Last Updated on July 7, 2024 by Catrina

If you love chile rellenos, but wish you could take this delicious food on the go, look no further than this cheesy chile relleno burrito! This dish combines the traditional taste of a classic chile relleno with the convenience of a burrito. Roasted poblano peppers filled with gooey, melty cheese are accompanied with refried beans and Mexican rice and then rolled into a large flour tortilla for the ultimate portable take on this classic Mexican food.

Chile relleno burrito cut in half on a blue pottery plate

I grew up in the US Southwest where burritos were part of our normal diet. Now that I live in central Mexico, burritos are just not all that common. Sometimes I crave the delicious portability of a slew of Mexican food ingredients rolled up into a warm flour tortilla. So whenever the craving strikes, I make my own delicious burritos at home. This burrito combines one of my favorite all time Mexican dishes, a classic chile relleno (literally “stuffed pepper” in English), warm creamy refried beans, Mexican rice, and a delicious homemade salsa.

Ready to make a chile relleno burrito? Let’s get started!

What’s in a chile relleno burrito?

Wooden cutting board with chile relleno burrito ingredients

Roasted poblano peppers
Cheese
Egg
Flour
Vegetable oil
Flour tortillas
Refried beans
Mexican-style rice

Be sure to check the recipe card for the full ingredient quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

One of the things that I love about burritos is the endless substitutions and variations. Here are just a few changes that would work well for this burrito!

Roasted chile peppers

Chile rellenos are traditionally made with roasted poblano peppers. But there isn’t any reason why you couldn’t use Hatch, New Mexico chiles or anaheim peppers instead.

Stove-top roasted poblanos on a wooden cutting board

Cheese

When I am making a traditional chile relleno here in central Mexico, I typically use a hard, aged cheese called “cincho”. This cheese has a high melting point, so when the chile is fried, the cheese softens slightly, but doesn’t leak all over the place.

When I am making a chile relleno burrito on the other hand, I love to use a more melty cheese. Asadero would be a good pick for a more traditional Mexican flavor. But monterey jack cheese, gouda, manchego, cheddar cheese, or a blend of your favorite cheeses are good options as well!

I usually use strips of cheese to fill my poblano pepper. I think strips of cheese are a bit easier to manage for filling and frying the chile. If you only have shredded cheese on hand, that will work too! Just be sure to tightly secure your chile pepper before frying so that your cheese doesn’t leak out!

Flour

Lightly coating your chile pepper with flour will help the egg batter stick better. But if you are on a gluten-free diet, you could substitute flour for corn starch.

Vegetable oil

Canola is my frying oil of choice, but you can use whatever oil you have on hand.

Flour tortillas

You need large flour tortillas to successfully roll this burrito. I like to get extra large burrito-sized tortillas that are about 12 inches in diameter. Anything smaller and you are going to have a hard time rolling a full roasted poblano pepper into the filling.

If you are following a gluten-free diet, you can use your favorite wheat-flour alternative tortilla for this recipe!

Refried beans

Homemade or store-bought refried beans will work well in this recipe. The beans help make this all-in-one meal more complete plus they act a bit like a paste get the other ingredients to hold in place. Choose Peruvian beans, pinto beans, or refried black beans!

Close up of peruvian beans in a blue bowl — Peruvian beans

Close up black beans with epazote leaf in a blue talavera bowl — Peruvian beans

Mexican-style rice

If you have leftover rice hanging around, that is perfect for adding to this dish! The rice makes this meal more complete and adds some additional texture to the burrito. If you don’t have leftover rice on hand or don’t want to make rice from scratch, simply omit it.

Mexican white rice in a blue talavera bowl on a wooden tray with a black and white napkin in the background — Mexican white rice

Authentic Mexican Red Rice in a blue talavera bowl with sitting on a blue placemat — Mexican white rice

Extras

The beauty of burritos is that they are totally customizable to your tastes and preferences. Want to add more creaminess? Add in a dollop of Mexican or sour cream. Smashed avocados would be a great extra to this burrito too! If you don’t want rice or beans, then leave them out. Or add in whole cooked beans for a different texture. And of course, I don’t think that any burrito is complete without a delicious, spicy salsa.

Usually chile rellenos are served in a red tomato sauce. So if you are looking to bring in the same elements as a traditional chile relleno to your burrito, a roasted red salsa would be amazing. Or add in a bit of pico de gallo for more texture. A smooth green salsa, like a fresh salsa verde or avocado salsa, would also work well here.

Close up Pico de Gallo in a blue pottery bowl with tortilla chips on the side — Pico de gallo

Creamy avocado and tomatillo salsa in a blue pottery bowl with a wooden spoon and lime wedges on the side. — Pico de gallo

Modifications

Stuffing a poblano pepper with cheese and then stuffing it into a flour tortilla just makes sense to me. But if you want to save yourself the hassle of whipping eggs, stuffing the chile, battering and frying, why not make this burrito with a deconstructed chile relleno? Simply scramble up eggs with strips of roasted poblano peppers and cheese, then add them to a warm flour tortilla.

You could make this take on a breakfast burrito even more filling by using fried breakfast potatoes or hash browns in place of the rice. Yum!

How to make chile relleno burritos

Chile relleno burritos take a bit of time to put together, but the results are so worth it!

Start with roasted poblano peppers

This recipe assumes that you have your poblano peppers already roasted and cleaned, with blackened skin, stems, and seeds removed. This link will show you how to roast poblano peppers if you need to start with this step.

Whip the egg

Separate the whites from the egg yolks. Place the egg whites in a bowl and using a handheld electric mixer, whip the egg whites on high speed until they hold stiff peaks. Then add in the egg yolk and whip for a few seconds more on medium speed until the yolk is evenly incorporated. Set the egg batter aside until ready.

Note: I recommend using a hand-held mixer for this recipe instead of a stand mixer. Why? With only one egg, the volume of ingredients in the stand mixer just isn’t enough to whisk properly. I had more success getting the egg to the desired consistency with a hand held mixer where I could control the height of the whisk and ensure that it reached the bottom of the bowl to mix all of the ingredients evenly.

Prepare the chiles

Take one cleaned, roasted pepper and add in about half of the cheese. Pin the pepper closed with a toothpick to secure the cheese inside. Lightly flour the chile pepper. Repeat this process for the second pepper.

Roasted poblano pepper, cleaned, stuffed with cheese, pinned closed and dusted with flour

Batter and fry the chile peppers

Once the egg is whipped and your peppers stuffed, heat your oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil is heating up, coat the chile in the egg batter until completely covered. Then place seam side-down in the hot frying oil. Fry the chile for 1-2 minutes per side or until the batter turns golden brown, flipping to ensure the batter is evenly cooked. If you use a large skillet, both chiles rellenos can be fried at the same time.

Once the batter is nice and golden brown, cover a plate with paper towels and place the peppers on top to drain off any excess oil. Repeat this process for the second pepper, if you are using a smaller skillet. Remove the toothpicks from the peppers!

Battered and stuffed poblano peppers frying in pan

Warm up the burrito ingredients

While your chiles are frying to a beautiful golden brown color, you will want to heat up your beans and rice, so that all of the ingredients are ready to go into your burrito! I don’t own a microwave, so I use a small skillet or pot to heat the rice and beans over medium heat on the stove.

You will want to have your flour tortilla warm as well! This will make it much easier to roll your burrito and keep the flour tortilla from cracking. Simply heat the tortilla in a large non-stick skillet for a couple of seconds on each side until pliable.

Assemble your burrito

Now that all of the ingredients are cooked or warmed through, you are ready to assemble your burrito! Lay out your large flour tortilla on a clean surface. I like to use a large cutting board or plate for my burrito assembly. Start by spreading half of the refried beans on your flour tortilla. Leave a small margin at the edge of your tortilla without any ingredients to avoid a burrito blow-out.

Flour tortilla with black refried beans, and white rice

On top of your beans, add half of the rice, and one chile relleno towards the bottom half of your burrito (see images above). To roll your burrito, start by folding the bottom of the tortilla over the ingredients. Then fold each side of the tortilla towards the center. Roll the burrito towards the empty end of the tortilla to create a packet with the ingredients sealed inside. Repeat this step for each burrito.

First step in rolling a burrito, fold bottom of tortilla over ingredients — Step 1

Second step to rolling a burrito, fold sides of tortilla towards center — Step 1

Your burrito is now ready to enjoy, but I have one extra step that I think makes this burrito even better!

Lightly oil a non-stick skillet and heat it over medium heat. When your skillet is hot, place your burrito seam side-down and lightly toast for a couple of minutes or until the burrito is golden brown on all sides. This gives the burrito a bit of a crunchy texture and more stiffness keeping all of the ingredients together. I don’t make burritos anymore without taking this extra step. Try it and see if it works for you!

Toasted chile relleno burrito with red salsa on a blue plate

FAQs and Tips

Can I make chile rellenos in advance?

Yes! Because chile rellenos are time consuming to make, I sometimes make a few extras. Once the chiles are cool, I place them in a airtight container and store them in the fridge for 4-5 days. Then if you get a craving for these burritos, they are simple and much faster to put together. Just make sure to heat the chile relleno all the way through to ensure your burrito ingredients are warm and the cheese is melted!

How do I clean a roasted pepper?

In my post on how to roast poblano peppers, I cover the basics of how to roast and clean a poblano pepper. But for a quick overview, keep reading.

Once your poblano pepper skins are blackened (not ashy) on all sides, place peppers in a plastic bag or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Allow them to sweat for a few minutes to soften the blackened skins. Then simply peel the blackened skins from the pepper or rub the pepper gently with your fingers to loosen the skins.

With the blackened skins removed, use a paring knife to gently slice through one side of the chile. Remove the veins from inside the pepper and cut away the stem and seeds from the pepper. Your pepper is now clean and can be used for making chile rellenos or other dishes with roasted poblano peppers.

Can I make these burritos in advance?

You sure can! Simply follow all of the steps in this recipe. Once the burrito is cool, wrap it in aluminum foil and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

To reheat, remove the burrito from the foil and heat in the microwave.

For best results though, I use my oven. Sara Lindberg and Alexandria Brooks’ article explains exactly how to do this! Preheat your oven to 225 F and place a loosely wrapped burrito in aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Heat through for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.

Related recipes

No burrito is complete, in my humble opinion, without a delicious salsa or guacamole. These options would make delicious additions to this chile relleno burrito!

Charred Salsa Roja in a blue talavera bowl on a red, white, and green cloth — Charred red salsa

Simple, authentic guacamole in a blue talavera bowl with wooden spoon sitting on top of a colorful Mexican rebozo — Charred red salsa

I would love to hear how this burrito turned out for you! Let me know in the comments!

Cheesy Chile Relleno Burrito Recipe

A portable take on a Mexican classic! Chile relleno burritos combine roasted poblano peppers, melty cheese, beans, and rice for an all-in-one meal on-the-go!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 15

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

2 roasted poblano peppers Blackened skins, stems, and seeds removed. See notes
~3 ounces cheese Cut into strips. See notes
1 egg whites and yolk separated
1 tbs flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil I use canola
2 large flour tortillas 10-12 inches in diameter
1/2 cup warm refried beans See notes
1/2 cup warm Mexican-style rice See notes

Instructions

Place egg white in a bowl and whisk on high speed with a hand-held electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 1.5-2 minutes
1 egg
Add in the yolk and whisk with the hand held mixture until evenly incorporated, about 10 seconds.
Divide the cheese evenly between each pepper. Roll the pepper to close and secure with a toothpick if desired.
2 roasted poblano peppers, ~3 ounces cheese
Lightly dust each pepper with flour.
1 tbs flour
Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Coat each pepper with the egg batter and place in the hot oil. Ensure the cheese remains inside the pepper by placing the seam side down first.
Fry for about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the chile and cook the other side until golden, about another 2 minutes. Remove the chiles from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil. Remove toothpick if used to secure the chile pepper seam.
Warm the flour tortillas in a hot, dry, non-stick skillet on medium heat until soft and pliable, about 15 seconds each side.
2 large flour tortillas
Warm up the rice and beans for a few seconds in the microwave or over medium-heat on the stove. Spread half of the refried beans on each of the tortillas. Then top with half of the rice.
1/2 cup warm refried beans, 1/2 cup warm Mexican-style rice
Place on chile pepper on each tortilla.
To roll the burrito, fold in the sides of the tortilla, then roll the burrito from the bottom to the top enclosing all of the ingredients. Repeat with the second burrito.
In a lightly oiled non-stick skillet over medium heat, lightly toast the burrito starting with the seam side first, until the tortilla is slightly golden. Turn occasionally to toast each side of the burrito evenly.
Enjoy warm with your favorite salsa!

Notes

For instructions on how to roast poblano peppers, check out this post.
You can use your choice of cheese for this recipe. I like a cheese that melts so there is an extra gooey texture to this burrito. You could try this with cheddar, monterey jack, muenster, asadero, or a blend of cheese.
You can use canned or homemade refried beans.
This recipe works great with leftover rice. If you are looking to make Mexican rice from scratch, check out this post here.

Keyword Vegetarian

(The below nutrition label is included as a courtesy. Our terms and conditions explain our nutrition policy.)