. lad your husband liked it, too!
having trouble calculating net carbs from my carb counter mine shows more carbs
I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to go with whichever one you think is right, Constance. I do deduct fiber. I’m only willing to calculate these recipes one time. I use Fitday.com which uses the USDA database of foods.
Oh my, chilli heaven!