Chiles en Nogada

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Chiles en Nogada in English

Chiles en Nogada is a traditional Mexican dish that is comprised of roasted poblano peppers stuffed with spiced meat and fruit – then topped with a creamy Mexican walnut sauce.  It is famously recognizable by its garnish of bright red pomegranate seeds, that on the white cream sauce.  The three colors – white, red and green, represent the Mexican flag.  This dish is tied to the national independence day of Mexico.  Rich in culture, history and reverence, this well adored meal is upheld by its delicious and unique flavors. Chiles en Nogada is an extremely common dish to see as a celebration for the Mexican holidays.

As most recipes vary, some recipes for chiles en nogada call for the battering and deep frying of the poblanos.  I like to keep this recipe light and refreshing.  It is indeed lighter and more refreshing then you might assume by just looking at it.  It has an earthy-peppery flavor – features a sweet and savory meat filling and a light cream sauce made from walnuts and cream.  

In this particular recipe, I chose to use ground chicken because we tend to use that in replacement of pork around here.  We also use dairy-free alternatives such as a cream made from almonds and coconuts.  I don’t specify dairy versus non-dairy in the ingredients below, as whatever you typically use will work great. But if you are interested in making this dairy-free, the brand of cream I always use to replace cream or milk is called Nut Pods, linked here. 

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There are two recent kitchen equipment items that I have added to my collection and they are both top notch(nearly life changing).  The first is the hand held immersion blender.  I have used these since I was 15 years old cooking, while cooking in a Mexican hole in the wall restaurant. I haven’t had my own immersion blender in my home kitchen.  I highly recommend one of these and don’t let it take 17 years like it did for me!  The other prized cooking tool that I recently acquired that actually HAS been life changing is a premium garlic crusher. I never owned one because I thought they were kinda gimmicky and didn’t do a great job. I imagined that I could mince garlic faster with a knife and with less trouble.  All of those points might have been true until I found this particular brand and now I eat my words.  It was expensive but it does such a dang good job that it is worth every penny.  I can crush garlic in a flash and save so much time! I can attest to this one working well and doing an excellent job.  Here it is – Kuhn Garlic Crusher – you’re welcome!

Chiles en Nogada Receta Original Mexicana

Ingredients:

Serving: 2 stuffed peppers per person, served with a side of rice.

Servings: Approximately 7 servings

• 14 poblano peppers – small to medium in size
• 12 ounces ground chicken
• 2 apples
• 1 pear
• 1/2 cup raisins 
• 1 medium onion 
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
• Very small pinch of ground cloves
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 cups walnuts
• 2 cups cream
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup cream cheese
• Whole nutmeg – grate small dusting on top
• Pomegranate seeds for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp sugar

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Instructions for poblano en nogada:

Preparation: soak the walnuts in water, fully submerged.

1. Roast poblanos pepper in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes.  They should have some blistering and brown colored spots but should still have some integrity to their shape. 
2. Place in a bowl with a lid or cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. This will help to steam them and easily loosen the pepper outer skin, so you can more easily pull it off. 
3. In a large sauce pan, make the meat filling.  Heat the pan and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the onions and sauté until translucent and then add in the mixed garlic and allow that to lightly cook. Do not let garlic turn brown. 
4. Add the ground meat, diced apple, pear, raisins, almonds, cinnamon, cloves and oregano. 
5. When the meat is almost done cooking add in the white wine to deglaze the pan and scrape at the bottom of the pan with a wooden utensil to remove any browning(aka flavor). 
6. While the meat filling mixture is finishing cooking, use a wooden utensil to break up the meat into small pieces which will also help to incorporate all the flavors from the other ingredients into the meat. 
7. Remove filling from heat when fully cooked and mashed into small pieces.
8. Go back to the poblanos and remove their outer layer of skin, which should now be able to be easily removed.
9. Slice the poblano so that there is an opening on top and you can now remove the stem, center vein and seeds. Use gloves, or your hands will burn for the next couple hours!
10. Fill the poblano pepper with the meat filling.
11. Make the sauce by adding the cream, water, cheese and sugar to a sauce pan and heat so that the cheese melts and can incorporate easily when blended smooth.
12. Add the soaked walnuts.
13. Use an immersion blender to blend the cheese into the cream or transfer the mixture to a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth. 
14. Salt the sauce to taste.
15. Spoon the sauce over the stuffed chiles and garnish with pomegranate seeds, a sprinkle of cilantro and freshly grated nutmeg. Use a microplane zester to grate a dusting of nutmeg over the top.  Don’t go to heavy on the nutmeg as it is a powerful spice. 

I hope you enjoy this chiles in walnut sauce recipe!

Want to pair this with a delicious Mexican dessert?  Finish this chiles en nogada recipe with either a Mexican flan cake or apple pie flautas!

Related Recipes:

Chile relleno en nogada

Chile relleno con granada

Chiles rellenos ahogados

Chile relleno nogada

This is a great recipe to try if you’re a fan of traditional Mexican meals. If you do try this chiles en nogada recipe please rate it or comment below and if you made any alterations and want to let me in on your ideas for poblano piccodillo with walnut cream sauce. I would love to hear about it!  If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest I am always thankful.  Check out my food journey on Pinterest at Molé in the Wall.

I hope you enjoyed Molé in the Wall’s version of Chile relleno en nogada receta!

If you enjoyed this is will love the barbacoa tacos with homemade tortilla wraps I made recently, it is a house favorite for sure!

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