Pork Green Chili Recipe: A Colorado Classic

If you’ve ever visited Colorado, you may know that this state has a culinary treasure that locals swear by: pork green chili. It’s perfect for snowy mountain evenings and can be added to other meals or enjoyed on its own. Whether ladled over a plate of burritos, served alongside warm tortillas, or enjoyed straight from the bowl, this chili is the ultimate celebration of Southwest flavor. Packed with tender pork, roasted green chilies, and just the right amount of heat, this recipe brings the essence of Colorado to your kitchen. 

Tips for the Perfect Pork Green Chili Recipe

Make sure your pork is properly browned. This is called the Maillard reaction and will add tons of depth of flavor to the chili. Don’t worry about drying out the pork as it has a lot of intramuscular fat and will braise during the simmering process, helping it avoid drying out.

To adjust the spice level, choose mild or hot green chilis. If this is not enough you can remove some of the jalapeños. Conversely, you can add a can of chipotles in adobo to the blender with the chilis if you want it spicier.

While there is a half a cup of fat in the roux, don’t be scared. This is distributed out over about a gallon of soup, so you aren’t wrecking your macros here. If you prefer to have higher protein levels with this meal, I highly recommend adding in chicken breast after the chili is complete. This meal is great to eat alone but can be added to chicken, rice, tacos, and more to balance out the macronutrients and add more depth and calories.

If you prefer a thinner chili, add more broth or water to the final product to thin it. Conversely, if you want it thicker pork green chili, you can look into adding more flour into the roux or letting the soup reduce down for a few hours to really thicken it up.

How to Serve Your Pork Green Chili

Green chili is great on it’s own as well as a topping or side for many other dishes. Try a smothered burrito for a true colorado-mexican meal. Try it drizzled over your eggs to add a much needed kick to some plane scrambled eggs or try it over a bed of chicken and rice. The possibilities are endless. Adding chicken breast on its own to this recipe makes it very macro-friendly.

Green chili serves great with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. Adding some dairy when serving also helps tone down the spice level if it is too much for you.

This soup stores great in the fridge for a week. Simply scoop some into a to-go container and warm it up on the go in the microwave. It will taste just as good as it would fresh off the stove.

Variations and Customizations

If you want to try a some variation a good place to start is the green chilis. Vary what green chilis you use. This will provide a surprisingly different end result for such a simple change. Next you can try varying the meat used. Try some beef chuck roast, chicken or even some lamb to really change the flavor profile.

If you want to add some more fiber to this meal, the chili pairs great with beans or lettuce. Don’t be afraid to experiment with all different types of pairings.  

Pork Green Chili Recipe: A Colorado Classic

Recipe by Cooper Cordero

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Calories

194

kcal

Enjoy this Colorado classic!

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork butt, diced into 1/4 or 1/2-inches

• 17 Tbsp (1/2 cup + 1 TB) of tallow

• 8 cloves garlic minced

• 1 yellow onion finely chopped

• 1.5 cups green chilies either mild or hot, or a mix of both

• 1.5 cups canned jalapeños

• 2 dried pasilla chilis

• 2 dried guajillo chilis

• 1.5 Tbsp ground mustard powder

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1/4 tsp dried sage

• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

• 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 6 oz tomato paste

• 1.5 qt chicken broth

• 1 cup tapioca flour

• salt to taste

Directions to Make Pork Green Chili

• Begin by de-steming and deseeding the dried chilis. Afterward, transfer them to a hot dry skillet and toast for one minute until chilis become pliable. Once pliable move to a container and cover with boiling water to soften the chilis.
• Rough chop the green chilis, fine dice the yellow onion, mince the garlic and cube your pork.
• Add your green chilis, jalapenos, tomatoes, dried chilis with water and any broth you may need to a blender and blend until smooth.
• In a large pot over medium high heat, melt a tablespoon of tallow and begin to brown your pork.
• After properly browned, set aside and add in your onions. Sweat the onions for 3-5 minutes until softened
• Add in your garlic and spice. Bonus points if the mustard and cumin are toasted and ground fresh.
• Add in your blended chilis, pork, and broth to the pot and let cook at a simmer for one hour. You should still have 1 qt of broth left.
• Add in the tomato paste and continue cooking.
• In a separate pot melt ½ cup of tallow. Once melted add in your tapioca flour to create a gluten free roux. Toast your roux for 3 minutes on low heat.
• Slowly add 1 cup at a time of the broth and whisk to combine completely. Make sure there are no lumps. Tip - if you do have lumps, use an immersion blender to remove them.
• Add the béchamel to the soup.
• Continue cooking for 5-10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
• Serve and enjoy!