Chiles en Nogada, Mexico’s Majestic Celebration of Green, White & Red

Chiles en nogada has been on the VIP tier of our Familia Kitchen recipe wish list for a long time. A long, long, long time: Since FamiliaKitchen.com launched in 2020! Finally, our dish dream has come true. With muchísimo respeto and amor we are honored to share our first chiles en nogada receta in honor of Mexico’s annual Mexican Independence Day, September 16. May there soon be a dozen more, sent in by lots of you!

This elegant dish starts with the humble poblano chile, which is roasted, peeled and filled with an elegant picadillo of sautéed meat and fruit. The chile is then topped with a walnut cream sauce and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and parsley. (See the green, white and red colors of the Mexican flag?)

For three centuries, the dish has been traditionally made in honor of El Grito, as Mexico’s national Day of Independence Day is affectionately known. El Grito means something like ”the rallying cry” and its name celebrates the bravery of one of Mexico’s founding heroes. In 1821, Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang church bells and called for his countrymen to fight for their freedom from Spain. His call to arms that day led to Mexico’s victory seven years later. Today, Mexicans the world over continue to celebrate that win every September 16. In homes, hotels and restaurants in their country, the U.S. and abroad, Mexican Independence Day continues to be commemorated by sitting down to this beautiful dish. The gathered raise a toast and evoke Hidalgo y Costilla’s grito: ”Viva, Mexico!”

Chiles en nogada is right up there with tamales and pozole as one of the most Mexican of Mexican dishes. It’s magical in its beauty and at the same time: demanding in its preparation. Which is why it took Familia Kitchen so many años to bring this important recipe to you. We had to find the right cook and the right recipe.

The History of Chiles en Nogada

Chiles en nogada are served only on súper-special feast days because the meal takes so much time and care to prepare. No wonder legend attributes its origin story (there are others, but this is the most popular) to selfless nuns in Puebla. In 1821, the monjas (from which convent is also debated) were asked to invent a new dish worthy of honoring General Agustín de Iturbide, who had just signed the Treaty of Córdoba declaring Mexico’s independence from Spain. 

The nuns got to work on imagining a recipe that showcased green, white and red: the colors of the precursor of the Mexican flag, the Trigarante Army’s bandera. They presented General de Iturbide with chiles en nogada: green (poblano chile), white (walnut cream sauce) and red (pomegranate seeds).

Ever since, chiles en nogada has been associated with Mexican Independence Day and the city of Puebla. Its name comes from Mexico’s nogada walnut tree, a nod to the signature ingredient used in its white sauce. The other defining ingredients are the poblano and pomegranate. All three are local to Mexico and in season every September, further connecting this historic dish to Sept. 16.

How to Make Chiles en Nogada

To salute this year’s Mexican Independence Day, Familia Kitchen commissioned what many have called Mexico’s official dish as our star recipe for the kickoff of National Hispanic Heritage Month. We asked one of our all-time favorite Mexican cooks, Vivi Abeja of Chicago, to present her chiles en nogada recipe to our community.  

It’s a big ask, she told us. It’s a big dish. The kind you need to think about for a long time before heading to the store to shop and commit to cooking it.

“This dish was the most time consuming recipe and meal I’ve ever done,” Vivi says. “It’s a beautiful recipe with a really great story behind it. But, it has a lot of ingredients and a lot of prep. From soaking the walnuts and hand peeling them one by one with all its little edges to prepping every single ingredient.”

How did Vivi approach creating her own recipe for this historic plato?

“I heard there’s so much history with this dish and it’s one of those seasonal meals you make on special occasions so it’s right up my alley. This meal became so popular and truthfully this is an ‘hay comida en la casa‘ type of meal because it was created by a group of nuns who used what they had in their home and what was in season at the time,” Vivi explains.

Vivi has lived her whole life in Chicago’s traditionally Mexican neighborhood of Little Village, in a family that loved to cook traditional food from her homeland. Did she grow up eating chiles en nogada every Sept. 16 at fiestas? Surprisingly, no, she tells us. Turns out it’s been on the top of her must-try recipe wishlist, too! “I have never eaten this dish before. I love chiles rellenos and I know the work that goes into it so I have been so excited to try this dish and little bit intimidated to make it.”

”Although I never had this before and don’t have a memory of my grandmother making these chiles en nogada, I still feel my grandmother because this is exactly how she would cook — using the ingredients she had at home to create a meal her family can appreciate. The nuns made something out of nothing and were very intentional with the presentation using the colors of the Mexican flag: red, white and green, creating such a beloved dish in Mexico.”

Vivi’s First Bite of Chile en Nogada: How Was It?

“I’m so happy I was able to accomplish this goal of making this dish. I have so much appreciation for the process of it and it feels like one of the most special meals I’ve ever made. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it because although it does have ground pork and beef, it’s packed with sweetness from the fruits, and sugar in the cream sauce however, the flavor was beautifully balanced for me,” says Vivi.

What was that first bite like, after years wondering about making her own chiles en nogada? Did it live up to her expectations? “Yes! OMG, the flavor is insane!” says Vivi. “I didn’t think I was going to like it because of the mixture of sweet and salty flavors, but WOW! What a treat!! This is such a special dish.”

You know what didn’t surprise us? Vivi told us that making chiles en nogada has inspired a new tradition for her and her family. “I will be making this every year and I would love to start a tradition and make it together with my family. Viva Mexico!”

For more of Vivi’s family-famous tradionalit Mexican recipes, check out her amazing fried quesadillas, al pastor tacos you can make at home, air fryer fish tacos, cheesalicious enchiladas suizas and hearty gorditas with beans and queso.

Ready to Make Mexico’s Magical Chile en Nogada ?

Chiles en Nogada, the Essential Dish that Honors the Mexican Flag

Recipe by Vivi Abeja

5.0 from 1 vote

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 12 poblano peppers, whole

• 1 cup parsley, chopped, for garnish

• 1 cup pomegranate seeds, for garnish

• For the Filling

• 1/2 white onion, chopped

• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

• 1/2 black pepper, or to taste

• 2 Tbsp piloncillo

• 3 tsp cinnamon

• 3 tsp cumin

• 16 oz tomato sauce

• 1/2 cup walnuts, peeled

• 1/2 cup almonds

• 1 cup raisins

• 1 cup candied pineapple

• 1 pear, peeled, diced

• 1 apple, peeled, diced

• 1 peach, peeled, diced

• 1 plantain, peeled, diced

• For the Walnut Cream Sauce

• 1 cup walnuts, peeled

• 1 cup almonds

• 1 cup milk

• 8 oz cream cheese

• 1 to 2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

• Roast the Poblanos
• Preheat oven to broil.
• Place the chiles on a baking sheet and broil on high, turning with tongs every so often until they are charred all over. Remove from the oven.
• Place the chiles in a large plastic bag or a bowl that you cover with plastic wrap. Let the roasted chiles steam for 10 minutes.
• Using the side of a spoon, gently scrape the blackened skin off of each chile. Using a sharp knife, make a thin cut along the length of one side of each chile. Keep the chile intact at the top and the bottom. Gently remove the seeds. Repeat on all the chiles and set them aside while you make the filling. (See note for alternate way to roast the chiles over a gas flame.)
• Make the Meat and Fruit Filling
• In a large pan set to medium low, sauté onion and garlic until they become fragrant.
• Add ground pork and ground beef. Cook until both are no longer pink.
• Season with salt and pepper, or to your taste.
• Stir in piloncillo, cinnamon, cumin and tomato sauce. Simmer until piloncillo is fully dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Add walnuts, almonds, raisins, candied pineapple, and diced pears and stir for a few minutes until well blended. Add the apple, peach and plantain and gently stir into the mixture.
• Simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Blend the Walnut Cream Sauce
• Soak 1 cup of walnuts overnight or in hot water for 2 hours.
• Peel the skin off the walnuts and place in a bowl filled with the milk.
• In a blender, place the peeled walnuts, milk, whipping cream, cream cheese, almonds, cinnamon and sugar. Blend until smooth.
• Assemble the Chiles en Nogada
• Carefully fill the roasted, cooled chiles with the meat-and-fruit mixture. Use a spoon to add the filing through the thin, long slice you made earlier when taking out the seeds.
• Lay down a layer of walnut cream sauce on each dinner plate. Place one stuffed chile in the center of each dish.
• Drizzle more walnut cream sauce on top of each chile, either smothering it completely or use a light hand to make sure you can still see the green poblano.
• Garnish with pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley.

Notes

• To roast the chiles directly on a gas stove directly over the open flame: 1) Use tongs to hold the chiles over a flame, individually, turning the chile so that it is charred all over. Then proceed with the rest of Step 3, above.
• 
  You can buy pre-peeled walnuts to save a tremendous amount of time. Or you can do it with your family while catching up on your favorite show.
• If you want a thicker cream sauce, add more cream. If you want a thinner cream sauce, add more milk.