Chile relleno is a classic Mexican dish that has since made its way to the freezer aisle of many grocery stores. Case in point: the Trader Joe’s Chile Relleno, which we’re digging into today.
While the traditional version of chile relleno consists of a poblano pepper stuffed with minced meat, this version is a little more vegetarian-friendly. Trader Joe’s fills their pepper with fresh salsa and a delicious blend of cheeses.
This meal takes quite long to cook, even in the microwave. The instructions say to cook it for six minutes, then peel off the film, then cook it for another minute. That’s seven whole minutes of cook time. Plus, it comes out extremely hot, so you’ll want to let it cool for a while before you take your first bite.
As you can see in the image below, the dish comes out of the microwave a bit sloppy. This is a mess of ingredients, and it’s messy to eat.
Thankfully, it has more than enough flavor to make up for its appearance. The gooey, melted cheese tastes a lot like queso, and it blends beautifully with the tomato-y salsa. The poblano pepper is fairly mild, but it has a rich, earthy flavor that makes the rest of the dish more complex and interesting.
We found the skin of the poblano pepper to be a little on the tough side, which made it tricky to finish off this meal. In spite of this, we enjoyed every last bite, and we found ourselves scraping the sides when we were done. If this meal were a little bit neater, it could easily be served at a restaurant.
One bowl of this chile relleno contains 350 calories (160 from fat), which really isn’t all that bad. The real kicker, however, is that this also contains 1,160 mg of sodium. That’s a real sodium blast, so you’ll want to avoid this meal if you’re trying to watch your sodium levels.
Trader Joe’s Chile Relleno is a delicious mess. We wish it were a little neater and a little easier to eat, but the flavor is incredible.
So how does this stack up against Amy’s Chile Relleno Casserole? We found the Amy’s meal to be a little more consistent, especially when it’s prepared in the oven. However, the Trader Joe’s version of Chile Relleno tastes fresher and more authentic (though both this Trader Joe’s dish and the Amy’s Kitchen Chile Relleno Casserole are made without minced meat). If you’re craving poblano peppers, you may also want to give Amy’s Roasted Poblano Enchiladas a try.
To learn more about the nutrition facts or ingredients in this Trader Joe’s frozen food, check out our package scan below.
