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Mexican

Chiles en nogada

Non-vegetarian

Roasted poblano chiles stuffed with a sweet-savoury picadillo of pork, fruit and nuts, covered in a cool walnut cream and scattered with pomegranate and parsley — the green, white and red of the Mexican flag.

Chiles en nogada is a Mexican main course from Mexico, ready in about 1 hour 55 minutes and made with poblano pepper, ground pork and walnuts. It serves 6 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Delicious Chiles en Nogada, a classic Mexican dish, garnished with pomegranate seeds on a Talavera plate.
Photo: Luis Merlos Vega / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
1 h
Cook
40 min
Rest
15 min
Total
1 h 55 min
Serves
6
Level
Advanced
Calories
734

Plus optional overnight soaking of the walnuts.

Ingredients

6 servings

Picadillo

Nogada

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Char the poblanos (opens in a new tab) all over over a gas flame, under a grill or on a dry pan until blistered. Seal in a bag or covered bowl for 15 minutes, then rub off the skins. Slit one side and carefully remove seeds and veins, keeping the stem.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    For the picadillo, soften the onion (opens in a new tab) in the oil, add the garlic (opens in a new tab) and the meats and cook until browned. Add the tomato (opens in a new tab) and cook until thick.

    Food safety: Cook ground pork until no pink remains.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the apple (opens in a new tab), pear (opens in a new tab), peach (opens in a new tab), plantain (opens in a new tab), raisins (opens in a new tab), almonds (opens in a new tab), cinnamon (opens in a new tab), cloves (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt and cook gently until the fruit is just tender but holds its shape. Cool slightly.

    • 12 min
    • medium-low heat

  4. Step 4

    Blend the walnuts (opens in a new tab), cheese, milk (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt until very smooth and pourable. Chill.

  5. Step 5

    Fill each chile generously with picadillo and lay seam-side down on plates. Cover with the walnut (opens in a new tab) sauce and scatter with pomegranate seeds (opens in a new tab) and parsley (opens in a new tab). Serve at room temperature.

    • 8 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Puebla, Mexico · Well documentedMore food from Mexico
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses
Cooking method
Roasted, Sautéed, Blended
Taste
sweet & savoury, creamy, nutty, fruity
Diet
No gluten ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · Alcohol-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Poblano pepper · Ground pork · Walnuts · Onion · Garlic · Ground beef
Techniques
Roasting · Broiling · Sautéing · Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom queso fresco, milk
  • Contains: Tree nutsfrom almonds, walnuts
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom raisins

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

734 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 536 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 16%
  • Carbohydrate 26%
  • Fat 58%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy734 kcal137 kcal
Protein30.2 g5.6 g
Carbohydrate49.7 g9.3 g
Net carbohydrate39.6 g7.4 g
Sugars——
Added sugars2.8 g0.5 g
Fibre10.2 g1.9 g
Fat49.5 g9.2 g
Saturated fat12.2 g2.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol86 mg16 mg
Sodium795 mg148 mg
Salt equivalent2 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1226 mg
Calcium
233 mg
Iron
3.5 mg
Magnesium
123 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
115 µg
Vitamin C
126 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
1.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
85 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Poblano pepper: Raw green bell pepper (FDC 170427) used as a stand-in for the mild, thick-walled poblano.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Peeling the thin skin off the walnuts makes the sauce whiter and less bitter — tedious but traditional.

Common mistakes

  • Tearing the chiles while seeding them — work gently through one slit.

Food safety

  • Cook the meat until no pink remains.
  • Keep the walnut-and-cheese sauce refrigerated and don't leave the finished dish out for more than 2 hours.

Storage

  • Picadillo and nogada keep 2 days refrigerated, separately; assemble just before serving.

Variations

  • Capeados: Some cooks dip the stuffed chiles in egg batter and fry them before adding the sauce.

History

A popular story credits nuns in Puebla with creating the dish in 1821 to honour Agustín de Iturbide after Mexican independence; it is told widely but is hard to document.

Confidence: Commonly attributed

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in step 1

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