Picture this … a chile relleno without the battered coating, bursting with a creamy mix of chicken, cheese, and spicy peppers, baked until the pepper is meltingly soft and the cheese is ooey and gooey.
Cliff Notes:
Poach and shred chicken; cut open poblano peppers and remove seeds and ribs, bake poblano peppers at 375° for 15 minutes; make filling: sauté onions and jalapenos, add chicken stock, cream, spices, and cheese (tossed with corn starch) to make a sauce; stir in sour cream and shredded chicken; fill peppers with chicken mixture; top with grated cheese and sour cream mixture; bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes until the peppers are soft.
Make It Your Way:
– Substitute pre-cooked rice for the chicken and use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian
– Use less-spicy green peppers instead of poblano peppers, and/or reduce the amount of jalapeno peppers
– Add carrots, corn, or tomatoes to the filling
Simplify It:
– Use the meat from a rotisserie chicken instead of poaching chicken breast
– Use a can of condensed Cream of Chicken soup instead of making the sauce; sauté the onions and peppers, then mix in the soup, spices, cheese, and sour cream. Since the condensed soup already has salt in it, taste the mixture before adding more.
Picture this … a chile relleno without the battered coating, bursting with a creamy mix of chicken, cheese, and spicy peppers, baked until the pepper is meltingly soft and the cheese is ooey and gooey.
Now that I have your attention, it’s time to turn that into reality on your plate. These little beauties came about when I wanted to enjoy my favorite sour cream enchiladas, but didn’t want the carbs from the flour tortillas. It is one of those magical moments where the modifications make it a much better dish than the original … and I really liked the original recipe!
When shopping for the poblano peppers, look for large, fat peppers that look like they’ll have plenty of room inside for as much filling as possible.
Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Ingredients
- FOR POACHING THE CHICKEN
- 2 large Chicken Breasts, boneless & skinless (about 1-1.5 pounds)
- Cold Water
- 3 1/2 Tablespoons Salt
- ———————
- FOR THE FILLING
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1/4 cup chopped Onion
- 3 Jalapeno peppers, chopped (adjust quantity to your taste)
- 1 clove Garlic, crushed
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 oz Cream Cheese
- 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 6 oz Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated
- 1 Tablespoon Corn Starch
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- ———————
- 8 large Poblano Peppers, cut open, ribs and seeds removed, but otherwise left whole
- 2 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, grated
Instructions
- POACHING THE CHICKEN
- Place the chicken breasts into a medium-sized sauce pan that has a lid. Add cold water to completely cover the chicken plus about an inch. Add salt.
- Turn the heat on to medium and heat until the water begins to boil. Use tongs to flip the chicken over, cover with the lid and move the pan off of the hot burner. Let the chicken sit in the hot water for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, check the internal temperature of the chicken using an instant read thermometer. Once it reaches 150°, remove the chicken from the water and let rest until it’s cool enough to handle.
- Shred into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- ———————
- PREPARE THE POBLANO PEPPERS
- Preheat the oven or air fryer to 400°. Cut the poblano peppers open, with a “T” cut: make a horizontal slit at the top of the pepper by the stem, then a vertical slit down the length of the pepper. Open up the pepper and use a spoon or knife to remove most of the ribs and seeds.
- Cook the peppers for 15-20 minutes, flipping over half-way through the cooking time, until the skin of the peppers is toasty and blistering. Remove from oven and cover the peppers with foil for 5-10 minutes, until peppers are cool enough to handle. Carefully remove the outer skin from the peppers, taking care not to tear the flesh. Set aside.
- ———————
- MAKE THE FILLING
- In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium, then sauté the chopped onions and jalapenos until softened, but not browned. Add in the crushed garlic and stir for 15-20 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Stir in seasonings.
- Toss the 6 oz. of Monterrey Jack cheese with the corn starch.
- Remove from heat and add the cheese/cornstarch mixture a handful at a time, mixing between each addition until the cheese is melted. Add seasonings.
- Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and shredded chicken.
- ———————
- ASSEMBLY
- Spread a thin layer of the filling mixture on the bottom of a baking pan that is just big enough to hold the peppers.
- Divide all but about 1 cup of the remaining filling between all the peppers and place them in the pan.
- Mix the remaining grated cheese with the remaining filling, and spread this mixture over the tops of the peppers.
- Broil for 10-15 minutes until the cheese topping is browned and bubbly.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro, tomatoes, and sour cream.
- ——————–
- And here’s the video!