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.
Rick Mackoy says
Hi Mike. looks great.
what is the biggest difference between this and the New Mexico fav, Carne adovada?
I will be trying this...
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Rick. Carne Adovada is made with pork, and Chili Colorado is typically made with beef, though I've seen people make the latter with pork and still call it Chili Colorado. I hope you enjoy it!
Mike says
Mike, I love your recipes. Quick question regarding proportions. If using ancho, guajillo, pasilla, and chiles de arbol chili powder what would the measure be?
Mike Hultquist says
Mike, I would use 2-3 tablespoons today, possibly a bit more. I would focus on the ancho, guajillo, and pasillas, with just a bit of the chile de arbol. Let me know how it goes.
Marie Stauber says
If you make with chili powder, how much?
Mike Hultquist says
Marie, if you use chili powder, I would use 2-3 tablespoons, or possibly a bit more. Let me know how it goes. Enjoy!
Darryl Noack says
Hi Mike, I can’t get Mexican chillies where I live. Can I substitute other types like Birds Eye or Habaneros
Mike Hultquist says
Darryl, the best subs for this are dried chilies like New Mexican pods or California pods. You want larger, darker dried peppers for the flavor. If you can't find any such peppers, I would use similar chili powders, like an American blend or Mexican powders - ancho, guajillo. Use 2-3 tablespoons, or up to 1/4 cup. I hope this helps.
Diana says
I haven't made this yet, but I bookmarked it.
I want to tell you a story: About ten years ago, I went through the Internet to find the top 5,000 food blogs. There's a website for that. I went through every blog. Took me weeks. I bookmarked the recipes that I liked and filed them on my computer. If I liked a certain number of recipes by one blogger, I would subscribe to the blogger. I don't remember how many that turned out to be. Probably over 20.
Then I was getting way too many emails with recipes in my inbox. Little by little, I unsubscribed to the blogs that regularly either didn't have my flavors or I didn't like the instructions or the food didn't turn out right or whatever.
You are one of the several bloggers that I subscribe to now, and you don't disappoint.
Mike Hultquist says
Wow, thanks so much, Diana. Very happy I made the cut! And very happy you're enjoying the recipes. Thanks!!
Larry Thomas says
Hi Mike, do you remove the stem & seeds from the peppers prior to toasting them of after soaking them? Maybe you leave the seeds and use them as well?
Mike Hultquist says
Larry, I remove the stems and seeds before toasting them. You can just cut off the stems, then slice the peppers open and pull out the seeds. Most of them just fall out. They are edible, but they float around and some people find them bitter. Check out the recipe video.
MA says
You never answered his question. You realize that? Also, are all of those peppers that you're talking about dried or just the Anchos? Well my question be answered or will it be something that doesn't even corresponds to what I'm asking?
Mike Hultquist says
You sound like a REAL JERK, Mary Ann. I misunderstood the question. The peppers here are all dried pods, except for the jalapeno peppers.
Ava says
she really did though. That was unnecessary. Gonna try this tonight Mike. Can’t wait!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Ava. I hope you enjoy it.
Jérémie says
I read too fast the recipe yesterday and soaked some beans! So …I used em!
Love that literal chili con carne: no tomato just an awesome chili paste! A lot of cheddar, cream, lime juice and cilantro: what else?
Mike Hultquist says
It's great WITH beans, too! Glad you enjoyed it, Jérémie. Yes, REAL chili flavor. We love this recipe.
ScottCarr says
perfect' Muchas Gracias!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks!!
Irma woerner says
Fantastic! I used pork. So good.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Irma!
Terri G says
Made this & fell in love. Such a great depth of flavors! I can't wait to have some tomorrow once flavors have melded more. Made mine in pressure cooker as I couldn't wait for slow cooker. I cooked it for 20 minutes & let pressure fall on its own. Meat came out sooo tender! Great recipe!
Mike Hultquist says
Perfection! I really love this one, Terri. Glad you enjoyed it.
Lana B says
thank you for the pressure cooker suggestion, I was wondering too about a crock pot. It looks so tasty!
dave says
Great site, love the chile pepper dictionary you have elsewhere (that's how I got here).
I greatly prefer Chile Colorado with pork. Just made last week with pork shoulder butt, or "Boston butt". It was tender and awesome.
All simmering, including chile prep, done with chicken stock. Sauteed the onions a little before blending. I did use a little flour and cornstarch to thicken near the end, sorry I did, I should have done it your way, and just cooked it down.
I think I had 5 varieties of pepper, including Pasilla, Anaheim, Guajilla, Ancho, and Arbol. I removed all the seeds, and I wish I had made it spicier (did not add jalapeno, with pepper wimps in the family). Next time I will amp it up a little, either the jalapeno or leaving in some Arbol innards. I did try straining the chili mixture but it doesn't flow well and I didn't see the need, won't do that step again. I also used a whole bulb of garlic, as we are a garlicky bunch.
Squeeze a lime in near the end, and by all means garnish with cilantro. I do draw the line at the beans, though... served with refried beans on the side.
Thanks for adding to our knowledge. This has always been one of my favorite Mexican dishes and my first effort at DIY turned out really well!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks for sharing, Dave! I greatly appreciate it! It all sounds wonderful to me. =)
Mike says
there is flour in the recipe...did you forget it?
Nate says
I made this recipe but with ground bison, for serving on top of tamales. The flavor was amazing.
Paul Wilson says
As i said Mike, loved it. I am defiantly trying another one of your chill recipes soon. Just a question, I love shin beef in my slow stews ect, do you ever use it, think its called Shank over there, regards Paul.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Paul. Yes, I love the shank. SO good slow cooked, very tender and huge on flavor. More fatty, though, so take that into consideration. Let me know how it goes!