Bobby Flay Stuffed Poblano Peppers 

If you’ve ever watched The Food Network, chances are you’ve seen Bobby Flay cooking up something delicious on one of his many cooking shows, and his stuffed poblano peppers are a fan favorite.

The stuffed poblano pepper, or “chile relleno” is filled with a mixture of mushrooms, cheese, and spices and can be found on the menu at his restaurant, Mesa Grill, in Las Vegas.

If you never had the chance of tasting Bobby Flay stuffed peppers in person, you’re in luck because it’s a super easy recipe to follow, doesn’t require special equipment, and comes together in under an hour!

How to make Bobby Flay Stuffed Poblano Peppers

The most important step of preparing this recipe is roasting the poblano peppers whole until they are completely charred, then letting them “sweat” in a bowl covered in plastic wrap.

This process intensifies the complex flavor of the poblano peppers and helps remove the bitter and chewy outer skin.

The peppers are stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, garlic, goat cheese, Monterey jack cheese, and spices.

The stuffed pepper is then coated in rice flour and cornmeal, lightly fried, and topped with hot sauce.

If you aren’t comfortable with deep frying in your home kitchen, don’t worry! The step is optional, and the chile relleno will still be super delicious without the breading.

The most important thing to remember when making stuffed peppers is to have fun with them! Just make sure you follow the general outline and you’ll be a stuffed pepper expert.

Here’s how you do it.

Ingredients:

(4 servings)

• 4 large poblano peppers
• 2 cups mushrooms, finely chopped (oyster is best, but use any mushroom you like)
• 1.5 cups soft goat cheese
• 1 cup Monterey jack cheese
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1.5 cups rice flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• ½ cup warm water
• 1 quart neutral oil for frying
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• Hot sauce for serving

Instructions:

If you’re frying the peppers, make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready for use.

Once the peppers are stuffed, they should be coated in batter and fried as soon as possible.

Just follow these steps and you’ll have perfect stuffed poblanos in no time!

Step 1:

Char the poblano peppers.

If you have a gas stove top, remove the stove grates and set all four burners to medium-high.

Place the poblanos directly into the flames, turning every few minutes until the entire pepper is completely charred.

If you have a kitchen torch, you can use that instead.

Alternatively, heat your oven to 400°F and place the poblanos on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Dry roast the peppers in the oven for 30 minutes or until charred all over, turning every 10 minutes to encourage even charring.

Transfer the poblanos to a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside.

Step 2:

Prepare your mushrooms.

Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil over medium heat in a large skillet.

Add in the chopped mushrooms and cook until all of the moisture has cooked out and the mushrooms start to brown. About 10 minutes.

Once browned, add in the garlic, salt and cumin and saute until the garlic and cumin are fragrant. About 2 minutes.

Step 3:

Make the filling.

In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, shredded cheese, and mushroom mixture and mix until the mushrooms are evenly distributed throughout the cheese.

Set aside.

Step 4:

Prepare your frying station.

You’ll need 3 medium bowls.

Fill one bowl with 1 cup of rice flour, and one bowl with cornmeal.

In the third bowl, combine ½ cup of rice flour and ½ cup of warm water and whisk to combine.

You should have a flour and water mixture that is similar to a thin pancake batter.

If the batter is too thick, add more water ¼ cup at a time until you’ve reached the desired consistency.

Set aside.

Step 5:

Heat your frying oil.

Add your frying oil to a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan and set over medium heat, allowing the oil to come up to 350°F.

Step 6:

Prepare the peppers.

Using a butter knife, slough off the charred skin of the peppers.

It should slide right off, but if it clings to the pepper, use a tiny bit of force, taking care not to pierce the poblano.

If a little bit of skin won’t budge, that’s ok.

Once peeled, cut a vertical line along the seam of the pepper, stopping at the stem base.

Gently open the two flaps and remove the membrane and as many seeds as possible.

Repeat with each pepper.

Step 7:

Stuff the peppers.

Using a spoon, fill each pepper with 2-3 tablespoons of filling until the poblano is full but the flaps can still be closed.

Once filled, use a cooking skewer or a toothpick to bring the seam back together and close the pepper.

Repeat with each pepper.

Step 8:

Fry the stuffed poblanos.

Place a poblano in the bowl of rice flour, using your hands to lightly coat the pepper all over.

Shake off any excess.

Gently dunk the poblano into the rice flour and water mixture and let any excess batter drip back into the bowl.

Transfer the batter-coated poblano to the bowl of cornmeal, using your hands to completely coat the outside of the poblano.

Gently shake off any excess.

Carefully lower the pepper into the frying oil.

It should start bubbling and sputtering immediately. If it doesn’t, your oil isn’t hot enough.

Using a kitchen spider or fine-mesh sieve with a handle, occasionally turn the poblano to encourage even browning.

Fry until the batter is golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Remove from the oil and transfer to a wire rack to drain.

Sprinkle immediately with kosher salt.

Repeat with each pepper.

Serve warm with your hot sauce of choice and enjoy!

Ingredients substitutions

One of the great things about this recipe is that there is plenty of room for interpretation because there is no wrong way to stuff a pepper!

When you’re making substitutions, keep in mind that minimizing the water content of the filling is crucial for a structurally sound pepper.

As such, make sure you drain or cook off any excess moisture with the substituted ingredients.

Here are some substitutions you can make to create your ideal stuffed poblano pepper.

1. Black Beans

If you aren’t a mushroom fan, black beans are great to use in their place!

Black beans have excellent flavor and go great with the spices in the dish.

Use canned black beans and drain and thoroughly rinse them before dehydrating them in a saute pan.

2. Mexican Chorizo

Using Mexican chorizo in place of mushrooms is a great option if you prefer to stuff your peppers with meat.

Chorizo is incredibly flavorful and goes great with the cheese mixture.

Brown the chorizo in the pan and drain off as much fat as you can before making the cheese mixture, and reduce the salt by half.

3. Cream Cheese

Goat cheese isn’t for everyone, and if you aren’t crazy about its flavor, using cream cheese in its place is a great option.

The consistency of cream cheese is perfect for stuffing peppers and its subtle tang works great in the recipe.

4. Roasted Red Peppers

In many places, poblanos are sold seasonally, so if you can’t track them down, roasted red peppers are a great swap!

Follow the same method of charring and sweating for skin removal, or use jarred pre-roasted red peppers, which can be found in the canned vegetable section of most grocers.

Now that you’ve made your peppers, let’s explore the best way to eat them!

What to serve with Bobby Flay Stuffed Poblano Peppers

There are so many great dishes to serve with these peppers, the possibilities seem endless! Here are some of our favorite ways to eat them.

Fajitas

A sizzling tray of fajitas with the accompanying plates of cilantro, red onion, and sour cream is a true delight, and this recipe is great to serve alongside it.

The flavors of the pepper pair extremely well with a fajita dinner and it’s a great way to sneak some more vegetables into a meat-heavy meal.

Cilantro Rice

Roasted peppers are smokey and intense and a fresh and herby side dish like cilantro rice is a perfect counterbalance.

You could even sneak some into the stuffing mixture and have a whole meal in one pepper!

Eggs

Hear us out. Eggs and stuffed peppers are an excellent pairing, and they work particularly well with the flavors of this recipe.

You can eat them as a side dish to scrambled eggs, top them with fried or poached eggs, or even chop up any leftover peppers and throw them into a scramble or breakfast taco.

However you eat your eggs and peppers, it will be delicious!

How to reheat Bobby Flay Stuffed Poblano Peppers

If you find yourself with leftover stuffed poblano peppers, you’re in luck! Not only will they be even more delicious the next day due to the flavors melding together, but they reheat very well!

Reheating these peppers is super simple, but they shouldn’t be reheated in the microwave, as the breading will get soggy and the cheese will completely melt, resulting in a sloppy mess.

Instead, use the oven or an air fryer to reheat.

How to reheat Bobby Flay stuffed poblano peppers in the oven

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet tray with foil.

Lightly brush the outside of the peppers with olive oil, and position the tray on the middle rack.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until warmed through.

How to reheat Bobby Flay stuffed poblano peppers in the air fryer

Preheat your air fryer to 375°F.

Place leftover peppers in the air fryer basket, making sure they don’t overlap.

Reheat for 8 minutes, turning once.

If you find yourself with leftover stuffed poblanos but don’t plan on eating them immediately, they store very well.

This is how we recommend storing them.

How to store Bobby Flay Stuffed Poblano Peppers

While these peppers do store well, the dairy in the stuffing makes them highly perishable.

As such, it’s important to eat them as soon as possible to avoid spoilage.

Store in the fridge

Transfer the leftover poblano peppers to a container with a tight-fitting lid.

Cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you want to keep the stuffed peppers for longer or pre-batch them for future use, they can also be stored in the freezer.

But it’s very important to freeze them properly to avoid freezer burn.

Store in the freezer

Make sure the peppers have cooled down completely and transfer to a parchment-lined baking tray.

Place in the freezer, uncovered until frozen through.

This can take up to 4 hours.

Once completely frozen, wrap each pepper individually in plastic wrap, and transfer them to a freezer-safe container.

Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Do not thaw before reheating.