We had 22 green chiles in our Bountiful Basket this week. I knew that we wouldn’t be able to use them all in one week, so I decided to roast and freeze most of them for later. This was my first experience roasting green chiles, and it was amazingly easy!
How to Roast Green Chiles
Turn on your broiler. Wash your green chiles.
Lay them out to dry on a towel. You want to make sure they are completely dry before roasting.
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread green chiles out evenly on the baking sheet. Work in batches if you need to so that the chiles don’t get too crowded.
Place the baking sheet in the oven 4-5 inches under the broiler. If your heating element is like mine (right down the middle), you will have to slide the baking sheet around to get all of the chiles roasted evenly.
When the first side is brown/black and blistered, turn the chiles over and roast the other side.
When both sides are evenly roasted, remove from the oven and place a damp cloth over the baking sheet and let the chiles steam for about 15 minutes.
Now your green chiles are ready to use or freeze for later.
Quick side note: Don’t touch your eyes after handling the chile peppers! If you forget like I did (twice!), fill a glass with water and immerse your eye for one minute.
If you plan to use your chiles right away, get out your cutting board.
Slip the skin off with your fingers.
The 15 minutes of steaming will make the skin very easy to remove.
Next, pull out the stem and remove the seeds.
Chop up your green chile and you are ready to cook!
If you want to freeze them for later, place them in airtight ziploc bags.
We used two chiles in our breakfast burritos and froze the rest for later.
When you go to use your frozen chiles, you can defrost them under running water. Slide the skins off and prepare as shown above. Roasted green chiles are great to have available in the freezer because they can be ready in minutes to add to enchiladas, soup, scrambled eggs, anything!
How do you like your roasted green chiles?
I grilled mine!
Oh, and I am jealous of you… not using gloves. I didn't and my fingertips burned for hours!!
I made homemade enchilada sauce with mine last night. Yum!
Thanks for the pictures! That really helps! They look so delicious!!!
I learned the "restaurant way" to roast and store green chilis a few years back. We throw them over an open flame (grill will work) or lay them right on top of flame of gas range. Using tongs to turn them as they get black…they like every inch to be black. Then toss in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10-15 minutes. Remove skin and seeds and DO NOT rinse off seeds with water- you loose a lot of flavor…ust use a towel or fingers. Then freeze in baggies in strips or diced. This way they are recipe ready and can be thrown right in to whatever you are making without even having to thaw. I love roasted chilis. I do a bunch every year and always have them on hand in freezer. I make enchilada sauce like Becca. I also use them in a recipe for chili relleno casserole or add to chili, shredded mexican beef or chicken or a little bit into corn bread. Yum!
Grilling works great too!
Megan, I read that storing them with the skin intact keeps the flavor better. Do you not think so? I love all of your "insider" restaurant info š
Can I roast in my electric oven?
Thanks. This helped so much!
Glad I could help Jocelyn!
[…] And if you ordered a bag of green chiles this week, check out my tutorial for how to roast and freeze them here. […]
[…] I plan to roast and freeze the chiles like this. […]
I have used this exact method for the last couple of years. From garden to grill to freezer. One tip my mother in law taught me is to put them into ice cube trays and then pop them out into plastic bags. It is the perfect amount to put into a recipe (about the same as a 4 oz can). We always say “one lump or two?” depending on how hot we want the dish.
Can you eat these whole once they’re roasted? I’ve had roasted chilies at a few restaurants (Whole Foods, to name one) and they were delicious, but I can’t remember what type of chile they were! Hoping they’re just plain ol’ green chilies!