Enchiladas With Roasted Corn & Poblano Peppers
Easy-to-make vegetarian enchiladas with fresh roasted corn, poblano peppers and tasty salsa verde.
Roasted corn enchiladas with poblano peppers and salsa verde are a delicious and healthy alternative to traditional enchiladas.

Salsa Verde
Rather than a traditional red enchiladas sauce, these roasted corn enchiladas feature a light a fresh salsa verde made from roasted tomatillos.
Preheat the broiler. Toss the tomatillos, serrano chile and onion with the oil in a large bowl. Move them to a sheet pan covered with foil and broil for 6 minutes. Remove the garlic and turn the other vegetables over. Broil until slightly charred, about 6 minutes more then set aside and cool.
Peel the skin off the garlic and discard. Place the garlic cloves and the rest of the charred vegetable in a blender. Add the cilantro, lime juice and salt and blend on high until smooth.
Roasted Corn Enchilada Filling
Roast the Corn
Place ears of corn with husks onto a hot barbecue. Roast the corn in the husk for about 25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. The outside of the husk will be a bit burned, that's OK. Carefully peel back the husk and inspect the corn. If there are some black spots, it's done. Allow the corn to cool then remove the husks and silk, rinse with cool water, and cutoff the kernels.
If you don't have a barbecue available, remove the husks and cook under a low broiler turning frequently.
Roast the Peppers
Poblano peppers add a subtle kick to the roasted corn enchilada filling.
Place the poblano peppers directly on the barbecue grill and cook until the skin has blackened (about 6-8 minutes). You can also cook the peppers directly over the flame on a gas range. Turn the peppers over and cook the other side. When the skin is blackened all the way around, remove the peppers and place them in a paper bag to cool (about 10 minutes). The paper bag allows the peppers to let off steam and loosen the skins. Don't use a plastic bag, the peppers are too hot and will melt the plastic.
When the peppers are cool, rinse them under cold water to remove the skins. Remove the stem and seeds and dice.
Make the Filling
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and the cumin and cook for one minute. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute while stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock, corn kernels, diced poblano peppers and cilantro and stir to combine. Cook 5 minutes to thicken.
Build the Enchiladas
Preheat the oven to 350°F and preheat about 1 cup of vegetable oil in a small fry pan to 350°F. Spray some cooking spray oil into the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan. Quickly fry each tortilla in the hot oil for 5 seconds. Turn it over and fry it for another 5 seconds then blot dry on paper towels. This will help the tortilla roll up and not crack. Add ⅓ cup of the salsa verde and spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Spread some salsa verde on both sides of a tortilla and place on a cutting board.
Place a scoop of the roasted corn and poblano pepper mixture in the center of the tortilla and spread it out in a line about 1" wide and the length of the tortilla. Add some cheese and roll the tortilla into an enchilada then place it seem side down in the 9 X 13 pan. Complete the other seven enchiladas and place them side by side in the pan. Pour salsa over the top and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Drizzle some Mexican crema over the enchiladas and sprinkle with a little cilantro on top and serve.
Other Great Recipes to Try
- Carnitas Tacos
- Pork Belly Tacos
- Brisket Breakfast Tacos
- Kicked Up Refried Beans
- Smoked Charro Beans
- Chorizo
Roasted Corn and Poblano Pepper Enchiladas
Ingredients
Salsa Verde
- 1 lb tomatillos paper skin removed
- 2 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 each serrano chile cut in half, stemmed and seeded
- 2 cloves garlic skins on
- ½ large white onion chopped
- 1 cup cilantro coarsely chopped, with stems
- 1 each lime juiced
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
Roasted Corn and Poblano Pepper Filling
- 2 ears fresh corn
- 2 each poblano peppers
- 1 tbs olive oil
- ¼ large white onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tbs all purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
Enchiladas
- 8 each corn tortillas
- 1 cup jack cheese grated
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup Mexican crema
Instructions
Salsa Verde
- Preheat the broiler. Toss the tomatillos, serrano chile and onion with the oil in a large bowl. Move them to a sheet pan covered with foil. Broil for 6 minutes. Remove the garlic and turn the other vegetables over. Broil until slightly charred, about 6 minutes more. Set aside and allow to cool.
- Peel the skin off the garlic and discard. Place the garlic cloves and the rest of the charred vegetable in a blender. Add the cilantro, lime juice and salt and blend on high until smooth.
Roasted Corn & Poblano Pepper Filling
- Place ears of corn with husks onto a hot barbecue. Roast the corn in the husk for about 25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. The outside of the husk will be a bit burned, that's OK. Carefully peel back the husk and inspect the corn. If there are some black spots, it's done. If you don't have a barbecue available, remove the husks and cook under a low broiler turning frequently. Allow the corn to cool. Remove the husks and silk, rinse with cool water, and cutoff the kernels.
- Place the poblano peppers directly on the barbecue grill and cook until the skin has blackened (about 6-8 minutes). You can also cook the peppers directly over the flame on a gas range. Turn the peppers over and cook the other side. When the skin is blackened all the way around, remove the peppers and place them in a paper bag to cool (about 10 minutes). The paper bag allows the peppers to let off steam and loosen the skins. Don't use a plastic bag. The peppers are too hot and will melt the plastic.
- When the peppers are cool, rinse them under cold water to remove the skins. Remove the stem and seeds. Cut into ½" pieces.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the cumin and cook for one minute. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute while stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock and stir well. Add the corn kernels, diced poblano peppers and cilantro. Stir to combine. Cook 5 minutes to thicken.
Build the Enchiladas
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray some cooking spray oil into the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan. Preheat about 1 cup of vegetable oil in a small fry pan to 350°F. Quickly fry a tortilla in the hot oil for 5 seconds. Turn it over and fry it for another 5 seconds then blot dry on paper towels. This will help the tortilla roll up and not crack. Add ⅓ cup of the salsa verde and spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Add some salsa verde to a 8 X 8 pan. Dip a tortilla in the salsa and place on a cutting board.
- Place a scoop of the roasted corn and poblano pepper mixture in the center of the tortilla and spread it out in a line about 1" wide and the length of the tortilla. Add some cheese and roll the tortilla into an enchilada. Place the enchilada seem side down in the 9 X 13 pan. Complete the other seven enchiladas and place them side by side in the pan. Pour salsa over the top and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Drizzle some Mexican crema over the top. Sprinkle with a little cilantro and serve.
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