Roasted green chiles add such an amazing flavor to various Mexican dishes, and with these simple ways to roast green chiles at home you can have them ready to use whenever you want.

Simple Ways to Roast Green Chiles at Home

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I don't know about other states, but green chile is a big deal in Colorado, especially in the fall.

Every year as the summer comes to a close and the leaves begin to turn, so do the chile roasters. Green chile stands begin to pop up throughout the city, advertising roasted green chiles and filling the air with what might arguably be one of the best smells in the world.

The southern Colorado town of Pueblo even has an annual chile festival called the Chile and Frijoles Festival.

In late September, thousands of people gather to celebrate the bountiful chile harvest. The festival is a place to load up with bags of freshly roasted chiles of different kinds. My mother-in-law would often attend the festival and buy multiple pounds of roasted chiles to keep frozen and use throughout the year.

The festival is a reminder of the Colorado obsession with chiles.

But what if you don't live in a chile obsessed state where roasted chiles are so readily available?  Well, today I will be sharing with you two simple ways to roast green chiles at home.

2 Simple Ways to Roast Green Chiles at Home

Method 1: Roasting on a Comal (Flat Griddle)

For the first method, you will need a comal. A comal is a flat griddle usually made of cast iron and typically used to warm tortillas on the stove.

You can find the comal I like to use here.

Place the comal on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Once the comal is very hot, rinse the chiles and place them on the comal.

Let the chiles begin to toast. Turn them periodically using tongs to ensure all sides of the chiles are charred.

Sometimes I like to press down on the chiles with a fork to ensure they are getting a nice even char. Some of the peppers tend to be uneven and not lay flat, so pressing down on them helps toast them all around.

Once the peppers are soft and evenly charred, remove from the heat and place inside of a plastic bag.

Close the plastic bag to allow the peppers to sweat. This will help the skin come off the pepper much easier when peeling them.

Method 2: Roasting in the Oven

The next simple way to roast green chiles at home uses the oven.

First, move one of the racks to the highest point in your oven. Turn the oven to broil on high.

Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil to ensure faster clean-up. Then rinse your chiles and place them on the covered cookie sheet.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven.

Check the chiles after about 5 minutes. If the top skin is charred take the chiles out, if not leave them in for a couple more minutes.

Be sure to continue checking the chiles and don't leave them in the oven for too long. They can burn prettily easily and will fall apart when you try to peel them.

Once the skin is charred, take the chiles out and flip them. Place them back in the oven so the other side can get blistered and charred.

When the peppers are soft and evenly toasty, remove them from the oven and again place them in a plastic bag to sweat like in method one.

Peeling the Roasted Green Chiles

Whether you use method one or two, the way to peel the chiles will be the same.

You can use your bare hands, wear gloves, or use a paper towel like in the picture below. After 15-30 minutes of letting the chiles sweat, remove them from the bag.

Then, slowly rub the paper towel over the skin of the chile.

Peel away all of the charred skin until you are left with only the soft, smoky chile underneath.

Be careful not to tear the chiles if you will be using them for chiles rellenos.

Once the chiles are peeled they are ready to use.

Important Tips

One thing I have noticed is that if I want to make chiles rellenos, the chiles do not tear as easily if I have roasted the chiles on the comal. On the stove, I have better control of the temperature and how charred the chiles get, so I can be sure they don't get too toasted.

However, if I will be using the chiles in green chile and will be dicing up the chiles anyway, method two works great. The chiles tend to tear a lot easier when I peel them after being in the oven. The advantage of this method though is that they are ready so much faster.

Another great tip is that once the chiles are roasted you can put them in a freezer bag and freeze them. This way when you are ready to make a delicious green chile recipe, you will save time not having to roast them.

There you have it, two simple ways to roast green chiles at home.

I really hope you try roasting your own chiles, not only because it is so easy but it will also fill your home with the most delicious, smoky, mouth-watering smell.

I also invite you to come back and visit Everyday Latina to find all sorts of upcoming green chile recipes you will be sure to enjoy. Like this one below.

Check out this Amazing Pork Green Chile with Spinach recipe. Click here.

Do you have any green chile recipes you'd like me to share? I'd love to know in the comments below.

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