8 Things New Mexicans Put Green Chile On That Out-of-Staters Never Would
Order food in New Mexico, and you’ll be asked one question: red or green?
Pick green, and it could show up on your pizza, your apple pie or your sundae.
Here’s where New Mexicans put green chile that visitors never see coming.
1. Cheeseburgers
Green chile on a cheeseburger is common enough that the state tourism department runs an interactive Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail for it.
The Owl Bar & Grill in San Antonio, New Mexico, is famous for its green chile cheeseburgers.
Two blocks away, the Buckhorn Tavern bested Food Network’s Bobby Flay at making a green chile cheeseburger in 2009.
You can eat at the Owl, then walk to the Buckhorn and judge the result for yourself.
In Hatch, Sparky’s Burgers, BBQ & Espresso was one of eight restaurants set to cook in the Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge at the 2026 New Mexico State Fair.
A food guide for Albuquerque points you to Laguna Burger and Steel Bender Brewyard for a green chile cheeseburger.
2. Breakfast Burritos
Frontier Restaurant, an Albuquerque fan favorite since 1971, fills its breakfast burrito with green chile.
Visit Albuquerque’s roundup describes it as one egg, hash browns, cheddar cheese and green chile wrapped in a fresh-made tortilla.
That’s the plain version.
The Taos burrito at Twisters adds ham and potatoes to the eggs, green chile and cheese.
At Weck’s, you can have your burrito smothered in red chile, green chile or both.
3. Pizza
At Fratelli’s Pizza Bistro & Ice Creamery in Gallup, the Roadrunner pizza comes with pepperoni, sausage and green chile.
In Albuquerque, a 2024 roundup says Farina Pizzeria & Wine Bar will add locally roasted green chile to any pizza.
Saggios has a diverse selection of green chile pizza variations.
4. Ice Cream
A 2021 New Mexico Tourism Department post says green chile tops the New Mexican sundae at Caliche’s Frozen Custard in Las Cruces.
That sundae is vanilla frozen custard topped with New Mexico-grown green chile and salted pecans.
If you’re in Silver City, try a scoop of The Ice Cream Emporium’s Hatch Chile Vanilla.
Many out-of-staters wouldn’t think to put green chile on ice cream.
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5. Seafood
El Nido in Tesuque baked oysters in a wood-fire oven with green chile butter, according to a 2024 Santa Fe Reporter review.
The tourism department's guide also lists Oysters Rockefeller with a Southwestern touch of green chile at Los Arcos in Truth or Consequences.
If you're in Arroyo Seco, Aceq Restaurant has listed beer-battered fish and chips with Hatch green chile tartar sauce on its menu.
6. Apple Pie
You can get a slice of New Mexico Apple pie with green chile and piñon at the Pie-O-Neer in Pie Town.
If you're visiting, the Pie-O-Neer is under new ownership and open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Pi Day through Thanksgiving.
You can find the same combination in pies around the state during the September green chile harvest.
7. Calabacitas
Calabacitas, a popular summer vegetable side dish, combines zucchini and yellow squash with corn and green chile.
The squash is sautéed with garlic and onions first.
If you cook it the local way, you use green chile where Mexico's version uses tomatoes.
8. State Fair Corn Dogs
If you went to the 2024 New Mexico State Fair, you could find Gravy Train's Conductor's Corn Dog topped with Hatch green chiles.
Rex's Belgian Waffle Green Chile Cheeseburger came on a waffle bun with a maple green chile syrup drizzle.
The 2025 fair's Unique Foods contest included a green chile sriracha funnel cake.
A tourism department guide to chile season also calls the fair a source of unusual green chile foods, including cheese donuts and corndogs.
Culinary Treasures Trail
Almost all of the restaurants on the Culinary Treasures trail work green chile into their signature dishes.
If you follow it, you'll be eating at family-owned restaurants that have been in business more than 40 years.
The 2023 Crop
Green chile made up 41,120 tons of the 46,750 tons of chile New Mexico grew in 2023.
Red chile made up the other 5,630 tons.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the value of the whole 2023 crop at $41.5 million.
What the Chile Advertising Act Covers
If you buy chile sold as New Mexico chile, the Chile Advertising Act governs that label.
The law makes it unlawful to knowingly advertise or label chile peppers as New Mexico chile unless they were grown in the state.
A business whose name, brand or trademark predates the law is exempt if its ads and labels carry a "NOT GROWN IN NEW MEXICO" disclaimer.
The state Department of Agriculture can audit vendors' purchasing and sales records.
Red, Green or Christmas
Green chile shares a menu with red chile, and you'll often be asked to pick one when you order.
In 1996, the New Mexico Legislature passed a House Joint Memorial declaring "Red or Green?" the state question.
The memorial passed to signal how much the chile industry matters to the state's economy.
If you ask to have your meal "Christmas," you'll have red and green chile together.
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