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    You are here: Home / Chiles / Chiles en Nogada

    Chiles en Nogada

    Douglas Cullen, This blog generates income via ads and affiliate links which earn us a small commission.

    A Festive Dish in the Colors of the Mexican Flag

    We make our chiles en nogada based on an old family recipe from Yuriria, Guanajuato that dates back at least until the 1950s. Chiles en nogada are meat stuffed poblano chiles bathed in nogada, a walnut cream sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

    Chile en Nogada
    Chiles en Nogada

    It is a festive dish typically served in the month of September to celebrate Independence Day because the colors of the dish are said to resemble the colors of the Mexican flag, green, white and red.

    In Yuriria, the filling is prepared with beef, pork, and biznaga, candied cactus which adds a delicate sweetness. Biznaga will be almost impossible to find but you can replace it with the equivalent amount of any candied fruit or dried fruit with excellent results.

    Chile en Nogada Vertical

    How to Make Traditional Chiles en Nogada

    Chiles en nogada is not a difficult dish to prepare but it does require you to dedicate some time for preparation. Your time will be rewarded with a sophisticated, deeply satisfying dish with knockout presentation perfect for a special occasion.

    Love and attention to detail matter. For a truly special dish, you must make the effort to chop all of the ingredients into uniformly sized pieces which will give you the most beautiful presentation.

    STEP 1. – Gather all of the Ingredients

    Chiles en Nogada Ingredients

    Be sure to lay out all of your ingredients beforehand and double-check your ingredient list to make sure that you have all ingredients on hand. You don’t want to start cooking and then realize that you have forgotten a key ingredient. We speak from experience on this one. Double-checking avoids swearing loud enough for your neighbors to hear.


    STEP 2. – Prepare the Filling

    Precook the Beef and Pork

    Many chiles en nogada recipes call for ground beef or pork. This one calls for chopped beef and chopped pork. It is definitely more work to prepare chopped meat instead of ground but we feel that it gives the dish a much better texture and flavor. If you don’t want to prepare chopped meat ground meat will still taste great. It’s a matter of personal preference.

    Simmering Meat

    Place the meat in a pan and just cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook the meat until just cooked through (about 20 minutes) turning once.

    Simmering Meat 2

    When the meat is cooked remove it from the pan and allow it to cool to the touch. Reserve the cooking liquid. You will use it to prepare the tomato puree.

    Cooked Meat

    Chop the meat into cubes.

    Cubed Meat

    Then chop it finely.

    Chopping Meat

    The meat should look like this. Be sure that the meat is chopped into evenly sized pieces.

    Finely Chopped Meat

    Chop the Remaining Ingredients

    Before you can cook the filling you need to chop the onion, carrot, zucchini, potato, and candied fruit into ¼″ cubes. The almond should be very finely chopped. Don’t chop the peas or raisins.

    Prepped Ingredients Chiles en Nogada

    Just as you laid out all of the ingredients before starting preparation lay out all of your chopped ingredients before starting to cook the filling.

    Prepare the Tomato Base for the Filling

    Slice the tomatoes in half and add them to your blender with ½ cup of the cooking liquid from the meat.

    Tomatoes in Blender

    Blend until smooth but not liquefied.

    Tomato Puree

    Cook the Filling

    Now comes the fun part, cooking the filling.

    Sauteeing Onions

    Start by frying the onions in 3 tablespoons of oil for 2 minutes.

    Adding Potato

    Then add the potatoes, stir and cook for 5 minutes.

    Adding the Meat

    Add the chopped meat and stir.

    Adding Tomato Puree

    Add the pureed tomato.

    Adding Remaining Ingredients

    Add the carrots, zucchini, and raisins and cook for 5 minutes until the tomato puree is starting to reduce.

    Adding Biznaga Raisins Peas

    Add the peas, biznaga or candied fruit, almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir well.

    Cooking Chile en Nogada Filling

    Cook for 15 minutes until all of the vegetables are fully cooked and tender and the liquid is reduced. Don’t cook until dry. You want the filling to be moist but not wet.

    Filling for Chiles en Nogada

    Note: If the filling starts to get too dry before all of the ingredients are fully cooked add the cooking liquid from the meat a few tablespoons at a time as needed.


    STEP 3. – Roast and Clean the Poblano Chiles

    The poblano chiles must be roasted and cleaned before being stuffed. Choose chiles that are shiny with smooth skin and are firm to the touch. Wrinkled chiles mean that they are old and won’t hold their shape well when being stuffed.

    Roasting Poblano Chiles

    Place the chiles over the open flame on the burner on your stove. You do this to blister the skin so that you can peel them. Note: Do not leave the chiles unattended.

    Roasting Poblano Chiles 2

    Blacken the skin on all sides.

    Roasted Poblano Chiles

    Once you have blackened all of the chiles place them in a plastic bag to sweat them. This helps loosen the skin even more.

    Sweating Poblano Chiles

    Once the chiles have cooled enough that you can handle them it’s time to clean them.

    Removing the Skin from Poblano Chiles

    Very gently scrape the skin the chiles with the blade of a knife.

    Poblano Chile Skin Removed

    Remove as much skin as possible. You will probably have to use your fingers after using your knife to remove the remaining bits of skin.

    Opening Poblano Chile

    Using a small knife, gently split the chile down the side without cutting all the way through the tip of the chile.

    Opening Poblano Chile 2

    The chiles have a seed pod on the large end at the base of the stem.

    Removing Seeds Poblano Chile

    Carefully use your fingers to remove the seeds.

    Cleaned Deseeded Poblano Chile

    If you are unable to remove all of the little seeds with your fingers you can place the chile under running water to remove them. This chile is ready to be stuffed with the filling.

    More Info On Roasting and Cleaning Poblano Chiles (video)


    STEP 4. – Prepare the Nogada

    Once you have prepared the filling and cleaned the chiles it’s time to make the nogada, the creamy walnut sauce.

    Nogada Ingredients in Blender

    Place the cream, walnuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar in your blender. Note: You must use Mexican cream, not sour cream.

    Blended Nogada

    Blend until the walnuts are completely incorporated into the sauce. You don’t want chunks of walnut in the sauce. Smoothness counts for the sauce.


    STEP 5. – Serve the Chiles, Yeah!

    It’s now time to serve. Woohoo!

    Split Pomegranate

    With a small spoon or your fingers remove the seeds from the pomegranates into a bowl or onto a plate.

    Garnish for Chiles en Nogada

    Mince the parsley. Leave a few whole leaves for decoration.

    Stuffing Chile Poblano

    Fill each poblano chile with enough filling so that it will just close. You don’t want the filling to spill out the side of the chile onto the plate. If the chiles won’t stay closed you can use toothpicks to close them.

    Nogada

    Place 1 stuffed chile on each plate.

    Chile en Nogada 2

    Spoon enough nogada over each chile to completely cover it. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and minced parsley. Top with 1 or 2 parsley leaves. Chiles en nogada are served gently warmed with the sauce at room temperature.

    Chile en Nogada Vertical

    Looks delicious, doesn’t it? Provecho!

    Chile en Nogada
    Print Pin
    3.27 from 67 votes

    Authentic Chiles en Nogada

    This recipe for authentic chiles en nogada based on an old family recipe from Yuriria, Guanajuato that dates back to the 1950's. Filling includes beef, pork and biznaga, candied cactus that gives the dish a delicate sweetness.
    Course Holiday, Stuffed Pepper
    Cuisine Mexican
    Keyword Chiles en Nogada, Chiles en Nogada Recipe, How to Make Chiles en Nogada
    Prep Time 45 minutes minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour hour
    Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes
    Servings 6
    Calories 654kcal
    Author Douglas Cullen

    Ingredients

    • 6 large poblano chiles about 6″ long
    • FILLING
    • 10 ozs. beef
    • 10 ozs. pork
    • 1 medium carrot
    • 1 medium white onion
    • 1 medium waxy potato
    • 1 medium zucchini squash
    • 3 plum tomatoes Roma tomatoes
    • ½ cup peas
    • 8 ozs. biznaga or candied fruit or dried fruit
    • ½ cup raisins
    • ½ cup almonds
    • ½ tsp. cinnamon
    • 1 tbsp  brown sugar
    • 1 tsp  salt + salt to taste
    • NOGADA
    • 1 ¼ cup Mexican cream do not use sour cream
    • ½ cup shelled walnuts
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    • 1 tbsp  brown sugar
    • GARNISH
    • 2 small pomegranates or 1 large
    • 1 small bunch of parsley

    Instructions

    • PRECOOK THE MEAT
    • Place the meat in a pan and just cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook the meat until just cooked through (about 20 minutes) turning once. When the meat is cooked remove it from the pan and allow it to cool to the touch. Reserve the cooking liquid.
    • CHOP THE INGREDIENTS
    • Chop the meat into cubes first then chop finely.
    • Chop the onion, carrot, zucchini, potato and candied fruit into ¼" cubes.
    • Chop the almond very fine.
    • PREPARE THE TOMATO BASE
    • Slice the tomatoes in half and add them to your blender with ½ cup of the cooking liquid from the meat.
    • Blend until smooth but not liquefied.
    • COOK THE FILLING
    • Fry the onions in 3 tablespoons of oil for 2 minutes.
    • Add the potatoes, stir and cook for 5 minutes.
    • Add the chopped meat and stir.
    • Add the pureed tomato.
    • Add the carrots, zucchini, and raisins and cook for 5 minutes until the tomato puree is starting to reduce.
    • Add the peas, biznaga or candied fruit and almonds. stir well.
    • Cook for 15 minutes until all of the vegetables are fully cooked and tender and the liquid is reduced.
    • Note: If the filling starts to get too dry before all of the ingredients are fully cooked add the cooking liquid from the meat a few tablespoons at a time as needed.
    • ROAST AND CLEAN THE POBLANO CHILES
    • Place the chiles over the open flame on the burner on your stove. Note: Do not leave chiles unattended.
    • Blacken and blister the skin on all sides.
    • When you have roasted all of the chiles place them in a plastic bag to sweat them.
    • Scrape the skin the chiles with the blade of a knife.
    • Using a small knife, gently split the chile down the side without cutting all the way through the tip of the chile.
    • Remove the seeds inside the chile with your fingers without tearing the chile.
    • PREPARE THE NOGADA
    • Place the cream, walnuts, and cinnamon in your blender.
    • Blend until the walnuts are completely incorporated into the sauce and the sauce is smooth.
    • PREPARE THE GARNISHES
    • Slice the pomegranates in half.
    • Remove the seeds from your pomegranates.
    • Chop the parsley very finely reserving a few leaves to use as decoration.
    • SERVE THE CHILES EN NOGADA
    • Fill each poblano chile with enough filling so that it will just close. Use toothpicks to keep each chile closed if needed.
    • Place 1 stuffed chile on each plate.
    • Spoon nogada over the stuffed chile until the chile is completely covered.
    • Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley over the chile covered in nogada.
    • Decorate with a 1 or 2 parsley leaves.

    Notes

    If you have time, allow the filling to rest for 2 hours so that the flavors can meld.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1chile | Calories: 654kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 34g | Sodium: 606mg | Sugar: 47g

    More Stuffed Pepper Recipes

    • Authentic Chiles Rellenos

    More Mexican Holiday Recipes

    • Beef Tenderloin with a 3 Chile Sauce
    • Grilled Sirloin Cap – Picaña
    • Vegan Strawberry Tamales
    • Hot Chocolate
    • Kahlua Hot Chocolate
    • Strawberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip
    • Homemade Tortilla Chips

    More Chiles

    • Bowl of Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix
      Fajita Seasoning
    • Bowl of Mexican Pickled Peppers (Chiles en Vinagre)
      Mexican Pickled Peppers
    • Dried Pasilla Chiles
      Pasilla Chiles
    • Dried Ancho Chiles
      Ancho Chile

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Pecan says

      October 25, 2022 at 7:41 pm

      Lol. Blaming Trump for a Mexican recipe and the comment section is also crabby, negative and self-righteous. Clearly Covid-19 and politics has poisoned you as well.. You’re ridiculous and a hypocrite.

      Reply
    2. Jack says

      January 26, 2023 at 1:31 am

      5 stars
      The delicious combination of poblano peppers stuffed with a mixture of ground beef and pork, topped with a creamy walnut sauce, and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds is truly exquisite! Loved your recipe!!

      – Jack from Skilletguy.com

      Reply
    3. Jan says

      May 12, 2023 at 6:52 pm

      The recipe says walnuts but the photo clearly shows pecans in the blender.

      Reply
      • Virginia says

        May 13, 2023 at 4:11 pm

        I am from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and we definitely use pecans there for the recipe

        Reply
    4. Becky says

      July 24, 2023 at 9:03 pm

      2 stars
      I live in Guanajuato. This “old” recipe is not from here. Every family and restaurant here makes Chilis en Nogada with fruit – apples, pears, peaches, raisins and candied citrus. No one uses vegetables for this entre. Curious as to where this recipe came from.

      Reply
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    Hola, I am Douglas. Let me share my love of Mexican Cuisine with you that developed over 20+ years of living in Mexico.

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