This authentic pork chili verde recipe is "off the charts good" and is included in Brian Baumgartner's Seriously Good Chili Cookbook! Chunks of pork are cooked in a delicious, made-from-scratch tomatillo sauce until extremely tender. Serve with Mexican rice.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
This Mexican pork chili verde recipe always gets rave reviews and is frequently requested by family and friends. The authentic flavor is achieved by roasting the vegetables instead of using bottled tomatillo salsa. Authentic Mexican food can't be rushed, but the wait is so worth it!
Jump to:
😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Taking the extra time to roast the vegetables, as well as using fresh herbs and spices, only adds to the amazing flavor of this chili verde recipe.
- Slow-cooking the pork in this authentic chili verde recipe results in amazingly tender and juicy pork.
- If you're in a hurry or short on time, try my Instant Pot Chili Verde recipe.
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pork: Pork shoulder or butt
- Peppers: Poblano and Serrano peppers, Jalapeno peppers can be substituted
- Other Veggies: Tomatillos, onion, and garlic
- Broth: Chicken broth or homemade crockpot bone broth
- Herbs: Fresh cilantro and dried oregano
- Spices: Salt, black pepper, cumin
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card.
🥘 How to Make Chili Verde
Step 1 | Prepare Vegetables
Peel and rinse tomatillos. Arrange on a foil-lined sheet. Add poblanos and serranos. Roughly chop the onion and add it to the tray. Slice the top off the garlic bulb and add the bulb to the tray.
Step 2 | Broil Vegetables
Drizzle the garlic and vegetables with one tablespoon of olive oil. Broil the vegetables on high until charred.
Step 3 | Sear Pork
While the vegetables are in the oven, salt and pepper the cubed pork. Heat the remaining oil in a cast-iron skillet. Sear the meat, working in batches. Add the seared meat to a crockpot, including the pan juices.
Step 4 | Peel Charred Vegetables & Blend
Peel the skin off of the charred peppers and garlic once they're cool enough to handle. Add the remaining pan ingredients, cilantro, cumin, and oregano to a blender. Top chicken broth. Depending on the size of your blender, you might have to do this in batches. Pulse the vegetables until roughly chopped.
Step 5 | Cook And Serve
Pour the mixture over the meat into the crockpot. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for four to six hours. Serve in a bowl, with a dollop of sour cream and a side of tortilla chips.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Serve chili verde with plenty of tortilla chips, corn tortillas, or try these delicious discard sourdough tortillas! For garnishment, I also like to serve it with chopped cilantro, sliced radishes, chopped white onion, sour cream, and creamy guacamole. You can ladle it over Mexican rice. Leftovers can be used to make chili verde enchiladas or added to a Mexican breakfast burrito.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yes, tomatillos have a dry husk that serves as a protective layer, encapsulating the green tomatillo inside.
To access the tomatillo, simply peel off the outer husk and rinse the tomatillos to remove the sticky substance (that's supposed to protect the tomatillos from insects) before using.
I've seen recipes where, for the sake of ease, skip roasting the vegetables, while some use bottles of salsa verde.
That's fine if you're in a bind and can't find tomatillos; otherwise, please don't make the same mistake. When it comes to cooking, quicker is definitely not better!
Chili Verde is perfect for freezing. In fact, whenever I make some, I end up freezing half of it.
The quickest and easiest way to do that is to pour the extra Chili Verde into a large freezer Ziplock bag. Next, squeeze all the air out of the bag and seal it. Freeze until ready to eat.
To defrost the frozen Chili Verde, remove the plastic bag from the freezer and soak it in a deep bowl filled with water.
If you are not pressed for time, allow the Chili Verde to come to room temperature over a few hours. Otherwise, defrost in a microwave or reheat on the stovetop.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Roasting the vegetables adds a deep, rich flavor that really enhances the flavor of this pork chili verde recipe. I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer roasted garlic over plain garlic.
- If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, you can use them to make green enchiladas.
- You can also mix chili verde leftovers in Mexican breakfast burritos.
- If you're in a hurry and don't have four to six hours, give my Instant Pot Chili Verde a try. It requires less cooking time but is just as delicious!
- My personal favorite way of enjoying Chili Verde is in tacos. Use a slotted spoon to drain most of the liquid, then serve with corn tortillas, sour cream, and shredded cheese. Chili Verde quesadillas are also a great idea!
🌮 More Mexican Recipes
If you enjoy this authentic pork chili verde recipe, be sure to check out these other Mexican recipes!
Did you make this recipe?
📖 Recipe
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel and rinse tomatillos. Arrange on a foil-lined sheet. Add poblanos and serranos. Roughly chop the onion and add to the tray. Slice the top off of the garlic bulb and add the bulb to the tray.
- Drizzle the garlic and vegetables with one tablespoon olive oil. Broil the vegetables on high until charred.
- While the vegetables are in the oven, salt, and pepper the cubed pork. Heat the remaining oil in a cast-iron skillet. Sear the meat, working in batches. Add the seared meat to a crockpot, including the pan juices.
- Peel the skin off of the charred peppers and garlic once they're cool enough to handle. Add the remaining pan ingredients, cilantro, cumin, and oregano to a blender. Top chicken broth. Depending on the size of your blender, you might have to do this in batches. Pulse the vegetables until roughly chopped.
- Pour the mixture over the meat in the crockpot. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for four to six hours. Serve in a bowl, with a dollop of sour cream and a side of tortilla chips.
Nutrition
Notes
- I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer roasted garlic over plain garlic. So please, no cutting corners.
- If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, you can use them to make green enchiladas.
- You can also mix the leftovers in Mexican breakfast burritos.
- If you're in a hurry and don't have four to six hours, give my Instant Pot Chili Verde recipe a try. It takes less time to cook but is just as delicious!
- My personal favorite way of enjoying Chili Verde is in tacos. Use a slotted spoon to drain most of the liquid, then serve with corn tortillas, sour cream, and shredded cheese. Chili Verde quesadillas are also a great idea!
Eleanor Choate says
Excellent dish!!! Everyone loves it!!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Eleanor, glad to hear it!
Isolde Lippens says
It doesn’t say to put the slow cooker on low or high. I have it my pot right now at low temperature for 4 hours.
Hilda Sterner says
Oops, sorry about that! It should be on low. I will update that in the directions. Enjoy!
Serena Brummett says
What kind of pork?
HildaSterner says
Hi Serena,
Pork shoulders, which can be found under the names Boston butt or roast, picnic roast, or boneless country-style pork ribs are all great options.
Stuart. Stone says
How do you cut some ofthe hot out of a recipe?
HildaSterner says
Hi Stuart,
Great questions! I would definitely leave out the serrano peppers. If you consider poblanos too spicy, just replace them with bell peppers. Or maybe do 1/2 poblanos and 1/2 bell peppers? It really just depends on how mild you want to make it. Let me know how it goes!