Muy Bueno: Fiestas 
Pork Green Chile
This Pork Green Chile is packed with roasted chiles and succulent pork to create an easy and warming stew. Try it smothered over breakfast burritos or eat it as a stew with warm tortillas. This Colorado-style pork green chile recipe makes a lot, so cut the recipe in half or prepare it as-is to stock your freezer.
This Stew is Perfect for Chilly Weather!
I moved to Colorado in 1998, and I’ll never forget the first time someone asked me if I knew how to make chile. Um, hello, I’m Mexican; of course I know how to make all kinds of chile dishes!
Then they said, “No, green chile!” I was confused. “Yes, I know how to make salsa verde, salsa casera, chile verde con carne y papas, and green enchilada sauce.” “Which green chile are you talking about?” Then, they said, “No, pork green chile, Colorado-style. It’s thick like a gravy or stew made with spicy fire roasted long green Pueblo chile peppers from Pueblo, Colorado combined with chunks of pork tenderloin, tomato, and onion. We use it to ‘smother’ our dishes.” “Smother?” I was very confused.
Then I went to my first Mexican restaurant in Denver and ordered chile rellenos and the waitress asked me if I wanted them smothered. I kept hearing about this green chile and the term smothered and finally had to give it a try. To be completely honest, I was not a fan.
It took me years, but I have finally come to appreciate this unique thick green Colorado-style chile, and I have to admit it can be quite addictive.
This recipe was adapted from my cousins’ husband’s recipe, who is from Pueblo, Colorado. He makes a mean green chile, so I knew I had to ask him for his popular recipe. (Thank you Augi!)
Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival (The Gazette)
What chile peppers are needed?
If you live in Colorado be sure to look for a farm stand or go to the Chile & Frijoles Festival to stock up on some fire-roasted chile. If you don’t live in Colorado, you can purchase online from this Pueblo chile farm or try making it with Hatch Chile peppers or readily available Anaheim or for a mild pepper try poblanos. Whatever you do, don’t use canned chiles. I guess technically, you can, but fresh is honestly best.
How to roast chiles for green chile stew
If you don’t have roasted chile in your freezer like I do, then you’ll need to do it yourself. Luckily for you, I have a video showing how to do just that from start to finish.
What is Colorado-Style Pork Green Chile?
Green chile stew is a simple, yet flavorful dish, comprised of seared chunks of pork, onions, garlic, chicken broth, and roasted green chile. It’s brothy, yet filling, and a great meal to make on busy weeknights or lazy weekends alike.
This stew has the distinct flavor of green chiles, but it isn’t necessarily very spicy unless it has been made with dynamite chiles from Pueblo or extra hot chiles from Hatch.
I invite you to make a big pot of this spicy pork green chile stew. I especially love it while camping. You can make a big batch of it and freeze it, and reheat it on your campfire or Coleman stove. Something about this pork green chile lingering through the Colorado mountain air is a beautiful thing.
I especially love this chile smothered over eggs or a breakfast burrito in the morning. Yes, I said smothered. After all, I’m a Coloradan now!
How To Make
- Cook the Pork: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the chopped pork, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the meat is browned (but not cooked through).
- Sauté the Veggies: Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender about 5 minutes.
- Add the Liquids and Spices: Add the chicken broth, salt, coriander, oregano, tomatoes, and chile. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
- Make the Slurry: In a separate dish, combine water and cornstarch to make a slurry, and continue to stir. Add a little of the cornstarch mixture at a time to the stew. The stew will thicken as it cools.
- Serve: Once the stew has thickened, it’s ready to serve! Serve as a stew or smother it over eggs, burritos, chile rellenos, or make loaded nacho fries. Enjoy!
Storing and Reheating
- Store this pork green chile recipe in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze any cooked and cooled leftovers in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheat from frozen by letting it thaw in the fridge or on the counter, and then warm the chilled pork green chile on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through and bubbling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Try this Chile Verde Con Carne y Papas recipe.
You can use your favorite variety, such as Pueblo, Hatch, Anaheim, poblanos, or a mix.
Named “Mirasol” for its upward-reaching (rather than downward-hanging) fruit that grows “facing the sun,” the Pueblo chile is typically meatier than the long and slender Hatch chile. It’s also more pungent due to the higher levels of the chemical capsaicin, which determines a chile pepper’s heat index.
Yes! But you’ll need to cook the pork and veggies in a separate skillet before transferring them to the crock pot to ensure the meat is safely cooked through. I like to make this stew and then transfer it to a slow cooker to simmer all day on low.
More Pork Recipes To Try
- Asado de Chile Colorado (Pork in Red Chile Sauce)
- Orange Pork Tacos with Grilled Peaches
- Tacos al Pastor with Roasted Pineapple Salsa (Grilled Pork Tacos)
- Instant Pot Pork and Roasted Green Chile Tamales
Are you planning to make some pork green chile stew this fall? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to tag me (@muybuenocooking) if you post pics of your tasty creations to Instagram!
Pork Green Chile (Colorado Style)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 pounds pork tenderloin or butt, diced
- 2 onions, chopped
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 quarts chicken broth, fresh or packaged
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons coriander
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano, crushed
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 30 to 35 Pueblo, Hatch, or Anaheim chile peppers, roasted, peeled, and chopped
- 2 ½ cups cold water
- 1 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet or casserole. Place the pork and cook for about 10 minutes, until pork is browned. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, salt, coriander, oregano, tomatoes, and chile. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a separate dish combine water and cornstarch and continue to stir. Add a little of the cornstarch mixture at a time to the stew. The stew will thicken as it cools.
- This recipe can also be transferred to a slow cooker for all day simmering on low.
Notes
- Feel free to cut the recipe in half. This recipe freezes wonderfully for a low-stress dinner after work.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Use your favorite variety of chile peppers, such as Pueblo, Hatch, Anaheim, poblanos, or a mix.
- Serve as a stew or smother it over eggs, burritos, or chile rellenos.
Photography by Jenna Sparks
Originally published: August 2013.
452 Comments on “Pork Green Chile”
I live in Pueblo use to work the farms as kids picking chili but all I use to make green chili is pork diced flour just enough to thicken it about 12 Pueblo chili’s and tomatoe’s smash with the chili’s, garlic and water. That is all I use.
Your recipe says to cook for 30 minutes. You can’t get pork butt tender in 30 minutes.Also had 8 lbs of pork cubed and 2 qts of broth did not cover the meat.
Hi Jim, the total cook time is 45 minutes. Did you also add the water? Feel free to add more water or broth as needed.
I grew up in Pueblo, and have been eating Pueblo Chilies since I knew they existed. My sister and I would go to one of the farms and get 30 or 40 pounds of roasted chilies every year. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water. I introduced them to my husband, and he is just as in love with them as I am. I live in Washington now really missing my Pueblo Chilies. If you haven’t had a “Slopper”, go to Coors Tavern, 4th and Elizabeth in Pueblo. You won’t be sorry. Wonderful!!!
I made this Chile verde last weekend. This recipe is excellent. It had great taste. Thank you for sharing recipe.
I love this dish, and the whole famiy gives it a 5 star…:). I also found at Costco a big jar of flame roasted Green Chile from Hatch Valley and worked wonderful minus roasting the hatch, the works was all done!!..This Recipe is a keeper:)
Grew up in Colorado, and this recipe is spot on. Very good. Thanks.
How long do you roast your chiles, and do you so it in the oven or over the stove?
Hi Lydia, please refer to this blog post for details: https://muybuenoblog.com/how-to-roast-chile-peppers-video/
How many cups of chiles will that amount for f chiles equal?
es muy bueno. I can see el colorado has not confused you about chile vs chili. But this smothered thing, que’ ha pasado? I still have not learned how to eat a smothered
burrito, what with all that salsa oozing between my fingers, and dripping down my arm. As for a chile rellano, there’s just no way it gets smothered. I will try the tomato in your chile verde con puerco. Thanks for the recipe.
We make ours with toasted flour instead of cornstarch. You can toast the flour in advance and keep it stored in a jar until use. Add it to some of the liquid and add to the pot. Saves on extra oil when making the run. Delicious too. I’m also from Pueblo and stock up on the Mirasol. It really is the best
A full cup of cornstarch? Really?
This looks yummy. Do you have a similar recipe that serves 4-6?
Thank you.
Flower or corn tortillas
I’ll be cutting this recipe in half and would like to know how many chiles you would use if I am trying to make this the least spicy as possible. I don’t know much about chiles so I’m not even certain how spicy Hatch chiles are. My kids can’t handle spicy food and I want to make sure they can enjoy this dinner as well.
Authentic green chili is absolutely not made with chicken broth or oregano, these takes away from the flavor of the green chili. My family has been making green chili for years and my mother would say it would be absolutely terrible to use chicken broth. Think about it “chicken flavored pork green chili”??
This looks like a great way to make green chili.
Since I have no access to Hatch or Mia Sol chiles, I don’t have a perspective to how many of the only chiles available to me which are about 2.5 inches long I should use for proper proportions.. Pictures online show me Hatch chiles that look around 6 inches long so I know what I have and what this recipe calls for are apples and oranges regarding volume of perhaps the hero of this dish; which is of course the chiles.
I understand lots of cooks do not have access to a scale, but for those of us who do use scales in baking and general cooking …. an idea of the approximate weight of “30 – 35 Mia Sol or Hatch” chiles included in the recipe would be very, very helpful.
This is fantastic! After getting a bushel of roasted peppers (and other goodies) from DiSantis Farms in Pueblo, I wanted to try my hand (again) at a batch of green chile. This recipe is by far the easiest and tastiest ever! We had some during the Broncos game but then I put it in the crock pot to simmer overnight. Thanks for this perfect recipe!