Baked Hatch Chile Rellenos over Ranchero
Hatch chile season on a plate, and the most photogenic thing you will cook all week. Whole Hatch chiles roasted and peeled, stuffed with melting jack, and baked golden over a bright ranchero salsa. All the soul of a chile relleno without the deep-fry. It is the showpiece dinner, and it is worth the little bit of extra love.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
- Method
- Roast + Bake
Hatch chiles come around just once a year, roasted fresh all over the Southwest and California through August, and that smoky-sweet flavor is the whole reason to make this now. Melissa's Produce is the one that brought Hatch chile season to markets out here, so roast your own or grab their fire-roasted Hatch chiles. The classic relleno is battered and deep-fried, but roasting and baking gets you the same blistered, melty result on a weeknight without a pot of oil. Peel them under a towel so the skins slip right off.
What actually matters here
- Roast and peel the chiles under a towel so the skins slip off easily.
- Bake instead of fry for the same melty result without a pot of oil.
- Leave the stem on and cut one long slit so the chile holds its shape around the cheese.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
Chiles
- 6Hatch chiles (or poblanos), roasted and peeled
- 12 ozMonterey jack or Oaxaca cheese, in strips
- 1/2 cupflour
- 2 tbspolive oil
Ranchero Salsa
- 1 lbripe tomatoes
- 1/2onion
- 2garlic cloves
- 1jalapeno
- 1 tspground cumin
- salt
To Serve
- cilantro
- crema or lime
- warm rice and beans
Before you start
- Roast the Hatch chiles under the broiler until blistered, then steam in a covered bowl and peel.
- Cut a slit in each and stuff with cheese strips; close and dust lightly with flour.
- Char the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and jalapeno for the salsa.
Method
- Blend the charred tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin into a ranchero salsa; season and warm it.
- Sear the stuffed chiles briefly in oil to set them, or go straight to baking.
- Spread the salsa in a baking dish and nestle the chiles in.
- Bake at 400 degrees 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is molten and bubbling.
- Finish with cilantro and a drizzle of crema.
- Serve with rice and beans to make it a full plate.
How you know it is right
- The chiles are blistered, soft, and holding their shape.
- The cheese is fully molten inside.
- The ranchero salsa is bright and a little smoky.
- It looks like the plate you would order at your favorite spot.
How to serve it
Serve over the ranchero salsa with rice, beans, and warm tortillas.
If you want it simpler
- Melissa's fire-roasted Hatch chiles skip the roasting and peeling entirely.
- Poblanos work year-round when Hatch chile season is over.
Roast the Hatch chiles, stuff them with cheese, bake them over ranchero, and skip the deep-fry.
This dish came from the SEASON plan for August 10 - 16, 2026, alongside nine other dinners and one shopping list.
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Written and tested by Chef Michael Rossi, who has spent thirty years in professional kitchens including Napa Rose, THE RANCH, The Masters at Augusta National, and The Beach Club. Every SEASON recipe is one he has cooked on a real line before it reaches a home kitchen.