We’ve been roasting up a lot of little batches of green chile since around the first of August and with every batch, I’ve been making a quick and easy snack with some of the roasted chiles. Our favorites have been green chile and eggs in some form or fashion. A couple of years ago, I shared one of the easiest things to do with green chile and eggs and that was to just scramble some eggs and top them with chopped green chile. I also shared a tortilla egg sandwich, the go to breakfast or lunch when I just don’t want to figure out what to make. This year I’m sharing a Chile Relleno Quesadillo which is a combination of those two dishes, sort of.
Chile Relleno is Spanish for “stuffed chile”. The chile, which can be any type of chile, chili or chilie pepper, is normally roasted and peeled then stuffed with anything from cheese to sausage to fruit and nuts. The traditional chile rellenos served in restaurants here in New Mexico is a meaty New Mexico green chile, stuffed with cheese, usually cheddar or Monterey Jack, then dipped in an egg and flour or cornmeal batter and fried. Once plated, the rellenos are smothered with green or red chile sauce or Christmas (both green and red) – whatever the customer wants. I always choose green for rellenos.
When I make rellenos at home, I eliminate the batter and just go for stuffing the chile with cheese or chicken or chorizo, then heating on a griddle or in the microwave. In this chile relleno quesadilla, the chile is stuffed with cheese. then cooked with a scrambled egg between two corn tortillas in a hot skillet until the egg has set. The final touch is a little salsa (the condiment, not the dance, although you’ll probably want to dance after the first bite. 🙂 ). Hope you enjoy!
Chile Relleno Quesadilla
A quick & Easy spicy breakfast made with roasted New Mexico chile.
NOTE: The times mention here are variable and change with how high the heat is, the temperature of the ingredients, and how hot the skillet is when you start. Be sure to read the Kitchen Notes about Flipping the Quesadilla.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 2 corn tortillas
- 1 large, meaty green chile – roasted, peeled and stems removed
- Semi-hard cheese, cut into 2 lengths, ¼” per side, each length being the length of half the chile
- A thin slice of butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. cream or half and half
- A pinch of dried oregano
- ¼ tsp. green chile powder (optional)
- Dash of salt and pepper
- Your favorite salsa
- Place the skillet over a medium-low heat. Using a small piece of butter, run it around the edge of the skillet to prevent the egg from sticking. Don’t let the butter melt into the bottom of the skillet if you can help it.
- Cut the green chile in half crosswise and stuff each half with one length of cheese.
- In a small bowl, scramble the egg with the cream, oregano, chile powder, salt and pepper.
- Place one of the corn tortillas in the hot skillet for about 1 minute.
- Pour the egg mixture on top of the tortilla and let cook for 2 minutes or until the egg has started to set at the bottom.
- Place the 2 halves of stuffed chile on top of the egg, leaving space between each piece for the egg mixture to rise around it.
- When the egg is cooked more than halfway through, but uncooked on the top, place the other tortilla on top. Press a little with the spatula to allow the tortilla to grip to the uncooked egg.
Carefully flip the quesadillo* and increase the heat to medium. Cook for another minute or 2 until the second corn tortilla is crispy brown and the egg is set.
- Remove from skillet and serve with salsa.
The Skillet – The skillet is a pretty important item for this sandwich to come out right. Because the egg is scrambled, when you pour it on top of the first tortilla, it naturally spreads to fill the pan; therefore, you want the pan to be sized so that the egg doesn’t run beyond or under the edges of the tortilla and that it stays within the perimeter of the tortilla as much as possible. I found this cute little cast iron skillet (see pictures) at an estate sale a while back and it is perfect for this dish because its the diameter of a corn tortilla.
Butter – The reason you butter the sides of the skillet is to keep the egg from sticking, making the sandwich easier to flip. You don’t want butter on the bottom of the skillet otherwise your tortilla gets too buttery and you don’t get this beautiful crispy browning of the tortilla.
Chile Relleno – One large chile cut in half is all I need; however, you should be able to fit 1 ½ chiles in the skillet if you want more. Just be sure to leave enough space between the relleno pieces so that the egg mixture can rise between them and wrap around the top. Don’t wait too long to place the rellenos in the egg mixture. You want the egg to be uncooked enough so that as it cooks it encases the rellenos.
Cheese – My favorite cheese for this dish is Manchego or an aged cheddar. Too soft of a cheese can melt into the egg mixture preventing it from setting properly. The firmer and older cheeses stay contained so you get a nice bite of chile and cheese with your eggs.
Egg Mixture – You can season the egg any way you want to. I like to keep it simple with a touch of oregano and chile powder, but add whatever flavors you like with egg and green chile.
Flipping the Quesadilla – This is the tricky part. If you flip too soon you end up throwing egg all over the stovetop. I know this from experience. If you flip too late, then by the time the second tortilla is crispy brown, the egg is overcooked, dry and hard. So rather than use “times”, I use my eyes. The majority of the cooking is done on medium low heat before your flip it. When the egg just starts to set between the chile pieces, it’s time to place the second tortilla and flip.
The Finishing Touch – There are many creative finishing touches here. I really like the tartness of Green Chile and Tomatillo Salsa, but a green chile sauce or even a red chile sauce make a great finish. Just top each bite with some salsa, or dip the quesadilla in a sauce and enjoy.
Chile relleno quesadilla is just one of the many dishes that you can make with green chile. Click the link for more Green Chile Recipes.
Here are a couple of ideas for a green chile breakfast:
Green Chile Cheese Breakfast Bake
Migas – Scrambled Eggs with fried tortillas chips and green chile
Oh, my! I’m 6 years late coming to this party. Lucky me I stumbled onto your site while reading about Bolita Beans. Chile Relleno Quesadilla! 😋😋
The party is still going! So glad you stumbled in and I hope to see you again soon!
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That was delicious. I used Diaz Farms green chile, had a nice bite. The spices were just right. Makes an easy light dinner. Enjoy your recipes.
Elia – Thanks so much for the comments!!! So thrilled you liked this quesadilla and I bet Diaz Farms’ green chile was not only spicy but very tasty. Thanks again and so good to hear from you!
MJ, in your interpretation and photographs even the Mexican cuisine looks elegant! (Usually it’s the opposite though I have loved all the messy Mexican dishes I tasted!). I love this simple recipe. I feel it might be a good one for someone not very experienced in cooking Mexican dishes… When I make it I’ll make sure my chiles are really hot!
I am used to eating just regular quesadilla. Now you just raised the bar and because I happened to like chile relleno. This is definitely an upgrade for me once I tasted it.
Chile relleno egg sandwich sounds fantastic! Having lived in So Cal for a good chunk of my life, I’ve had a lot of good chile relleno. I so miss it. With the egg, this would be a great breakfast or brunch on a lazy Sunday. Delicious!
Fantastic, MJ! I can taste it already…
I think my copper pan would be just the right size for something like this. My main frying pan is enormous, but the copper one is quite a bit smaller so I think it would fit the tortilla perfectly… of course, failing that, one could always make ones own tortillas at a custom size! 🙂
This looks lovely MJ – I actually never made quesadillas before… my Mexican-inspired cookery tends to stay in the realms of tacos and huevos rancheros, lol 😀
Thanks Charles! Definitely love the idea of making your own tortillas to the size of your pan. 🙂 It’s definitely time to branch out.
Such delicious Quesadillas with all the good stuff inside 🙂 Love the eggs in there and I can see it becoming a hit in my family 🙂
This looks absolutely perfect, MJ! I love the recipe and it sounds really delicious!
You really have chile roasting ceremony in Mexico….am dreaming to attend one such soon 🙂
I would love to have you join me Sanjeeta!
I’ve been improving on my spice level and lately I do enjoy some heat in the food. Chile and egg quesadilla sounds yummy!
Glad to hear that your spice level is improving Nami! I think you would enjoy this. Thanks for the comments!
You do love your chiles and this recipe is definitely a keeper. I bet it’s so flavorful. Can’t wait to try this. My husband and son will love it.
So how could you tell that I loved my chiles Vicki? 🙂 Hope you enjoy.
We have to make time for brunch the next weekend so I can try this one out! Noted your flipping the sandwich tip. I’m going to make it a challenge to see if Mark can do the flipping better than me:) No salsa for the one who lost!
Thanks Reese!! Flipping is a challenge, but when you are successful, it makes you happy. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it.
MJ – what a good idea. I am going to try this in the next few days – I already have me some tortilla’s. Cheers
Hope you enjoy it Carole!
You totally had me at Chile Relleno! What a fun recipe, and perfect for any meal. I would love it after my long work day, it would be a perfect dinner option! Yum, Hugs, Terra
Thanks Terra! Yep – it’s hard to beat a chile relleno, isn’t it? 🙂
This is such a creative dish! I love it. These are some of my favorite flavors and I bet it is super delicious!
A chilli egg quesadilla…perfect for any time of the day.
Good god your sandwich comes at a great time. I am craving sandwiches these days but I needed something new. again I ll have to go for local ingredients and change your recipe here and there MJ so that we can enjoy it one of these sunny days. Thank you so much for sharing, you rock!
Thank you Helene! Of course any type of pepper would work great here. Roasted peppers, cheese and eggs is a great combination.
My kind of breakfast. Spicy and savory!
Love the shot of salsa too.
I’m writing about your calabasitas today MJ. Big hit at our picnic!
LL
Thanks Lori Lynn! I’m so glad the calabacitas were a hit at your picnic! That makes my day!
This sounds really good, MJ. Taking a chile relleno and combining it with a quesadilla is fantastic. I could just as easily eat one of these for supper as I could for breakfast. It might take me a few tries to get the egg right and to flip it but the end-result is so worth the effort. Thanks for the recipe and clear instructions.
For supper – absolutely! Aren’t breakfast and supper the same thing? 🙂 Your are most welcome and thanks for your wonderful comments as always.
Another great breakfast item! this will certainly start my day with a zing.
Thanks Raymund! Yes – this does provide a zing to the start of the day.
My husband loves chile rellenos – he is gonna love this – thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Debra! I hope you like it too! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
This is killing me. I have nothing in the house for breakfast!:)
Thanks Debra! If you’ve got bread or crackers, there’s always something to eat in year house. I could live off of your jams and jellies!
Oh how I’ve missed your blog – sorry I’ve been so MIA these past few months. Happy to be back. And this looks like my ultimate breakfast. Or lunch. Or any time meal. Amazing.
Welcome back Katherine and thanks for the nice comments! I know you’ve been very busy. Way more busy than I want to be. 🙂 Hope you’re having a great weekend!
So, if you’ll permit me to vulgarize, this is like a quesadilla with an egg/chile interior? Mmm…mmm…mmm, my kids (and their parents ;-)), would absolutely love this. I make all kinds of quesadillas with corn tortillas but typically use beans (I know you are also a bean fan!) or some variation of meat for the interior (along with cheese) but never egg. What a revelation! So simple and yet… so perfect. I think it was Leonardo da Vinci who said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” :).
No vulgarization Kelly – yes, it’s a quesadilla with egg and chile. 🙂 Oh yes, I love a good black bean quesadilla, burrito, enchilada, you name it. If it’s got beans, it’s got to be good. Thanks Kelly!
My husband will grin from ear to ear when I make this for breakfast. 🙂
That’s what my husband does. 🙂
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I actually wondered whether you roasted a huge amount of green chilies all at once (the same way some people will spend two days preserving a year’s worth of whatever) or did it in batches. I’d definitely be a batch person! Anyway, lovely sandwich! I love all kinds of egg sandwiches. Great tip regarding the size of pan. This is a fun – and tasty! – sandwich. And I like the way you make this – really good stuff. Thanks.
Thanks John! In the past when I’ve bought the large bags and had the seller roast them, I found they over-roasted and didn’t get a lot of chile that could be used for rellenos. So we’ve started roasted our own in smaller batches. Of course in the winter when I run out, I go down to Frontier restaurant and buy 56 ounces of roasted, peeled, chopped chile. They have it year round.
I love roasted green chiles and chile rellenos! Looks so delicious! My kind of breakfast!
This looks just so delightful, love the combining of the recipes. I wish I could have this for lunch today!
I need to move to your house during chili roasting time. My mouth would be so happy! 🙂 I love this dish… very clever way to eat an egg sandwich. 🙂
Come on over Ramona! We eat chile almost everyday this time of year. 🙂
MJ, I love this! The flavors are right there for me and the texture looks perfect — thanks!