Chili Colorado is a traditional Mexican recipe of pork or beef stewed low and slow in a rich red chili sauce, hence the name "colorado", which means "colored red", not from the state of Colorado.
Easy Chili Colorado Recipe
I've been on a chili kick lately. I love making chili, all that wonderful flavor in a big old pot, cooking low and slow until everything melds together.
It's hard to find a better one-pot meal. If you're a big chili fan, this is one recipe you want to have in your chili recipes repertoire. You can check out my growing collection of chili recipes here.
We're talking Chili Colorado, my friends, and it's a great one.
What is Chili Colorado?
Chili Colorado is a traditional Mexican recipe of pork or beef stewed nice and slow in a rich red chili sauce. While you might think it is a dish of the state of Colorado, that is not the case.
The name derives from the Spanish word "colorado", which means "colored red", named because of the deep red color of the sauce.
It's crazy delicious, and it's all about the chili peppers.
About the Chili Peppers
Chili Colorado is traditionally made with dried Mexican chili peppers, including ancho peppers, guajillo peppers, and chiles de arbol. You can also use pasilla peppers.
Ancho peppers are dried poblano peppers and they add a rich depth of flavor and color.
Guajillo peppers are one of the most common and popular chiles grown and used in Mexico. It is mild to moderately hot, and has dark, reddish brown, leathery skin, with a green-tea flavor or fruity flavor, with hints of berries.
Chiles de Árbol are small, red and thin Mexican peppers that add heat and spice.
Pasilla peppers refer to the dried chilaca pepper. The chilaca, when fresh, is also known as pasilla bajio, or as the chile negro or “Mexican negro” because, while it starts off dark green, it ends up dark brown. It offers a rich and smoky flavor.
Together, these peppers develop a richness of flavor you won't get with other chilis.
Let's talk about how to make Chili Colorado, shall we?
Chili Colorado Ingredients
- FOR THE CHILI SAUCE
- Dried Chiles. I'm using dried ancho chilies, guajillo chilies, pasilla chilies, and chiles de arbol. Look for these at your local Mexican grocery store or online.
- Spices. Mexican oregano, ground cumin, salt and black pepper to taste.
- FOR THE CHILI COLORADO
- Vegetables. Onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers for some optional extra heat and flavor.
- Chuck Roast. I'm making this with beef, but you can also use pork shoulder or other cuts of meat or stew meat that benefits from low and slow cooking.
- Flour.
- Beef Stock. Or beef broth. You can also use chicken or vegetable stock.
- For Serving. Crumbly white cheese, fresh herbs, spicy chili flakes, lime juice if desired – Rice and/or warmed tortillas, if desired
How to Make Chili Colorado - The Recipe Method
Toast the Dried Chilies. Make the sauce first by dry toasting the dried peppers in pan about a minute per side, until the skins blister a bit.
Rehydrate the Chilies. Set them into a bowl and cover with hot water for 20 minutes, until they are very soft.
Make the Red Chile Sauce. Transfer the peppers to a blender with oregano, cumin, a bit of salt and pepper, and 1 cup of the soaking water. Blend until nice and smooth.
Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer and set aside for now.
Season the Beef. Toss some cubed chuck roast (or pork) in a bit of flour with a bit of salt and pepper to coat them.
Brown the Beef. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven to medium high heat and add the olive oil. Brown the beef on all sides, about 5 minutes or so. Set aside onto a plate.
Cook the Vegetables. Heat a bit more oil in the same pan to medium heat. Cook the onion and jalapeno peppers until they soften up, about 5 minutes or so.
Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Add the red sauce and stock and bring to a boil. Add the browned meat back to the pot.
Simmer the Chili Colorado. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes to 45 minutes to let the flavors develop. Longer is better. I let mine go about an hour or longer on low, nice and slow, sometimes 2 hours or longer.
You can also transfer it to a slow cooker instead to simmer on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours, or until tender.
Optional Thickening. If you’d like to thicken the chili, remove the cover and increase the heat. Cook until the moisture cooks out and your preferred thickness is achieved.
Boom! Done! Your chile colorado is ready to serve! Bust out your favorite toppings, my friends! It's time to dig in.
Serving Chili Colorado
Chili colorado can be served in a bowl on its own, or served with rice. Serve it with warmed corn or flour tortillas for making tacos.
Add all of your favorite toppings, like shredded cheese, sour cream or crema, red chili flakes, fresh chopped cilantro, sliced chilies, lime juice and more.
Recipe Notes and Tips
Add Beans! This recipe does not traditionally included beans like a lot of chilis do, but I sometimes like to serve mine with butter beans. It just works for me!
Doesn't it look good with beans?
Other Dried Chili Peppers. Try making the recipe with other Mexican chili peppers as well, such as New Mexican chilies, California chilies, cascabel chilies, or other Mexican pods.
Also, if you're unable to find dried chili peppers to work with, you can make Chili Colorado with chili powder instead. Many people make it with powder instead of the dried peppers.
Use 2-3 tablespoons ancho powder, 2-3 tablespoons guajillo powder, 1 tablespoon pasilla powder, and 1/4 teaspoon chile de arbol powder (or more to taste - cayenne is a good sub). If using a chili powder blend, use a bit more than 1/4 cup.
Storage and Leftovers
You can store any leftover chili colorado in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To enjoy it again, simply reheat it over medium heat in a pot on the stovetop.
You can also freeze chili colorado in freezer proof containers for 3 months or longer. I freeze batches all the time. It reheats perfectly after thawing.
That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy this Chile Colorado recipe! Chow down!
Try Some of My Other Popular Chili Recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Chili Colorado Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE
- 6 ancho chili peppers stemmed and seeded
- 6 guajillo peppers stemmed and seeded
- 2 pasilla peppers stemmed and seeded
- 3 chiles de arbol stemmed and seeded
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE CHILI
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers chopped (optional – I like the extra heat and flavor)
- 4-5 cloves garlic chopped
- 2.5 pounds beef chuck roast cut into bite-sized chunks
- ¼ cup flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups beef stock chicken or vegetable stock are good, too
- FOR SERVING: Crumbly white cheese, fresh herbs, spicy chili flakes, squeeze of lime juice if desired – Rice and/or warmed tortillas, if desired
Instructions
- Make the sauce first by dry toasting the dried peppers in pan about a minute per side, until the skins blister a bit.
- Set them into a bowl and cover with hot water for 20 minutes, until they are very soft.
- Transfer the peppers to a blender with oregano, cumin, a bit of salt and pepper, and 1 cup of the soaking water. Blend until nice and smooth.
- Strain the sauce and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to medium high heat.
- Toss the cubed chuck roast in the flour with a bit of salt and pepper to coat them.
- Brown the beef on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring a bit.
- Add the red chili sauce and stock and bring to a boil. Add the browned meat back to the pot.
- Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors develop. Longer is better, 2 hours or more for melt-in-your-mouth tender beef.
- If you’d like to thicken the chili, remove the cover and increase the heat. Cook until the moisture cooks out and your preferred thickness is achieved.
- Serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 3/19/23 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 10/17/18.
Paul Wilson says
Made last night, different dried pepper ratio but hay soooooo good , cheers from the U.K.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes! Glad you enjoyed it, Paul!
Staci says
Mike, this seems so similar to your Texas Chili. How would you side by side compare them? What
I’ve made both and it seems this one has specific peppers to this recipe. I’m visiting my hometown of Key West and a friend who owns a Mexican cafe (best salsa ever) and amazing chef special habanero sauce, said he would give me a bag of dried peppers if I made Texas chili, where I live now (I have perfected my chili, guacamole and margaritas). So I tried finishing off in the oven since my brothers gas stove needs calibration. Hoping an hour in the crock pot tenderizes the meat more...and it was high quality chuck too! That is all that needs to happen.
I no longer use tomato to thicken my sauce but a homemade chili paste thanks to you. I used twice as many of the chilies he gave me and the sauce is nice and thick. Taste is fabulous. I always add a splash of fish sauce though to most of my sauces. I’ve won contests with the simplest chili because of that “extra” something. It really brings out the richness of the meat.
Thanks for your fabulous blog. It is so inspiring. I love me some chilies!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Staci. Yes, very similar. The difference is in the peppers and that Chili Colorado can use either pork or beef, where Texas Chili is beef only. Otherwise, yes, VERY similar. I love the fish sauce addition! Very nice touch.
Doug Odom says
I cook the meat in a pressure cooker for about 30 - 40 minutes after browning it and before putting it in the sauce. Comes out very tender but is still chunky.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Doug!!
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS says
The recipe doe not list an amount of Pasilla chili. (I like it spicy.)
I have no tried this yet but made a similar recipe with great success.
My only problem was getting teh beef tender. I cocked it longer, but it was difficult keeping the sauce from scorching.
I think I will try simmering the beef for an hour or so before adding the sauce and simmer some more. Any thioughts?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Christopher, this recipe does not include pasilla peppers. However, if you'd like to use them, you can use anywhere from 1-3 pasillas, depending on your preference. You can also sub them in for the other dried pods as desired. Time to experiment! You can add some liquid to your chili for simmering so the sauce doesn't scorch or dry out. I use either water or stock, just a bit at a time, if I need to simmer longer. I hope this helps. Enjoy.
Kat says
We followed this recipe exactly, and cooked it for an hr instead of a half hour. The sauce was amazing but the beef was not tender. So now we're cooking it in the oven for 2 hrs on 200. Hope that works. Any suggestions to tenderize lean beef appreciated. It wouldn't be a bad recipe to cook in the oven after browning the beef anyway...thoughts?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Kat, it could be an exceptionally tough cut of beef, and cooking times can definitely vary. For me, I would add a bit more liquid to the pot then simmer longer, until the meat it tender. Of course that will affect the overall cooking time, but I don't mind waiting for good tender meat with my chili!
Eric C says
This is full of flavor. I made it once with beef chuck roast and once with chicken. Both are excellent.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Glad you enjoyed it, Eric! One of my favorites, actually.
Mike says
Where did all those carbohydrates come from?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Mike. According to my recipe nutrition calculator, most of of the carbs are from the anchos. All are estimates, though. You can calculate on your own if there are concerns.
Eric White says
Made this for the first time last night, outstanding! Easy to follow recipe, and the results speak for themselves. Everyone loved it!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Perfect, Eric! Glad it was a hit! That recipe is definitely a keeper. I love it.
Glenn Coleman says
This looks awesome and I will be making it these week. I've used dried chilis when making red sauce for tamales and have never strained the chilis after blinding. Now I do de-seed and remove the stems first. The blender I use, there wouldn't be anything left a strainer would catch. Why strain?
Thank you,
Glenn
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glenn, yes, remove the stems and seeds first. Straining is really only necessary for a smoother sauce. You're fine just blending it. Enjoy!
Danny from CA says
This was a perfect recipe from start to finish. Great authentic taste. I followed the recipe and finished everything in the crockpot on low for about 6 hours. Maybe longer. Meat was tender and thickness was spot on like getting it at a restaurant but better. Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, Danny! Glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, this is one of my favorites. I need to make another batch soon.
Nika says
Amazing flavor. I was initially intimidated to use dried peppers but it was easy and added so much flavor. I will make it again. Mine was more soup like, even after cooking it for a while. So I'm not sure where I went wrong??? But excellent flavor! Thanks!! I will try more recipes!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Nika, glad you enjoyed it. The soupiness could be from too much liquid and can usually be cooked off, or you can try a thickener like cornmeal. Try that next time.
Gerald Hayes says
Total hit. Everyone loved it. So easy to make too!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Gerald! Excellent!
Michelle says
I’m trying to do the least amount of carbs possible. Would it be too watery if I omit the flour?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Michelle, not really. You can still thicken it up by just simmering longer. I believe arrowroot is much lower in carbs, so you might consider that as an optional thickener. You could also incorporate more chili paste or even tomato paste to thicken it up as well. Let me know how it turns out for you.