Chili Verde
This chili verde recipe is made with tender pork shoulder that has been seasoned and seared, then cooked low and slow in a rich verde sauce made from roasted tomatillos, poblanos and jalapeno peppers.
It’s “Chili Madness” in the Chili Pepper Madness household lately. I’ve been going gangbusters making chili because the weather has turned here and the only thing I like about the cold is warm soups and chili.
A good chili can warm up those chilly bones, and to be honest, not much else can hit the spot like a good bowl of chili.
Right? Chili! I love the stuff!
Most people think of a big bowl of RED when it comes to chili – like my Chili Colorado Recipe – but a really good chili can also be GREEN. Like this one.
We’re talking Chili Verde, my friends! And it’s some pretty dang GREAT stuff!
About Chili Verde
Chili verde is a green chili made with tender pork shoulder that has been seasoned and seared, then cooked low and slow in a rich “verde sauce”, or “green sauce”. The verde sauce is KEY here, made from roasted tomatillos, poblanos and jalapeno peppers, very much like salsa verde, which can definitely be used to make this recipe.
Pork is traditional with chili verde, though you can make it with other meats. Chicken is particularly good.
The Name “Chili Verde” – What does it mean?
The name simply means “green chili”. Some people have come to call chili verde “Colorado Green Chili”, because the cooking method is somewhat similar to Chili Colorado, with the meat simmering away slowly in sauce until it becomes super tender and flavorful.
It’s funny, though, because “Chili Colorado” literally translates to “Chili Colored Red”, so what they’re really saying is “Red Green Chili”. Fun fact for you.
Chili Verde is definitely one of my favorites, and I think it will be one of your favorites as well.
Let’s talk about how we make it! Authentic Chili Verde coming your way.
Ingredients Needed for Chili Verde
- FOR THE VERDE SAUCE
- 2 pounds tomatillos husked and rinsed
- 2 poblano peppers stemmed and sliced in half lengthwise
- 3-4 jalapeno peppers stemmed and sliced in half lengthwise
- FOR THE CHILI
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pound boneless pork shoulder cubed (do bite sized cubes)
- 2 tablespoon ancho chili powder optional
- 1 teaspoon cumin optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion chopped (white or yellow)
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- ½ – 1 cup chicken stock (chicken broth)
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- Juice from 1 large lime
- FOR SERVING
- Extra limes sliced jalapeno peppers, fresh chopped cilantro, crumbly white cheese, spicy chili flakes
How to Make Chili Verde – The Recipe Method
First, make your verde sauce. Preheat your oven to broil.
Slice the peeled and rinsed tomatillos in half through the horizontal center (not up and down) and arrange on a lightly oiled baking dish with the skin sides up.
Like so.
Place the poblano chiles and jalapeno peppers on a separate lightly oiled baking sheet skin sides up.
Bake the peppers and tomatillos about 12-15 minutes until skin side is blistering on both the tomatillos and peppers. Rotate the baking sheets if needed. You may need up to 20 minutes, depending on your proximity to the heat element.
Remove from heat and cool slightly. They will look like this.
Peel off the pepper skins and discard them. You can peel off the tomatillos skins if you’d like, but I leave them on.
Learn more about How to Roast Tomatillos and How to Roast Chili Peppers.
Add the tomatillos and peppers to a food processor. Process until smooth. Set aside for now.
For making the chili verde, heat a large pot to medium-high heat and add a bit of olive oil. I like to use my Dutch oven for this.
Season the pork shoulder with ancho powder, cumin, salt and pepper, then add the pork. Sear the cubes a minute or two on each side, until each side is nicely browned, stirring here and there.
Add the onions and stir. Cook them down about 5 minutes to soften.
Stir in the garlic and Mexican oregano and cook another minute.
Add the reserved verde sauce along with ½ cup chicken stock, or up to a cup if you’d like a thinner chili verde. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 2 hours (you may need longer), until the pork is fork tender. It’s SO good when slow cooked.
Remove the chili verde from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro and juice from 1 lime.
Serve it up in bowls and top with your fixings – Extra limes, sliced jalapeno peppers, fresh chopped cilantro, crumbly white cheese, spicy chili flakes. Whatever you like!
BOOM! DONE! This is authentic Mexican cuisine at its finest.
It’s so good, isn’t it? I love this stuff!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Slow Cooker Chili Verde. I most often use my Dutch oven to make this recipe, but it can be made in a slow cooker or crock pot. If you’d like to make it in a slow cooker, follow the seasoning instructions and still sear the cubed pork in a pan, then add it to the slow cooker. Also, it is best to still make the salsa verde per the recipe, then add that to the slow cooker. Then, cook the whole thing on low for 6-8 hours, or until the pork is extremely tender.
- Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Chili Verde. You can also make chili verde in a pressure cooker or instant pot very easily. Simply season and brown the cubed pork along with the vegetables in the pot, then cover and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Naturally release the pressure, then stir up your chili. It is extremely easy and delicious.
- Freezing Chili Verde. You can easily freeze your leftover chili by transferring it to sealable freezer containers and setting them into the freezer. Frozen chili will last 6 months easily this way.
- How to Thicken Chili Verde. If your chili is too thin, a great way to thicken it is to stir a tablespoon or two of cornstarch in water and swirl it into the pot. Simmer until it thickens up. If your sauce is too thick, swirl in some chicken broth.
About the Chili Verde Seasonings
A lot of chili verde recipes forego any additional seasonings and let the dish gain its flavor entirely from the pork and the verde sauce, which truly is delicious. However, I like to add in a bit of cumin and particularly ancho powder for additional flavor.
You know me, I LOVE big flavor, and these seasonings bring this dish to the TOP for me. Feel free to incorporate other seasonings to your own preference.
Serving Up Your Chili Verde
You can serve up your chili verde in a bowl on its own and you’ll love it. Or, serve it over a bit of rice to help absorb all that verde sauce.
Try serving it with tortillas so you can enjoy it as tacos. It’s also great served over chips as sort of a chili verde nacho bowl.
Enjoy!
Try Some of My Other Popular Chili Recipes
- Chili Colorado
- Chili con Carne
- Texas Chili
- Slow Cooker Southwest Beef Chili
- White Bean Chicken Chili
- Homemade Roasted Tomatillo Pork Chili
- Pork Chili with Roasted Red Hatch Chili Peppers
- “Real Deal” Turkey Chili
- Chunky Vegetarian Chili Recipe
- Carne Adovada
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 Verde – Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE VERDE SAUCE
- 2 pounds tomatillos husked and rinsed
- 2 poblano peppers stemmed and sliced in half lengthwise
- 3-4 jalapeno peppers stemmed and sliced in half lengthwise
FOR THE CHILI
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pound boneless pork shoulder cubed (do bite sized cubes)
- 2 tablespoon ancho chili powder optional
- 1 teaspoon cumin optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion chopped (white or yellow)
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- ½ - 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- Juice from 1 large lime
FOR SERVING
- Extra limes sliced jalapeno peppers, fresh chopped cilantro, crumbly white cheese, spicy chili flakes
Instructions
- Make your verde sauce first. Preheat your oven to broil.
- Slice the peeled and rinsed tomatillos in half through the horizontal center (not up and down) and arrange on a lightly oiled baking dish with the skin sides up.
- Place the peppers on a separate lightly oiled baking sheet skin sides up.
- Bake the peppers and tomatillos about 12-15 minutes until skin side is blistering on both the tomatillos and peppers. Rotate the baking sheets if needed. You may need up to 20 minutes, depending on your proximity to the heat element.
- Remove from heat and cool slightly. Peel off the pepper skins and discard them. You can peel off the tomatillos skins if you’d like, but I leave them on.
- Add the tomatillos and peppers to a food processor. Process until smooth. Set aside for now.
FOR THE CHILI
- Heat a large pot to medium heat and add the olive oil.
- Season the pork shoulder with ancho powder, cumin, salt and pepper, then sear the cubes a minute or 2 on each side, until each side is nicely browned, stirring here and there.
- Add the onions and stir. Cook them down about 5 minutes to soften.
- Stir in the garlic and Mexican oregano and cook another minute.
- Add the reserved verde sauce along with ½ cup chicken stock, or up to a cup if you’d like a thinner chili verde. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 2 hours (you may need longer), until the pork is fork tender.
- Remove the chili verde from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro and juice from 1 lime.
- Serve in bowls and top with your fixings - Extra limes, sliced jalapeno peppers, fresh chopped cilantro, crumbly white cheese, spicy chili flakes
Notes
Nutrition
72 comments
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Have not tried it yet. . .but I will. I LOVE your green chili pork stew. I am hooked now on the green peppers on the lower end of the heat scale. Never had a tomatillo so this will be fun.
Yes! Thanks, Nancy. We LOVE that stew recipe. A favorite here.
This recipe sounds so delicious and so easy. True story: my husband’s BFF ate his first bowl of chili verde in New Mexico, with roasted Hatch green chili peppers and lots of garlic. Although tears were streaming down his face, he somehow managed to eat four bowls. 😉
That’s exactly how hot I like my chili verde, so I use serranos, unseeded, in the sauce and sliced jalapeños as a topper, along with plenty of chopped cilantro, lime wedges, and dollops of sour cream (The Cooler lol). Ancho chili powder and cumin are not optional. I also prefer the brothier version when eating it in a bowl but I like it thicker when using with the aforementioned toppings in corn tortillas.
Mike, you always succeed in whetting my appetite. Thanks so much, dude!
Thanks so much, Hollis. I appreciate it!
quick question. – how much salsa verde does this recipe make. I have a number of canned salsa from your recipe. can i use this and what amound would i need?
thanks
Jamie, this makes about 8 small bowls of chili verde, or 4 larger bowls for more of a full meal. Yes, you can use canned salsa. I would probably use 2-3 cans. Let me know how it turns out for you.
I made this for a chili outing and it came out exceptionally good. Amazing recipe for sure. I did some tweaks (chipotle powder, smoked paprika, smoked salt and smoked pepper on the shoulder, mezcal at the onion and garlic phase) I also slow cooked the shoulder for a bit longer maybe 4hrs. Instead of chicken stock I used a pork/beef bone broth. I also added black beans towards the end of the simmer stage. I really wanted to have a smoky under lying flavor in there!! This chili is great on its own or with tortillas or chips, some folks enjoyed it with cotija cheese… great job and will for sure make it again and again!!!
Outstanding, Michael! I love the tweaks. Glad you enjoyed it!!
This was sooo good. We smoked the tomatillos and peppers on the Traeger grill first then blistered the peppers on the grill. The flavor was fantastic. Easy recipe to make. Will definitely make this again.
Excellent, Sandra! Smoking the tomatillos first = AWESOME. I love it.
Mike, your Chili Verde recipe is phenomenal. However, it took me two plus hours to get it to the simmer stage. I used a pork loin which melts in your mouth after an hour and a half. Do you think it would be almost as good using roasted Hatch Chili Peppers? Love your newsletters.
Yep, that’s quite a long time to get to a simmer. Definitely would be GREAT with Hatch peppers. I love it! Thanks!
Awesome, my new favorite Chili Verde recipe! Inspired me to make my own Ancho Chili powder from the poblano chilis we grew. Can’t wait to try out your Ancho Jalapeno hot sauce using it also. Made a quadruple batch of the sauce to freeze to use throughout the winter.
Very nice! Super happy you enjoy it. Always a good time for a good verde chili! I love that you make your own ancho powder, too. Very satisfying.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. My first attempt at green chili and making my own green enchilada sauce and it was yummers! We are still smacking our lips. Followed recipe to a T if you don’t count not knowing what peppers I used. The jalapeño’s were a given but the gal at the green house didn’t know what the big green ones were. I had to grind up dried peppers to make the one seasoning but found the Mexican oregano! What a hit, these two seniors loved it! Thanks again for great directions and recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks, Margaret! Super happy you enjoyed them.
Just finished having this for dinner. My family loved it, so Delicious. I made this in my Instant Pot. I used 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin cut into 1 1/2″ pieces. 1 lb tomatillos but still used about the same seasonings. Added to Instant Pot with 1 cup chicken broth cooked on high for 15 minutes, with 10 minute natural release, and it was perfect. This recipe will be made time and time again. Thank you for the recipe, it is beautifully written, with outstanding step by step pictures.
Great, Cynthia! Glad you enjoyed it!
Used cooked shreaded pork, and a slightly different pepper mix, a scotch bonnet, and some others , added sumac to the seasoning mix. Only had generic chili powder… It’s all simmering in a dutch oven now, and will be dinner tomorrow night, most likey over rice. The kitchen smells amazing, so glad I found your site!
Thanks, Claudia! Glad you enjoyed it.
Oh man, so good Mike, this definitely goes in my favorite list! I made my own ancho chili powder from some dried anchos using a spice/coffee grinder. I threw in an extra pablano and another 1/4 lb of tomatillos and a little heavier on the spice because my pork butt was a little bigger. Made everything as per your recipe then put it all in a crock pot on high for four hours. I’ve made chili verde before using anaheim peppers but they are next to impossible to find in southwest Florida, the pablanos were great.
Fantastic recipe Mike!
Nice! I love it, Larry. Super happy you enjoyed it. I need a bowl now!
Came out wonderful! Even though I had some dried ancho peppers from our garden I didn’t have time to make chili powder from them this time, but will definitely do it for the next time. I used fresh tomatillos, jalapenos & poblanos from our garden and picked up a pork shoulder from the farmer’s market.
Thanks, Julie! Love it.
Hello Mike,
I’ve never tried your Chili verde recipe before but if its Spicy, count me in!
Hello, Richard. There is surely a kick, and you can make it as spicy as you’d like! Enjoy.
We loved the flavors of this recipe. For our taste it was plenty hot enough without any added peppers. We had leftovers, which might have been better than day 1.
Great, Helga! Glad you enjoyed it! We LOVE chili verde. I need to make another pot soon!
I tried making it in the instant pot but I quickly got an burn error message. I ended up making it on the stove. Do you know what I could have done wrong?
Gurjit, not sure what could have done wrong. You really only need to brown the meat first, then pressure cook until it all comes together. Sorry if you had an issue.
Mike
Your recipes are great, appreciate each, and all I’ve tried. I have a question about the Chili Verde recipe, you mentioned that we could use the Verde Sauce recipe you gave, which is a lesser amount of tomatillos , in this recipe, how many cups of verde sauce does it take.
Thanks
Jim, I would use 4-5 cups of the verde sauce, depending on how many people you were serving. You could easily use more to make it more saucy. Thanks for the comments!! Glad you are enjoying the recipes.
Couldn’t find Mexican Oregano and ancho chili powder. So I used marjoram instead and dried whole ancho chili that I ground it to powder form. Loved the spiciness of the recipe. Surprisingly, my 13 year old son who doesn’t like spicy food or soup dish actually ate a bowl. This is one happy momma!
I love it, Janette! Glad to hear it! Super happy your son enjoyed it, too. Thanks!
I am using jarred verde sauce rather than making my own. Can you tell me approximately how much sauce your recipe makes so I can substitute? Thanks.
Diana, I would use 3 cups of your jarred verde sauce, though you may need 4 cups. Start with 3, then adjust to your own preference with more. Please let me know how it turns out for you.
The two jars I picked up yielded 3 3/4 cups sauce, and it covers everything perfectly! Thank you!
Just stumbled across this site and feel like I have literally struck gold! Going to be making the Jamaican Jerk Sauce recipe tinight!
Awesome, Chuck. Thanks! I hope you find some recipes you enjoy. Contact me anytime with questions. Happy to help!
If you really want a unique flavor, get some Pueblo chillis or Mira sol (means looking up at the sun and for some reason only grown in my home town of Pueblo, Co, musso farms has the best and ships)
I make it for friends in GA and have them hooked 🙂
You can really add it to anything, I enjoy it more since my husband won’t eat it lol I don’t have to share
Sounds wonderful, Krista! Thanks for the suggestion! Certainly one to try.
Some lucky people have picky eaters. My Nebraska wife use to be that way.20yr latter she loves the spice and a bit of fire. As she can’t make more then soup from a can an a grilled cheese sandwich. Its eat or starve. Lol
Using so much chili powder turned it red. 2 tablespoons tastes great but didn’t look like the photo
Thanks, Phillip. Fresher chili powder will surely darken the overall verde, but won’t dampen the flavor.
Hello. I am looking to make this next week for my work chili cook off. it looks and sounds amazing i cant wait to make it. There anything else you would suggest to put in it to make it more heartily ( like beans or veggies)?
Good luck, Theresa! Let me know how it goes! Yep, you can easily include beans with this. Great northern beans would be great here. You can also include other vegetables. Potato might sound strange for a chili, but it actually works, making it a bit more like a stew.
Love the recipe. I used regular chile powder instead of ancho chile powder and regular oregano instead of Mexican. I am from California and I can taste the difference with those substitutions. It was really delicious but a little too gringo chile verde with those substitutions. Next time I will follow it exactly and I think that it will be totally amazing. Can’t wait to try some other recipes. Next year I will start using my chile peppers sooner and in new ways. Thanks
Thanks so much, Jeffrey! I appreciate it!
Absolutely great. I live more than forty miles from a halfway decent source of chiles so I stock up when I visit there. I was down to my last three poblanos so I used them in this recipe. It turned out perfect. On my next chile buying trip I will make sure to get extra poblanos so I can make this one again (and again). I live in a heavily wooded area and don’t get enough sun to do a good job at raising chiles or tomatoes. I can raise a few on my deck but not enough to make much of a dent in my needs. Is there any way to extend the “shelf life” of purchased fresh chiles?
Excellent, thanks. Check out my Preserving Chili Peppers section of the site for ideas to preserve them. Freezing would probably be your best method. You can roast then freeze them, too. You might also purchase dried poblano peppers (ancho peppers), which last a very long time and have HUGE flavor. Good luck!
Do you take out the seeds of the poblano and jalapeños?
Sharon, I seeded the poblanos, but not the jalapeno peppers. However, you can deseed them if you’d like.
Thank you for the quick response, Michael! The chili turned out fantastic! While I was in the other room my husband came home and helped himself to a tortilla and chili right before dinner! Grrrr… but he still had plenty more at dinner time. Ha! I took out the seeds of the jalapeños and it was still a bit spicy so I topped it with sour cream… yummy! I also could not find the ancho chili powder at the store so I used 1 tablespoon of reg. Chili powder. 🙂
Awesome! Thanks, Sharon!!
Loved it, however it was a bit too spicy for me family. I only used 2 jalapeños (no seeds). Is there a way to tone it down?
Thanks, Yvonne. To tame the heat, you can add a dairy, such as milk or sour cream. Or, make another batch without any jalapeno peppers and combine them to dilute the overall heat. I hope this helps!
Michael, my mouth is salivating with this recipe, I lovee, lovvvvve Chili Verde and honestly it’s the best with pork and pork shoulder, even better. Excellent recipe!
Yes! Soooo good. I love it, too.
I love when I learn something and get a great recipe! I had no idea that Colorado meant colored Red! That was fascinating! Anyway, I can’t wait to try this! Thanks!
Thanks, Stef!
perfect thing to kill my spice love Mike! Way to go!
Perfect recipe for my Indian, spice loving friends. Amazingly described recipe, way to go!
Loving the sauce, although I would skip the chilli as I’m veggie.
You can make this without the pork as a vegetarian version. You can add in extra sliced roasted poblano peppers to add more substance to it. I think that would be GREAT.
Yum, I haven’t tried a green chili before only with the red. Will have to give this a try.
I do believe you’ll love it!
This recipe looks so delicious! I love the spiciness of the peppers and chili, and the brightness of the lime. Can’t wait to make this!
It’s easy to adjust the spices, too, which I love. Extra spicy for me, please!
This looks like the perfect recipe for my spicey food loving friends!
I think so, too! Thanks, Krissy!
Hey Mike! One more time, a great recipe, realy tasty, I loved the lime touch. I just used bacon instead of shoulder.
Excellent, Jeremie! Sounds pretty awesome with bacon. Glad you enjoyed it.