Hatch chile recipes are incredibly popular in the southwestern and western portions of the United States. Hatch chiles are a deliciously spicy long green pepper that packs a fair amount of heat.
They are in stores now...so if you like spicy, give them a try. Watch our video tutorial to learn how to roast hatch chiles and get 10 delicious hatch chile recipes to help you explore new ways to enjoy these peppers.
Click for Table of Contents:
What are hatch chiles?
Hatch chiles are grown in Hatch, New Mexico (hence their name!) and are a wildly popular spicy pepper. They are most common in the Southwest, but they do show up in other areas of the country like here in the Bay Area! Hach chiles are not for the weak at heart because these peppers are spicy!
I used to think hatch chiles were a specific type of chile, but I was wrong. Hatch really just refers to a region where chiles are grown.
Varieties of hatch chiles:
- New Mexico #20 is the mildest of the chiles.
- Big Jim is medium hot/spicy.
- Sandia Select is HOT.
- New Mexico green chile 6-4 is the most common chile.
How spicy are hatch green chile peppers?
If you love spicy peppers, these roasted hatch chile recipes are for you. Follow along with me and find a new recipe using hatch chiles to try!
You will find easy breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes that help you use these special chiles. Here is an easy to follow, short video explaining how to fire-roast hatch chiles!"
Are you ready to don your gloves and roast some New Mexico green chiles? I can't stress enough that you want to wear gloves when you are peeling the skin off these roasted chiles. If you forget and then touch your eyes, it really hurts!!
I tossed the green chiles onto my grill and allowed them to blister. You want the skins to be very blistered.
How to roast hatch chiles on a grill:
- Heat your grill to about 400 degrees.
- Wash your hatch chiles.
- Toss them on the grill whole.
- Let them get burned and blistered!
- Remove from the grill and allow the peppers to cool. This will help to loosen their skin.
- Don gloves and carefully peel off the burnt skin.
- Remove the stems and seeds.
- These are spicy and a little hatch chile pepper goes a long way in a recipe. I cut my chiles into small pieces and freeze them in an ice cube tray. Once they are frozen, I pop them into a freezer bag so I have them on hand all year long.
How to roast hatch green chiles on a stove:
- Turn on your stove.
- Heat a cast iron pan until it is hot. Add a teaspoon or two of a high heat oil like avocado oil. You just barely want to coat the pan so less is better.
- Add the chiles and allow to char on each side. Turn to char each side.
- Allow the peppers to cool.
- Follow steps 6-8 above.
Do you have to peel the skin off?
I get asked this question a lot. Hatch green chiles have very thick skins and peeling them is important. The thick skin also leaves a not so good after-taste, so I am giving you easy directions to peel your green chiles.
How to peel fire-roasted hatch green chiles:
Once you remove the chiles from the grill or stove, place them on a plate or in a dish to cool slightly. This cooling allows the skin to soften which will make peeling them a lot easier.
As I mention above, you want to use gloves when peeling your hatch chiles. Grab a hatch chile and pinch a blistered area and pull. The skin will pull back easily from the chile. I don't use the skins for anything so I just toss them into the trash.
Can you freeze hatch chiles?
The best way to preserve your hatch chiles is to freeze them. I freeze hatch chiles ALL of the time. Hatch chiles are only available a few short months in the summer so if you want to enjoy their spicy flavor all year round, you will want to freeze them.
Make sure you fire-roast and peel the hatch chiles before freezing them! I place the peeled hatch chiles into a freezer-safe bag, squeeze out the air and freeze them.
Are you ready to feast your eyes on some delicious ways to enjoy hatch chiles?
The 11 Best Hatch Chile Recipes!
Ten of the best hatch green chile recipes...and easy step by step directions to roast hatch green chiles
Hearty Ground Pork Chili Recipe
This easy ground pork chili gets its heat from fire-roasted hatch chiles...you control the level of spice by how many chiles you add!
Tuna Panini with Grilled Onion and Hatch Chile
One of the things I love about this sandwich is the flavor combination. Caramelized onion adds a sweetness that is absolutely perfect with the spice of hatch chiles. If you don't have a panini machine, just pan fry like you would a regular grilled cheese sandwich.
Easy Roasted Hatch Chile Spicy Hummus
This easy hummus recipe is what started my addiction to hatch chiles. I love spice and this spicy dip is sure to please anyone who likes spicy food.
Healthier Funeral Potatoes with Fire-Roasted Hatch Chiles
Potatoes are mild, add lots of cheese and chiles...and you get the perfect brunch side dish to feed a big crowd!
Fully Loaded Green Chile Potato Skins for #SummerFest
Potato skins are the ultimate appetizer! They taste even better with some hatch chiles for a boost of flavor.
Pork Chile Verde
What can I say, I am a sucker for Mexican foods like this chicken verde recipe! The hatch green chile sauce in this recipe makes me drool!
Slow Cooker Lamb Stew with Hatch Chile Peppers
This is a surprisingly easy dish to make. Dump all of the ingredients into your slow cooker and that hatch chile flavor slow cooks into the meat.
Grilled Pork Chops With Hatch Green Chile Polenta
I am a huge polenta fan...this delicious dish would make a wonderful dinner recipe.
Cheesy Roasted Hatch Chile Grits with Fried Egg
Get ready for spicy hatch green chile cheese grits!! Cheese and polenta are perfect flavors for breakfast. Add in spice and a fried egg a breakfast that is definitely not boring!
Spiced Pork Stuffed Hatch Chile
If you love stuffed peppers, this spiced pork stuffed hatch chile should make you happy.
Hatch Chile Corn Dip for Game Day Eats
This flavorful dip is perfect for entertaining!
If you love all types of chiles, here are 8 amazing Shishito Pepper recipes to try!
Jim
Put your roasted peppers in a plastic bag when you take them off the fire. Let them sit for 10 to 20 minutes, then peel. I just scrape the skins with a knife. Just finished 3 cases last week. Of course our grocery store does the roadting.
Sandi Gaertner
I love that idea of the plastic bag. Thank you so much, Jim. I can't wait to hear what you make with your chiles!
Sheryl
No grocery store in KC was grilling chilies this year so I did them on my gas grill and it was so easy and quick. They peeled so much easier than the ones I Bought that the stores do. Well never buy them cooked again!
Sandi Gaertner
That is awesome Sheryl!! We use a gas grill as well to fire roast our chiles.
Beth
What a great tutorial Sandi! Especially oven vs barbecue - sometimes I don't want to grill - I try to leave that to hubby. Can't wait for the season to come around again!
Sandi Gaertner
LOL, glad to give you options 🙂
Jenni
Man, as much as I love living in NC, I am far from the Hatch chiles and always feel left out when they're in season. What a great resource this page will be when I finally get my hands on some!
Sandi Gaertner
There is a company that will send frozen ones to you! Look up the Hatch Chile Company. They are really nice.
Leigh Olson
Hatch chile season is one of my favorite seasons! Our wonderful grocery will roast these tasty morsels of heat on demand. They do keep the roaster down wind from the store 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
You are so lucky that your store will roast these for you!! We had that when we lived in Austin but people/stores in the Bay Area just don't get it.
Rick Johnson
Sandi....This not about chili peppers, but it IS about your last name. I'm 78 years old and when I was a kid in Willoughby Hills, Ohio, one of my best friends was a fellow 12 year old....whose name was Freddie Gaertner. His dad, who was a pretty famous seascape artist died at about the same time. Just wondering if there is any 'kinship'...Gaertner is not a very common name. I heard Fred died over 20 years ago...
Rick Johnson La Quinta, Ca.
Sandi Gaertner
You are so thoughtful. I don't think this is a relative, but definitely interesting on the spelling of the last name.