Pork Chile Verde

4.91 from 53 votes
153 Comments

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Chile Verde combines authentic Mexican flavors with tender pork in a spicy green sauce that will knock your socks off!

Two bowls of Pork Chile Verde served with white rice, jack cheese, jalapeños, sour cream limes and avocado.

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!

Side view of Pork Chile Verde in a large bowl. Garnished with avocado, sour cream, jalapeños, limes, cilantro and jack cheese.


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!

Tortilla chip with Pork Chile Verde on the corner. Bowls of Pork Chili Verde in the background.

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.

Completed pot of warm Pork Chile Verde with a wooden spoon on the side.

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:

Bowls of raw cubed pork shoulder, white beans, chicken broth, green enchilada sauce, green tobacco sauce, chopped onions, seasonings and green chilies. Fresh jalapeño and cilantro on the side.
  • 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.
Close up view of Pork Chile Verde in a large bowl. Bowl also contains white rice, jack cheese, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, lime and jalapeños.

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

Two bowls of Pork Chili Verde served with white rice, jack cheese, jalapeños, sour cream limes and avocado.

Chile Verde

4.91 from 53 votes
This Chile Verde combines authentic Mexican flavors with tender pork in a spicy green sauce that will knock your socks off! *See Recipe Notes for Slow Cooker Instructions
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Mexican/Spanish
Servings 6

Video

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pork diced (I used boneless pork ribs)
  • 1 cup onion diced
  • 14 ounces chicken broth
  • 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

Slow Cooker Instructions:
Brown pork and drain. Saute onion and add to slow cooker with meat. Add chicken broth and cook on low heat for 3 hours. Add remaining ingredients and cook additional 2 hours on low heat.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 518kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 32gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 1408mgPotassium: 940mgFiber: 6gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 461IUVitamin C: 63mgCalcium: 139mgIron: 6mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

  1. I have never used beans in my pork posole. I use a can or two of drained hominy. Either white or yellow. It depends on how much I make.

  2. 5 stars
    My mother taught me how to make the traditional Chile Verde recipe in our Hispanic home. One of the things that she taught me was to toss the pork in flour, then brown it slowly when you add your chicken stock or liquid that helps thicken. Made this recipe, it is excellent. A lot faster than traditional with lots of flavor. Great in the crockpot. Thank you for this recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    Thank you for a great recipe. I made it for a chili contest at work and came in first place. I will be making it again, soon.

  4. 2 stars
    I don’t know what I did wrong but it doesn’t taste good. I can’t believe this won awards. I didn’t cover it the first simmer so I added another can of chicken broth. Sorry but not a fan of this one.

    1. Hi Karen, I am so sorry that your chili didn’t turn out well. Unfortunately that first simmer is crucial to the flavor of the soup. Adding an extra can of broth would definitely dilute all the spices and flavors that make this chili so good. Covering the pot keeps the moisture in so that the meat and onions can break down in the listed amount of chicken broth.

      1. I don’t see in your recipe where you say to cover the meat during the first simmer. If not covering is going to negatively affect the dish, you should probably add that to the recipe.

  5. 5 stars
    This was a killer recipe!! I made it tonight. Easy and scrumptious!! My brothers favorite dish and I made it for his birthday “ Restaurant quality Sis” so happy.

  6. 5 stars
    I would use more broth so it’s not so thick, and be a little more generous with the spices per your taste. I like bold flavors. I also took the pork out 15 minutes before, shredded it, and then recombined. This recipe is DELICIOUS. First time making green chili and it was a huge hit.

    1. Great pro tip Amit. I made this for the first time and incorporated a lot of your suggestions but I opted for diced pork and not shredded.

  7. This is a delicious recipe!! I used pork tenderloin because that is what I had on hand and it was great. I have never had to add salt and it was perfect with some fresh cornbread! 🙂