Chipotles are Jalapeños!
That’s right. Chipotle peppers are actually smoke-dried red jalapeños. I was blown away by this fact when I read about it after we decided to create the Ultimate Keto Mexican Casserole with a kick that used those smoky peppers. Call them whatever you’d like, they are delicious!
The Process
Jalapeños grow in large fields by growers and are picked green (unripe) for immediate sale. Those are the typical jalapeños we know and love (see all our jalapeño recipes!). Towards the end of the growing season, jalapeños ripen and become bright red. Some of those are picked and sold as well. The remaining jalepeños are kept on the bush and when they turn deep red and have lost most of their moisture, they’re picked to be made into chipotles. iSn’t it incredible how one little pepper can be so many things?!
These deep red jalapeños are placed into a closed smoking chamber and spread out onto metal grills. A firebox connected to the chamber is filled with burning wood to fill the chamber with smoke. The jalapeños are stirred every few hours and after a few days, most of the moisture evaporates from the jalapeños. Voilà! You now have chipotles thanks to the heat of the jalapeños combined with the taste of the wood smoke. Did you know that to make 1 pound of chipotle it takes about 10 pounds of jalapeños?
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The Recipe
We always love a good casserole and this one was phenomenal. The secret was, of course, the chipotle peppers. It was our first recipe ever using chipotle peppers and we were blown away by how much flavor they added to the dish. We got our chipotle peppers from Whole Foods (I was looking for fresh chipotle peppers and was disappointed when I could only find dried, but now I know why!). They were lying around for a few months before I got around to using them and boy did we realize how much we were missing out! Next time we’re in Whole Foods, we’ll be stocking up on them because they’re simply amazing to cook with.
If you have ever felt that your keto diet was missing some new flavors, then this recipe is the next one you should try. It has more flavor than any recipe I have ever tried before! The chipotles bring the heat while the pepper jack cheese is creamy and also has a whole different kind of spice. Red enchilada sauce is a must so be sure that you find a keto version! Top the dish off with some fresh cilantro and you will have an explosion of taste in every bite. Eating low carb really is delicious…
We’ve been cooking with chipotles ever since this Ultimate Mexican Casserole. Expect more spicy recipes to come!
| Servings: |
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 fresh jalapeños (chopped)
- 2 chipotle peppers (chopped)
- 1/2 medium white onion (chopped)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup red enchilada sauce
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (shredded)
- 2 low carb tortillas
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 fresh jalapeño (sliced)
- fresh cilantro to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- On a large, oiled skillet, cook the chopped jalapeños, chipotle peppers and diced onion over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the heavy cream and cream cheese. Stir everything until cream cheese is melted.
- Add the enchilada sauce and shredded chicken and mix well.
- In a 13 x 9-inch baking dish lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray, place the 2 tortillas side-by-side (slightly overlapping).
- Spread the chicken mixture over the tortillas and then top everything with the shredded cheese. Add the fresh jalapeños slices on top.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese has lightly browned.
- Serve with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
Loved this recipe? Let us know! Something didn’t quite turn out right? Ask us in the comments below or contact us– we respond to comments every day and would love to hear from you and help you out! And check out all our low carb dinners to learn to make more delicious and healthy meals!
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Can we use chipotles in adobo without the adobo sauce instead?
Yes, that should work well, just make sure to drain the sauce well or cook the casserole a bit longer 🙂
Can you do a cauliflower rice mixture as a base instead of low carb tortillas?
I don’t think it’ll hold up as nicely, but it’ll be super delicious! I say go for it 🙂
What can you sub on cream cheese
Perhaps mascarpone cheese? Or maybe mayonnaise for a dairy-free option, if that’s why you’re asking 🙂
I made the Mexican casserole for dinner on Sunday night and it was AMAZING!!
I tweaked the recipe a little bit, subbing out the jalapeños and chipotles with fire roasted chiles and green onion instead of white.
We will definitely be having this on our regular dinner go-to’s! ??
Ooooh sounds amazing! Thanks for sending us the photo, looked great 🙂
What is considered a serving?
1/6 of the whole thing is what we consider a serving. It’s about 1.5 cups worth of volume.
Oh heck to the yes! Love me some Mexican food and love me a good casserole, so yeah, this is basically perfection. My fam will LOVE this!
I hope they do! Enjoy!
This looks amazing! I love Mexican food & I love casseroles, so this is perfect.
Hope you enjoy it, Sarah!
Dried chipotles, dried but re-hydrated with hot water, or canned in adobo?
Just dried and chopped. They’re a bit tough to chop. They’ll re-hydrate in the mixture in the pan. We got ours in Wholefoods (sold by weight).