This chili verde recipe is made with tender pork shoulder cooked low and slow in a rich verde sauce of roasted tomatillos, poblanos and jalapeno peppers.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you enjoy green chili, you'll love my hearty Pork Chili Verde. This is a Mexican-style dish I've been making for well over a decade, and it rivals any of my favorite Mexican restaurants.
The pork is so tender from the low and slow cooking, and the verde sauce is perfection, everything you want in an authentic chili verde.
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.
Ingredients
- FOR THE VERDE SAUCE
- Tomatillos.
- Poblano Peppers. Anaheim peppers are a good use here as well, as are any of the Hatch Chile varieties, or other green chile.
- Jalapeno Peppers.
- FOR THE CHILE VERDE
- Olive Oil. For cooking.
- Pork Shoulder. You can use other pork roasts as well.
- Seasonings. Ancho chili powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, salt and pepper. Use "green chili powder", like Hatch, for more green color to your final chili.
- Onion and Garlic.
- Chicken Stock.
- Cilantro.
- Lime Juice.
- For Serving. Extra limes sliced jalapeno peppers, fresh chopped cilantro, crumbly white cheese, spicy chili flakes, sour cream.
How to Make Chili Verde - Step by Step
Make the Chile 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.
Place the poblano chiles and jalapeno peppers on a separate lightly oiled baking sheet skin sides up.
Roast the Peppers and Tomatillos. Bake the peppers and tomatillos about 12 - 15 minutes until skin side is blistering on both the tomatillos and green chiles. 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.
Learn more about How to Roast Tomatillos and How to Roast Chili Peppers.
Add the tomatillos and peppers to a food processor. Season to taste with salt. Process until smooth.
Make the Chili Verde. 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.
Sear the Pork Shoulder. Season the pork shoulder with ancho powder, cumin, salt and pepper, then add the pork. Sear the cubes 2-3 minutes to brown the pork on all sides, until each side is nicely browned, stirring here and there.
I like to get a good crust seared into the meat. Do this in batches if you need to. Drain excess fat if needed as well.
Onions and Garlic. Add the onions and stir in a pinch of salt. Cook them down about 5 minutes to soften.
Stir in the garlic cloves and Mexican oregano and cook another minute.
Time to Simmer. Add the reserved tomatillo 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! 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!
I love to serve it with warm flour tortillas.
BOOM! DONE! I hope you love your pork chile verde recipe! It's the perfect Mexican stew.
Recipe Tips & Notes
Slow Cooker Chili Verde. If you'd like to make it in a slow cooker or crockpot, follow the seasoning instructions and still sear the cubed pork in a pan, then add it to the slow cooker.
Make the salsa verde per the recipe, then add that to the slow cooker. Then, cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the pork is fork 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.
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.
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 (or vegetable oil or lard)
- 3 pound boneless pork shoulder cubed (do bite sized cubes)
- 2 tablespoon green chili powder optional (or use ancho powder, though it can affect the final "green" color)
- 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.
- 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 2-3 on each side, or until each side is nicely browned. I like to get a good crust seared into them. Do this in batches if needed to not overcrowd the pan.
- 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
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Try Some of My Other Popular Chili Recipes
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 10/13/25 to include new information and photos. It was originally published on 11/23/18.
Claudia Harbourt says
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!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Claudia! Glad you enjoyed it.
Larry Thomas says
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!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! I love it, Larry. Super happy you enjoyed it. I need a bowl now!
Julie Vanderwekken says
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.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Julie! Love it.
Richard Juwah says
Hello Mike,
I've never tried your Chili verde recipe before but if its Spicy, count me in!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hello, Richard. There is surely a kick, and you can make it as spicy as you'd like! Enjoy.
Helga says
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.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, Helga! Glad you enjoyed it! We LOVE chili verde. I need to make another pot soon!
Gurjit Lopez says
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?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
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.
Jim says
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
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
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.
Janette says
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!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I love it, Janette! Glad to hear it! Super happy your son enjoyed it, too. Thanks!
Dianna says
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.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
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.
Dianna says
The two jars I picked up yielded 3 3/4 cups sauce, and it covers everything perfectly! Thank you!
Chuck Hickl says
Just stumbled across this site and feel like I have literally struck gold! Going to be making the Jamaican Jerk Sauce recipe tinight!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Chuck. Thanks! I hope you find some recipes you enjoy. Contact me anytime with questions. Happy to help!
Krista Fowls says
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
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sounds wonderful, Krista! Thanks for the suggestion! Certainly one to try.
william a perry says
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
Phillip Michael says
Using so much chili powder turned it red. 2 tablespoons tastes great but didn’t look like the photo
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Phillip. Fresher chili powder will surely darken the overall verde, but won't dampen the flavor.
Theresa says
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)?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
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.