Chiles en nogada is a traditional Mexican dish made of stuffed poblano peppers with a sweet and savory meat filling, and a unique walnut-cream sauce drizzled on top. The finishing touches are pomegranate seeds and a pinch of parsley. It’s a dish that will impress everyone!
I took my time making and writing this recipe as it holds great significance to Mexico. Although it requires some effort, the end result is worth it! Passing on authentic dishes is a way to preserve and connect with a culture, and I hope to share that connection with everyone.
What Are Chiles en Nogada?
Chiles en nogada is a traditional Mexican dish made from roasted and peeled poblano peppers that are stuffed with a unique picadillo made from fruit and ground meat, and then covered in a walnut-cream sauce known as nogada, and garnished with pomegranate seeds and parsley.
Originally from Puebla, it’s often called the national dish of Mexico, though some people say it’s mole is the national dish. Chiles en nogada were made to celebrate Mexican Independence Day and were usually served for entertainment and hosting. It’s said to hold all the colors of the Mexican flag: red, white, and green!
Chiles en nogada is a staple and authentic Mexican recipe made all across different regions of Mexico. There are many different variations, some using different fruits or cheeses. Other recipes also fry the stuffed chiles in an egg batter, like chiles rellenos, before drizzling them with sauce.
Did you know?
The filling in chiles en nogada is traditionally made with acitrón which is a dried candy from a biznaga cactus. This ingredient can be very hard to find in the U.S., so instead, we’re using dried pineapple to give a similar taste and texture.
Ingredients
This recipe has a lot of ingredients and can take some time gathering them all up, but once you have them all in front of you, it’s easy to make!
For the nogada (or walnut-cream sauce)
- Walnuts: Skinning the walnuts is the most laborious and tedious process of this recipe, so don’t be discouraged. If you can find walnuts that are skinned, that will save you lots of time.
- Dairy: You’ll need goat cheese, queso fresco, milk, and Mexican crema.
- Seasonings: Ground cinnamon and granulated sugar add a touch of sweetness to counteract the goat cheese.
For the filling and peppers
- Ground meat: You’ll need a mixture of ground pork and ground beef. I like to use a cut that’s a little fattier so the filling doesn’t dry out.
- Fruit: Golden raisins, dried pineapple chunks, Bosc pear, Granny Smith apple, peach, and plantain. These all add sweetness and a wonderful texture to the picadillo.
- Vegetables: Onion, garlic, and tomato sauce add a savory note.
- Nuts: Blanched slivered almonds at a beautiful crunch.
- Seasonings: Ground cloves, ground cinnamon, salt, and black pepper.
- Garnish: Pomegranate seeds and parsley.
How to Make Chiles en Nogada
Make the nogada sauce. Soak and peel all the skin from the walnuts. Skinning the walnuts is the most laborious and tedious process of this recipe, so don’t be discouraged. If you can peel them the night before, even better.
Place the skinned/peeled walnuts in a blender along with milk, goat cheese, queso fresco, crema Mexicana, cinnamon, and granulated sugar. Blend for several minutes until the sauce is smooth. Add salt to taste if needed. Set aside.
Make the filling. Cook the onion and garlic in a little olive oil in a skillet until translucent. Then add in the ground pork and ground beef and cook until fully browned.
Stir in some tomato sauce, golden raisins, dried pineapple, salt, pepper, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, then add in the peach, pear, apple, plantain, and slivered almonds. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes until the fruit is softened.
Roast and stuff the peppers. You can roast the peppers under the broiler or over an open flame on a gas stove. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to roast poblano peppers.
Remove as much of the charred skin as possible, cut a slit down the middle, scoop out the seeds, and carefully stuff them with the picadillo filling.
Garnish and serve. Pour the nogada sauce all over the peppers, garnish with pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley, and serve.
Tips
- If possible, peel and skin the walnuts ahead of time. This will save you about 40-ish minutes the day of! It’s a tedious process, but necessary to ensure the sauce doesn’t come out bitter.
- I recommend soaking the walnuts in boiling water for 5 minutes. This will help loosen the skin to make the process a little easier.
Recommended Tools
- Blender. A good blender helps reach that smooth consistency we need for this sauce.
- Baking sheet set. Having a set of baking sheets is helpful when needing to broil peppers for this recipe or salsas!
- Nonstick skillet. My favorite set of high-quality nonstick skillets that will last for a long time!
Storing and Reheating
I recommend storing the peppers and the nogada sauce separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To reheat, place your filled peppers on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 5-10 minutes. Then pour the sauce on top and garnish with pomegranates and parsley.
More Mexican Recipes
Chiles en Nogada
Ingredients
For the nogada (walnut sauce)
- 2 cups water, plus more as needed
- 1 cup shelled walnuts halves
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 3 ounces queso fresco
- ¾ cup milk, divided
- ½ cup Mexican crema
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon granulated sugar
For the stuffed peppers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ medium white onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ lb ground beef
- ½ lb ground pork
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 3 tablespoons chopped dried pineapple chunks
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup blanched slivered almonds
- ½ Bosc pear, peeled and diced
- ½ Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
- ½ peach, peeled and diced
- ¼ plantain, diced
- 6 large poblano peppers
- pomegranate seeds, for garnish
- chopped parsley, for garnish
- flaky sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the nogada sauce. Boil the water in a small pot over high heat. Add the walnuts, cover, and soak for 5 minutes to loosen the skin.
- Using your fingers or a paring knife, carefully remove the papery walnut skin off each walnut and place the peeled, skinless walnuts in a bowl. This is a very tedious process and takes patience, but it's an important step to ensure the sauce doesn't come out bitter.
- Add the skinned walnuts, goat cheese, queso fresco, milk, Mexican crema, ground cinnamon, and sugar to a blender. Blend for 5 minutes until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Make the filling. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the ground beef and ground pork. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking up the meat into small pieces as it cooks.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, golden raisins, dried pineapple, salt, black pepper, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon. Cook uncovered for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the excess moisture is cooked out.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the pear, apple, peach, plantain, and slivered almonds. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the fruit is tender and cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Prepare the poblanos. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the poblano peppers on top. Set your oven rack directly underneath the broiler and turn the broiler on.
- Broil the poblanos for 5 minutes or until the skin is blackened and blistered. Carefully flip them over and broil for another 5 minutes or until the skin is blackened and blistered.
- Remove them from the oven and loosely cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to keep in some of the heat and help them steam. Let them sit for 5 minutes.
- Peel and rub off as much of the loose skin on the peppers as possible. It doesn't have to be perfect; just as much as you can.
- Cut a small slit down the middle of the peppers with a knife. Carefully scoop out and discard the seeds using a spoon.
- Assemble the Chiles en Nogada. Carefully stuff the peppers with the picadillo filling. Some of the peppers will be extra fragile because of the roasting process and may tear – that's okay. Just do the best you can. The peppers do not need to fully close, so stuff them as much as you can. parsley.
- Garnish and serve. Drizzle the nogada sauce over the peppers and garnish with pomegranate seeds, chopped parsley, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Walnuts: Removing the skin from the walnuts is a very tedious process that can take up to 45 minutes, but it’s an important step to ensure the sauce doesn’t come out bitter.
- Poblano peppers: This filling in this recipe fills up 6 large poblanos or 8 medium poblanos.
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