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Chile Verde combines authentic Mexican flavors with tender pork in a spicy green sauce that will knock your socks off!
Chile Verde is an Actual Award Winner!
This exact Chile Verde recipe comes from a woman in our church congregation, who brought a pot of the savory soup to a chili cook-off. It won the big prize by a landslide and I could not wait to ask her for permission to share her recipe here on Favorite Family Recipes. So when you’re digging into a bowl of this spicy goodness, think of Diana. Thank you, Diana, for sharing your delicious recipe!
What Is Chile Verde?
This recipe gets its name and rich green color from green enchilada sauce and green chilies along with a shot of green Tabasco sauce. A traditional Chile Verde dish is made with tender pieces of pork, chunks of beef, or a blend of both, sort of like a stew. Chicken is a delicious option, too.
Can I Make Chile Verde in the Crock Pot?
Absolutely! See the recipe card below for crock pot instructions, but whether it’s on the stove top, in a Dutch oven, in a pan in the oven or the crock pot, this recipe is so simple to throw together and even more delightful to eat!
How To Serve Chile Verde
This fork tender Chile Verde is delicious served in a bowl all on its own, but it definitely has some kick to it. Cool it down with some shredded cheese (white cheddar or Monterrey Jack is delicious) and sour cream. You can also serve it a variety of ways:
- Nacho style on top of a pile of crisp tortilla chips and salsa verde on the side.
- Over rice
- Wrapped up in warm flour tortillas or corn tortillas
- With a side of Spanish rice and beans topped with fresh cilantro or diced jalapenos.
Can Chile Verde Be Frozen?
Pork Chile Verde freezes beautifully, and can last up to three months in the freezer. I like to make two batches at once, and freeze one for later. To reheat, thaw it out in the refrigerator, then warm up on the stove or in individual servings in the microwave.
How To Make Chile Verde Sauce Thicker
To thicken up your soup, mix a little cornstarch in water and add to the pot. If it’s too thick, thin it out with some extra chicken broth.
Ingredients for this Recipe
Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients in this recipe. Many of these spices are pantry staples that you have on hand, like ground cumin, yellow onions, salt and black pepper. A couple of notes about the recipe:
- For the pork – use boneless pork ribs, pork shoulder, pork butt, boneless pork shoulder, or basically any cut of pork will work.
- If you don’t have chicken broth AND stock on hand, omit the two tablespoons of stock that the recipe calls for. I’ve left it out a few times when I didn’t have any stock in the house and it still tastes delicious!
- For extra flavor, add a bay leaf, ground coriander, some garlic cloves or dried oregano to the sauce.
- Jalapeno peppers or serrano peppers can be pretty spicy. Cut down on some of that heat by removing the seeds from the jalapenos which is where the heat lives.
- You’ll find that 27 ounces is a lot when looking for chilis, so you can buy them whole in large cans at the grocery store. They chop up easily in the food processor or blender and it’s much cheaper than buying several small cans.
More Delicious Chili Recipes
We adore soup season around here. Nothing beats a cold evening like a bowl of warm, nourishing soup or chili. Check out some more of our favorite chili recipes:
How to Make Pork Chile Verde
Chile Verde
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork diced (I used boneless pork ribs)
- 1 cup onion diced
- 14 ounces chicken broth
- 1½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 ½ tablespoons chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon jalapeno
- 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ½ tablespoon chili powder more or less, to taste
- 1 tablespoon green Tabasco sauce
- 10 ounces green enchilada sauce
- 27 ounces canned green chiles chopped or diced
- 8 ounces canned green chiles pureed
- 1-2 cans white beans drained and rinsed (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown the pork and drain.
- Add onion and chicken broth (will not cover meat entirely). Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring often.
- Add garlic powder, chicken stock, celery salt, cornstarch, oregano, cumin, jalapeno, cilantro, chili powder, and green Tabasco sauce. Stir. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring often to avoid sticking.
- Add green enchilada sauce and stir. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add chopped green chilies and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add pureed green chilies, white beans and salt to taste.
- Serve with cheese, sour cream, rice, chips and/or flour tortillas.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Making this as I type. I hope I’m doing this right!! 😀 Correct me if I’m wrong, but I simmer just the onions and pork for an hour, then add in the other ingredients and simmer for another hour? Is that right? Should I cover the pot while I simmer it? It is smelling good already!! So excited!
Hi! What is the serving size for this recipe? Did I miss it? Im entering our Company in a Chili Cook-off and we our to make AT LEAST 10 Gallons! I just wanted to get my math right 😉 Ill be making for a trial run, I hope everyone likes it and we can use this recipe! ‘
THanks!
Also, if you have any team name ideas, please share 🙂
Made this tonight and I have to say… I will be making this again! Sooo good! My family is hispanic so the foods we cook are very flavorful. But this chili topped it! #1 recipe in my book! Thank you for sharing
Wow! What a compliment! I’m so glad you liked it!
I made this recipe today for a church football playoffs “tailgaiting” party and Chili Cook-off Challenge and took first place, like many others who have commented here. There were 12 different chili recipes in the cook-off including a spicy veggie chili, a paleo chili, a sausage and mole sauce chili, and a seafood chili, which were all wonderful, too. I doubled the recipe and added 2 cans of corn as well. I goofed and only bought 2 small cans of diced green chilies instead of the large amount the recipe called for. But with an entire chopped jalapeno and all the spices, there was a wonderful flavor with just the right amount of heat. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Congratulations! That is awesome!
Could one use ground pork in chili verde?
Absolutely! If you prefer ground pork – go for it!
This recipe also won me the title at the work chili cook off a few days ago. Sooooo good! I did substitute the larger amount of green chilies for canned tomatillos pureed.I still used a couple small cans of chilies. Will definitely be making this again. As a cook, the best compliment is when someone asks for the recipe. Several did. Highly recommend. Here’s a tip for a similar alternative. Leave out the enchilada sauce and just mix the success and pork, and it would make a delicious pulled pork sandwich (I used slow cooked country style pork ribs).
Congratulations! That is awesome! Thank you for sharing your added tips!
Hey there! NICE recipe…I’ve already made it once with great results, that was awhile ago. However, I’m looking at the recipe and wanted to verify the 2 1/2 tbsp of chicken stock….just seems like such a small amount. Thanks!
That is the recipe as I received it. It should be correct.. I am sure if you added more it wouldn’t hurt!
Do you know how many servings this makes? It sounds delicious! Thank you.
It serves about 6-8. 🙂
This recipe sounds so yummy! I need to make it ahead if time for a teacher luncheon. Do you think it will save in the fridge for a day and half then be still ok to heat up in a crockpot?
Yes, I think that would be fine!
I didn’t see anywhere how many servings this makes? I will be making this for a chili cook off too in the office (feeding at least 11) and if I win, it will be used in the community’s Christmas in the park annual cook off, feeding MANY! Thanks for your help and this great recipe!
It serves probably 6-8 🙂 Hope this helps! Good luck! Hope you win!!!!
I was going to do this stovetop… but saw how long you have to simmer. does it taste just as good in a crockpot? also im assuming you use fresh jalapeno yes?? finally 2 lb of pork seems like lot for a recipe that serves 6-8 ppl? would 1 lb be far not enough?
Yes, you can absolutely do this in a slow cooker! Also, when cooking, I actually prefer the jarred (or canned) jalapeños. They are already perfectly soft and have a nice flavor. You could probably get by with just 1 pound, it just won’t be as meaty. Hope this helps!
Quick question…my little family of three aren’t big into “spicy” things and we have a tendency to have steam come out of ears when we eat spicy things! Ha ha! So, what recommendations (outside of adding sour cream and cheese) can be done to lessen the spiciness of this soup? I want to make it but I’m afraid it MIGHT be too spicy for us. Thoughts? Recommendations? Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
If you leave out the jalapeños and Tabasco sauce, it will taste just as good without all of the spiciness. Green chilies themselves usually aren’t that spicy 🙂
When my kids were younger I used to make everything up to the spicy part, then scoop out enough for them into a separate pot. I would then continue with the original version for my husband and I. As they grew older I would gently incorporate more and more spice into theirs. Now they will eat absolutely anything!
Thank you for the delicious recipe! I took first place at the Chili Cook-Off we had at work today!
What did you use for “chicken stock?” Jarred chicken stock base maybe?
You can use canned chicken stock or chicken broth is fine too 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I made this for a chili competition, and it was picked for first place. It can be costly to make with all the little cans of chilies, so I thought that I would share that I was able to Use a bottle of roasted chilies from Costco. It was a 40 oz. bottle, I was doubling the recipe and so I also used two 7oz cans which gave me the total of the 54oz that I needed for doubling it. I then bought 1 lg can of whole chiles ( because that is cheaper) and ran it through my blender for the pureed stuff. I do wonder about the chicken stock? How is that different from the broth and where do you get that? I also have not seen a green Tabasco sauce? Where do you get that and what brand is it. I also experienced that it is thinner when done in the crock-pot vs. stove top but does not change the taste, and is so much easier in the crock-pot of course.
Yay yay congrats on first place! You can find the green Tabasco at ant grocery store usually with the other Tabasco sauces. I found mine at Walmart.
I have the same question as the previous poster — what is meant by chicken stock? I usually take that to mean homemade chicken broth prepared in a certain way — do you mean the concentrated chicken stock base often sold in jars? Making this tonight for a cook-off! Thanks so much.
You can use fresh chicken stock from a previous dish– I wouldn’t use the concentrated– too strong. You can use chicken broth if needed– it tastes just as good!
Are the jars of chicken base the same as chicken stock?
not sure if it’s available outside of az but we use 505 green chili. it is by far the best thing we have ever found and we use it in many many different things.
http://505chile.tvbgcommerce.com/greenchile.aspx
we get it at costco by the way
Tried this and my entire family absolutely LOVED it!!! My boys had three bowls each! It was spicy but the sour cream and a bit of grated cheese helped taper-off the heat. We don't have big cans here (in Hawaii) but I realized that the generic brand at Walmart is about a third of the price from everywhere else. Also, I didn't chop or puree ANY of the chilis, I even had a can of whole chilis and that oferred a nice variation in textures.
Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE and LOOK FORWARD to your entries; I think it's my favorite blog! Your recipes are amazing (and usually not too crazy-difficult)! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Yeah it is 35 oz.
It is a lot of chilies! What I did was get a big can of whole chilies (they should be by the small cans) and chopped them up in the food processor. I found the big can of them at Winco. I have looked at Albertsons and they don't have the big cans so you might have to look around a little until you find a store that carries them.
It really takes 35 oz of green chiles???? How many little cans is that?
I used the Frozen green chiles that is put out by Buneo. They are Hatches Chiles. They come in a 1 lb 12 oz size and they have a smaller size also..They are chopped and ready to be used..
looks so good! i am going to try making it with chicken because i have some on hand.
This was fabulous!! Thanks for sharing. I took it to our Church trunk or treat on Halloween and I won the chili cook off with it. I used pork chops diced up and they worked great!!!Thanks for sharing your great recipes- Jessie (www.foodbringsfamiliestogether.blogspot.com)
Not a dumb question.. I used pork ribs. I will put that on the recipe. Thanks for catching that!
this might be a dumb question… what cut of pork do you use? chops, roast??? just wondering. it looks delicious! cant wait to try it
It's funny that you say that because my Dad is the same way. He loves the tomato based chili with beef and beans. I am making this for him tonight and he is pretty skeptical (but I am sure he will love it). I will let you know what he thinks!
Erica, I rarely stray from the standard beef and tomato version with red kidney beans which is real comfort food. However I like the seasonings in this one and I will definitely give it a whirl the next time I get a craving for chili. i may have to hunt a bit for some of the ingredients but I am pretty sure they are available here.
I am obsessed with this child, I barely make the tomatoe based chili now. I love my child but this recipe has won me over…I love hatch chili’s , it just adds the right flavor. I’ve even made spaghetti in a hatch chili sauce…was great! If you haven’t tried hatch peppers, please try….atleast once in your life!
This really is a great chili recipe that everyone loves. Thank you for sharing!
Holy smokes! I’ve placed year after year at my local chili cook-off, but I saw this recipe 3 days ago and beat out 7 other entries. YES, 1st place!
Full disclosure: I added Italian sausage, two other kinds of pork and otherwise didn’t follow this recipe “exactly” in the way of herbs and spices, (but who does?)
THANK YOU! Bragging rights for a yearly at
http://www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com
CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is so exciting!!! It sounds like you are a pretty awesome chili cook! Thank you for sharing your win!
Congratulations, John! Would you mind sharing the other kinds of pork you used?
John say no way