Only 6 gm carbohydrate in this delicious chile rellenos casserole. Satisfy your low carb Mexican food cravings with this weeknight favorite you can make in under 40 minutes.
This recipe originally published January 2019, now with all new step by step instructions and expert tips.
Mexican food is the best!! Some of my favorites include Low Carb Mexican Chicken Bowl, Low Carb Mexican Fajita Bowl and Low Carb Steak Taco Bowl. Another yummy Mexican recipe that's great anytime is Fajita Pepper Snacks!
This low carb chile relleno casserole will help you satisfy your Mexican food craving while watching your carb intake. This recipe calls for either canned or fresh peppers (whichever you have). I used diced green chiles because I had them in my pantry. I have also made this low carb casserole with fresh poblano peppers and they were awesome! I roasted them in the oven then let them steam and they were easily peeled. Also, I have made this with and without the ground beef and it's great either way.
What are chiles rellenos?
Chile rellenos consist of roasted poblano or other pepper stuffed and fried. This traditional Mexican dish can be high in carbs and fat due to the batter used when frying.
Why this recipe works
- Short on time? This recipe uses canned green chiles as a time-saver. Feel free to roast your poblanos if desired.
- Unlike traditional chile rellenos, there is no frying! Simply layer ingredients and the egg batter cooks up cheesy and delicious.
- Make it with or without ground beef. Your choice!
🥘 Ingredients
- Ground beef- I use ground round but you may use ground beef if desired.
- Diced onions- fresh or frozen (another time-saver) work equally well.
- Diced green chiles- find these in the Mexican food section of your market.
- Cheese- choose your favorite- cheddar to monterey jack work well.
🔪 Instructions
Photo 1 - Begin browning the ground beef with onions. You may omit this step and leave off the ground beef if you desire. Photo 2- Browned ground beef. Photo 3- Layer the green chiles (fresh roasted and peeled or canned) in a medium size casserole dish. Photo 4- Add the ground beef layer on top of the chiles. (You can omit this step if you are leaving off ground beef) Photo 5- This pic shows you the cheese layer covered with remaining ingredients. (milk and egg mixture) Photo 6- This step involves digging in! I topped mine with salsa and sour cream. A side salad would be the perfect accompaniment.
💭 Top tips
- Make this recipe even more flavorful by roasting a couple of poblano chiles in the oven. Place chiles in a paper bag to steam then peel and use in place of canned chiles. Roasted and peeled chiles can be frozen until ready to use if desired.
- Grate your cheese from a block instead of using pre-grated. You will get a cheesier, meltier (is that a word?) result! Only have pre-grated cheese? No worries- it is fine to use too.
- Use ground beef or ground round- whichever you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many carbs in this recipe? There are 10gm carbs in low carb chiles rellenos casserole.
- What do you serve with this keto Mexican casserole? I love to top mine with sour cream and salsa! I also add a side salad.
- How do I store leftovers? After the casserole cools cover tightly and store up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Re-heat portions in the microwave until warm.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave your star rating and comment below!
📋 Recipe
Recipe
Low Carb Mexican Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground beef, lean
- ½ cup onions, diced
- 8 oz diced or whole roasted chiles or 2 fresh poblanos, roasted and peeled
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Brown ground beef with onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.
- In an 8 X 8 oven proof baking dish, layer chiles. Next add layer of ground beef onion mixture. Next add layer of cheddar and monterey jack cheese.
- Whisk together remaining ingredients then pour over casserole. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until mixture is set and cheese is golden and bubbly.
- Serve immediately with salsa and sour cream if desired.
Video
Notes
- Make this recipe even more flavorful by roasting a couple of poblano chiles in the oven. Place chiles in a paper bag to steam then peel and use in place of canned chiles.
- Grate your cheese from a block instead of using pre-grated. You will get a cheesier, meltier (is that a word?) result! Only have pre-grated cheese? No worries- it is fine to use too.
- Use ground beef or ground round- whichever you prefer.
mayra talamantez
I made it, it was sooo delicious! I swapped the ground beef for chicken breast cuz thats all i had. I used heavy cream instead of the milk cuz hello (low carb). It was so good my hubby loved it.
Charlotte
Mayra
So glad you liked it! Love the chicken sub idea!! Thanks for visiting Easyhealth Living 😊
Charlotte
Becky Carpinelli
This was so delicious and very easy to make. I used whole roasted peppers mixed with a can of chopped peppers, doubled everything (except for the eggs and milk) and made two layers, OMG, heaven! Thank you for sharing.
Susan Chaidez
The flour and milk add to the carb count! Used heavy cream instead. 10 carbs for me is half of my daily allowance on carbs!
Jan
Can you substitute almond or coconut flour for the flour. Keto doesn’t use regular flour
Charlotte
Hi Jan,
Thanks for visiting Easyhealth! Sorry, I've never used almond or coconut flour in the recipe. I will be sure and try this next time I make the recipe though!
Daniela
So have you tried it with either almond or coconut flour? Does anyone know how many carbs it would be if switching the flour? Is it 10carbs per serving or entire dish?
Sally
The flour is not even needed in this recipe-it is used to thicken the milk mixture.
Using half a cup of cream will do the same without the unnecessary addition of carbs from flour and regular milk.
Charlotte
Smart idea- Thanks for visiting Easyhealth Living!
Sherry
This is good. Family liked it. Added a bit more cumin & added Mexican spice & garlic salt to meat while cooking.
Jean
Love this recipe but am wondering what the serving size is. Thanks
Charlotte
The serving size is 1/4 of the recipe. Hope that helps!
Sherry
This is in fact easy & very good! Kid approved!
Charlotte
Thanks for the review! Glad you liked this recipe 😊
K in Va
Very good! Definitely use shredded cheese chunks won’t melt in. Needed more cumin and some onion salt without beef. I doubled it for 9x13 Pan. Helps if there’s spray avocado oil on pan first.
Charlotte
Thank you for your review and for visiting Easyhealth!
Beth Biette
Delicious! I used shredded beef instead of hamburger and it was spectacular! Thank you!
Shannon
This dish is amazing….even better with chorizo…