A healthy, vegan adaptable, Roasted Chiles Rellenos Recipe – that is lightened up with the addition of black beans. Simplified by roasting (instead of frying) the peppers with the Salsa Ranchero Sauce ingredients – all baked together on one sheet-pan – saving a step!
My husband Brian loves Chiles Rellenos. The problem is I love them too, but they don’t look quite as good on me. Typically they are battered and fried and often greasy and heavy, dripping with fat and calories. This Roasted Chiles Rellenos recipe calls for roasting, not frying, and the addition of cholesterol-lowering black beans.
I’ve even included a vegan version if you want to eliminate the cheese all together which surprisingly got a huge thumbs up from my husband as well. The nice thing is you can make some vegan, some with cheese and even “beef” some up for heartier eaters.
But what I love MOST about this recipe, is the sheet-pan roasting method, where the peppers are roasted, along with the Salsa Ranchero Sauce ingredients. It saves a huge step. So easy, and much quicker than traditional Chiles Rellenos while being much lighter and super delicious!
Healthier Chiles Rellenos! | 30-second video!
Once the chilies are roasted, slit them vertically and run under cool running water, removing the seeds with your fingers. Some of the peels will slip off, some will not and with poblanos, the peeling is so thin, I rarely fuss over it, leaving whatever wants to stay on, on.
Pasilla peppers have a much thicker peel that you will want to remove. They also roast much faster than poblanos. The chilies, once peeled are more delicate, making them a little more difficult to work with, so if you are new to this, pick poblanos, they are sturdier and less fussy.
I wanted to show you two products that come in handy at home- I try to keep in my pantry. Tomato Paste in a tube– because so rarely do we use the whole can, and the rest often goes to waste. And seasoned black beans- a faster way to add more flavor to meals- these have onion, garlic and green chilies in with them. 
Here Poblanos are stuffed with a black bean and cheese mixture and placed over the ranchero sauce in an extra-large baking dish. These poblanos are HUGE by the way.
Here below is the vegan version in a mini cast iron skillet. My point being, you can bake them all together, or separately if you choose. This way it’s easy to adapt them for vegans and non-vegans.
This vegan version is made with a combination of black beans and herbed tofu ricotta – it’s really flavorful!
Or bake them all together in a large skillet. Keep them lean like you see below or add melty cheese to the top, up to you!
Even the bean and cheese stuffed chilies are relatively low in calories when made this way.
The Roasted Salsa Ranchero Sauce is really yummy and flavorful too- use it with enchiladas or Mexican Pizza or in this Enchilada Casserole!
A delicious and healthy Sunday Supper, full of great flavor without the added fat and calories! Give it a whirl and rate it below!
Have a beautiful fall weekend!
PrintRoasted Chiles Rellenos with Black beans
A healthy, vegan adaptable, Roasted Chiles Rellenos Recipe – that is lightened up with the addition of black beans. Simplified by roasting (instead of frying) the peppers with the Salsa Ranchero Sauce ingredients – all baked together on one sheet-pan – saving a step!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main - GF & Vegan Adaptable
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 4–6 poblano peppers, leave whole with stems on. ( see notes)
- 6 ripe, medium tomatoes, ( roma, or vine ripened)
- 6 fat garlic cloves
- one medium-large onion, sliced into ½ inch wedges or slices
- 2 small jalapeños
- 1–2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed ( seasoned or Cuban Style are nice)
- 4–6 ounces grated jack cheese or Mexican queso fresco ( or 1 cup vegan Herbed Tofu Ricotta )
- ½ cup stock (veggie) or sub water
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional, but good)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
Serve with rice, sour cream, toasted pumpkin seeds, cilantro
Instructions
Preheat oven to 45oF
Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange them on the sheet pan. Add the onions to sheet pan, along with the whole garlic cloves, halved jalapeños and whole poblano peppers, making sure they are not overcrowded. You may need to use two sheet pans. ( You can also char the peppers on a gas burner, see notes) Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven and check after 15 minutes. If the peppers are tender remove them (pasilla peppers will cook much faster than poblanos- please see notes) and check the garlic. Otherwise continue roasting with the tomatoes and onions another 15-20 minutes, until peppers and onions are tender and tomatoes are juicy.
In the meantime make the filling. Mix the beans ( drained, rinsed) with the cheese. If going vegan, mix the beans with 1 cup of vegan herbed tofu ricotta. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
When the poblanos are just tender, take the sheet pan out of the oven ( leave the oven on) and let it cool. Add ⅓ of the onions, chopping them up, into the filling mixture and stir.
Blend up the Roasted Ranchos Sauce. Place the other half of the onions into a blender along with the tomatoes, pan juices, jalapeño, garlic, ½ cup stock, cumin, coriander, chili powder, oregano, salt, tomato paste and fresh cilantro – and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Cut a slit in the poblano peppers from stem to pointy end and using your fingers, gently remove seeds while rinsing them under cold running water. If the thin skins slip off, let them, but don’t worry about actively peeling them, especially poblanos – their skins are quite thin -Leaving some of the skin on is perfectly fine. Pasillo peppers have thick skin and should be peeled.
In a large baking dish ( or oven proof skillet) pour a little of the roasted tomato ranchero sauce to coat the bottom ( use about half the sauce). Place the peppers overtop of the sauce, slit side up, then spoon the filling into each one. Pour the rest of the flavorful ranchero sauce over top. At this point you could add more shredded cheese to the top, or leave it off.
Cover with foil and bake 20-25 minutes in a 425F oven- or until the filling is warm and melty, uncover and bake 5 more minutes.
Garnish with cilantro leaves, toasted pumpkin seeds and sour cream if you like.
Notes
Poblano Chilies ( vs Pasilla peppers) are easiest to work with- they are sturdier. They will most likely take 30 minutes to roast while pasillas roast much quicker, so check after 10-15 minutes or they may get too soft to handle. You can also blacken either of peppers on a gas grill or on a stovetop gas burner ( easiest) rotating with tongs until charred on all sides, then wrap up in foil for 8-10 minutes to allow them to soften before seeding and peeling under cool running water.
If cooking for mixed households you can bake these individual baking dishes or even in mini cast iron skillets like you see here – which is especially nice if cooking for both vegans and meat-eaters. You can easily add meat to some while keeping others vegan or vegetarian. If adding meat, browned Mexican chorizo is nice as well as cooked shredded chicken or browned ground turkey.
The peppers you see in the photos were abnormally large poblanos. One pepper was one serving. If you only have smaller ones available, get more, you may need to serve 2 as a serving.
Keywords: chilies rellenos, healthy chilies rellenos, chilies rellenos recipe, vegan chilies rellenos, baked chilies rellenos, chilies rellenos healthy
Cooked this today and me and my family loooooved it!
★★★★★
I am a vegetarian . In addition to making chiles relleno at home many, many times, it is my go to order whenever at a Mexican restaurant. These are the best chiles relleno ever! And it is super easy. I have used this recipe several times, substituting and changing ingredients but i think the recipe as written is perfect. (I like using spicy jack cheese) If you like your chiles relleno with an egg batter coating, this recipe is not the recipe for you, otherwise i dont think you will be disappointed.
★★★★★
Thank you so much Carole! Appreciate this!
These were awesome! Thanks for sharing the recipe. We added some rotisserie chicken to some of them (for those of us who eat meat) and they were a hit all around. Sauce was great, filling and associated flavors were perfect. Served with rice and pineapple blackberry habanero margaritas!
★★★★★
Love that you added chicken to some- and ohhhhhhhh those margaritas! Yum!
Delicious!! I made It with the vegan “ricotta” with cilantro, cumin and oregano and blended it too much, but what a happy find! The tofu “ricotta“ was so delicious we ate the leftovers with chips – it tasted like guacamole! I think the next time I make this I will serve it over polenta or masa cakes to add some texture and carbs for the athletes in my family. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Great Idea! thanks Laurel!
These are sooooooooo delicious! Loved every combination to making it. This sauce is surely unique and special. Used the left over sauce over scrambled tofu burritos. This is a rich meal on its on, especially served with cilantro lime rice, so we love the fact that these are baked and not fried. Your photos are gorgeous and the meal was outstanding. Thanks for sharing such tasty recipes.
★★★★★
Yay- so happy you liked it!
Made this as recommended above. My family loved it! The homemade ranchero sauce was a hit and we had some left over the next day! Can’t wait to make it again and try some more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Thanks and so happy you enjoyed!
Didn’t love these. A lot of work for what you get and I really missed the batter coating of the traditional chiles rellenos). Would not make this again.
Hummm… sorry about that. Not traditional and maybe not for everyone- definitely a lightened up version.
The instructions are pretty nice and easy. Very healthy recipe which can be made for family get together. One can always elevate it with crema, guacamole, and hot sauce.
★★★★★
Thanks so much, appreciate this!
I absolutely adore this recipe! I originally made it with the vegan tofu ricotta AND store bought vegan cheese too haha but the tofu ricotta is what really makes the dish! Had to sub with bell peppers as couldn’t find poblanos, but i’m now happily armed with poblanos so am making it again this weekend sans the store bought vegan cheese! It’s super flavorful and feels very clean – a total winner! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
★★★★★
Awesome Ligeia!
This is SO good! I have been telling anyone who will listen how much I loved this dish. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Thank you Joel- very appreciated!
Even my kids ate it!
★★★★★
yay!!!
Fantastic recipe! Great flavor, beautiful presentation, easy anf fun to make. Everyone loved it.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Mary, appreciate this!
Great recipe. I modified it a bit because hubby and I love spicy so i used serrano peppers instead of jalapeno. And I used vegan mozzarella for the cheese. It was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Sounds perfect!
Delicious! However it should be noted it is EXTREMELY HOT! I followed the recipe exactly and it was too hot for me. But my husband is obsessed so I’m making it again tonight with one jalapeño instead of two, adding an Anaheim pepper instead and de-seeding them before blending. I’ll let you know how it goes!
★★★★★
Hi Amanda, sometimes the poblanos can be hot too. Most often they are not hot at all…. but every once in awhile I get a hot one. I bet it was that. 🙂
You’re doing really great things. I always follow you. Thank you.
★★★★★
Awww,thanks so much, very appreciated!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I made it for dinner tonight and followed exactly with two modifications. Fist I did not wash the peppers under running water because it washes away a lot of the char flavor. Second I cooked the sauce for about 6 minutes and added 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar to it. I made it with the vegan options making your tofu ricotta. It really is a fantastic dish!
★★★★★
Thanks Cindy!
My husband and I LOVE this recipe. We have now made it twice. I have wanted to make it for a while now but wasn’t able to find poblano peppers in Stockholm. However, we just discovered that there is a store that imports them and so we ran right out and bought some. It is so delicious! Thank you for making such a great recipe. And THAT SAUCE is to die for. I’ll be using it on other things as well!
★★★★★
Thanks so much I’m happy you both like it!
Sounds yummy!
Wow!! I have made this from many recipes, but this is by FAR the best! I doubled the jalapeno because my husband and I love the spice, and left all jalapeno out of my kids portion. Fantastic! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Great to hear! Thanks!!!
Your recipes look so gorgeous and delicious. I am a diabetic and so many carbs would spike my blood sugar. I can however sub-out the beans for for black soy beans! I’ll give it a try and let you know.
Beans are a super food for diabetics. Black beans have glycemic index of 30. They are rich in fiber and protein,
This recipe was awesome! Really flavorful and just the right amount of heat.
★★★★★
Yay!!! I’m happy to hear it. Thanks for rating and commenting Bob!
My lime tree is full of fruit so it’s time for a margarita party! I’d like to prep in advance – do you think these will freeze well?
★★★★★
That sounds wonderful. I’m not sure about freezing, I think it would work… but haven’t personally tried.