Air Fryer Roasted Hatch Green Chiles will form the basis of so many delicious Mexican and New Mexican dishes throughout the year. Buy a bunch when they’re in season (late summer), roast them up in the air fryer, and pop them in the freezer so you can use them all year.
If you’ve been to New Mexico, you probably already know all about New Mexicans’ love for roasted Hatch green chile peppers. They’re traditionally the hatch chile harvest is roasted in the oven, but roasting hatch chiles in an air fryer is quick and easy, too!
Go to New Mexico during the late summer hatch chile harvest season and you’ll see piles of the delicious hatch chile for sale everywhere, including in and around the bigger towns and cities like Albuquerque and Santa Fe. New Mexican food utilizes the peppers in numerous ways.
What are hatch chile peppers?
This distinctive New Mexico green chile is long, dark green, and with a mild to medium heat level. They pack a bit of heat and a lot of flavor, but they are not a super hot chile.
Hatch chiles grow in the Hatch Valley of Southern New Mexico, near Las Cruces, where the soil is full of nutrients and the weather provides the perfect growing climate.
They grow in New Mexico’s Hatch Valley, which is where they get their name. The unique combination of desert climate and soil and water from the Rio Grande give them their distinctive flavor.
While all chile peppers will turn red if left to ripen further, these peppers are usually picked when they are still green.
The hatch chili peppers’ season runs from early August to late September. That’s when you’ll be able to buy these fresh green chiles by the bushel.
During the hatch chile roasting season, you can smell the powerful scent of roast chiles in towns all over New Mexico. Locals roast piles of the spicy chile peppers to use in sauces, soups, stews, and baked goods or to preserve for later use.
Hatch chiles are similar to poblano peppers in size, flavor, and heat level.
The Anaheim pepper is sometimes mistaken for the Hatch chili pepper, and they do have common origins. Hatch chiles were transplanted to California but because the climate and soil are different, the chiles took on different characteristics. Hatch chiles are also usually a bit hotter than Anaheim peppers.
You can use frozen hatch chiles in all the same dishes you use the freshly roasted hatch chiles in.
Ingredients you need
You only need two ingredients to make Air Fryer Roasted Hatch Chiles
For the complete list of ingredients with quantities and detailed prep and cooking instructions, please see the recipe card that appears at the end of this post.
- Fresh hatch chiles
- Olive oil
How to roast hatch green chile in the air fryer
For the complete list of ingredients with quantities and detailed prep and cooking instructions, please see the recipe card that appears at the end of this post.
Roasting chiles in the oven is easy enough, but roasting them in the air fryer is quicker, creates less mess, and won’t heat up your kitchen. Here’s how:
- Coat the chiles in olive oil.
- Put the chiles in the air fryer basket.
- Air fry for about 15 minutes, until the skins blacken and start to blister.
- Flip the chiles over and air fry for 5 minutes more.
- Turn off the air fryer but don’t remove the chiles. Let them sit in the basket inside the air fryer for 15 minutes, which will help to loosen the skins.
- Remove the chiles from the basket. At this point, they should be cool enough to handle and you’ll likely be able to pull the skins right off.
- Remove the stems and then split the chiles lengthwise with a sharp knife and remove the seeds and veins.
How to store them
You can store the Air Fryer Roasted Hatch Chiles in the refrigerator or freezer.
To refrigerate the chiles, transfer them to a resealable plastic bag or another container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To freeze roasted Hatch Chiles, put them in a freezer-safe resealable plastic bag or in another freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 6 months.
How to use your roasted hatch chiles
There are so many great recipes for hatch green chiles that have been roasted in the air fryer or the oven. Here are just a few ways you can use your Air Fryer Roasted Hatch Green Chiles:
Blend the chilies into a perfect green chile sauce, which you can use to make Chilaquiles verde or Enchiladas Verde with chicken.
Add them to Tomatillo Salsa.
Dice them and add them to cornbread, savory scones, or mac ‘n cheese.
Use them in Air Fryer Taquitos, Air Fryer Empanadas, Mexican Shredded Beef, or Salpicon de Res.
Use them in posole, Green Chili Chicken Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Sopa de Camarones, or other soups and stews.
Stuff them with meat or cheese to make chile rellenos.
Air Fryer Roasted Hatch Green Chiles
Ingredients
- 6 hatch chile peppers
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Instructions
- Place chilies in the air fryer basket. You can fill the basket but don’t overlay the chilies. Coat whole peppers in oil.
- Cook at 400°f for 15 minutes or until the skins start to blacken and blister. If the bottom side needs more cooking, flip and cook for 5 more minutes or until blistered.
- Turn the air fryer off after chilies are cooked and let chilies in the air fryer for 15 minutes to allow them to sweat. This process loosens the skin for removal.
- Remove the chilies and begins peeling away the skin. Remove all of the skin from the chilies.
- Slice open the chilies a long way and remove the stems, seeds, and veins.
- Now your hatch chilies are ready for any desired hatch chili recipe. If you wish to preserve them, seal them in an air-tight freezer bag for long storage or in an air-tight container for temporary refrigerated storage.
Roasted chilies are my favorite time of the year! I love the utilization of the air fryer. Easy cleanup and they roasted to perfection!
I had never thought of air frying hatch chilies before and they turned out so good!
I ended up only needing 15 minutes. (turning at 10).
Not sure if i have a different kind of air fryer or what.
I recommend NOT removing the veins if you like hot chiles! Just remove the seeds!