Roasting Green Chilies

I love spicy foods and green chilies are fantastic to add to so many different dishes.  On my quest to eliminate BPA, chemical and pesticides from my food and life, I decided that I did not want to buy canned green chilies.  This lead me to several websites on roasting green chilies, I finally used the instructions on this one http://denvergreenchili.com/roastgreenchiles.aspx

So once you read about roasting green chilies you realize that one of those giant roasters would be the best way to roast.  Don't worry though, you can roast at home without a roaster and even without a BBQ.  Now it would be great to roast on a grill outside, that way you don't heat the whole house by using the oven.  If you plan on using the oven, as I did, try to do it on a cooler day that way you can open the house and not heat the house up or have to use the A/C.

Now keep an eye out, most grocery stores do not have New Mexico green chilies in all year round.  I found my local store had them on sale recently and I bought several pounds.  Those several pounds do not  take up that much space once you roast them.  Keep that in mind that it looks like a lot more that the final result.

Here is the process I followed:

Step 1:  Wash and dry the green chilies.  Turn oven to Broiler, temp. High

Step 2:  Line baking sheet with foil (for easy clean-up) and spray with olive oil or oil of your choice.  Do NOT oil the green chilies.  Place several chilies on sheet with some space between them, do not overlap.



Step 3: Put green chilies in the oven on a top rack near broiler.  Watch carefully and turn 1-2 times, making sure all sides of the green chilies are roasted.  Refer to the website above for more information.

Step 4:  Take out of oven and place in another container (preferably glass or a baking dish, NOT plastic) and cover.  Let green chilies rest or "sweat". 

Step 5:  When they are cool enough to handle, peel skins and remove seeds.  I would recommend using food gloves to handle the green chilies as they are hot (not in temperature).  If you do not have them, you can use your hands, be sure to scrub with a salt skin scrub (which I found works best) as well as soap.  Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes. 

Step 6:  Place in a freezer bag or container.  You can chop if you desire to have the chilies diced before freezing or leave whole.


It is worth the time and effort to make a large batch of these green chilies and have them in the freezer ready for use when you need them.  Such a great way to have green chilies without buying more cans.

Enjoy!