This Chile Colorado recipe combines tender pieces of beef with a rich and flavorful red chile sauce. Serve with rice for an authentic Mexican dinner!
Chile Colorado makes my heart skip a beat and I’m super excited to be sharing it with you today!
Made of tender pieces of beef simmered in an rich and flavorful red chile sauce, chile colorado is one of my favorite things I ate growing up. I have fond memories of coming home from school and eagerly walking to the kitchen to see what my dad had cooked for me that day. If it was chile colorado, I was a happy girl.
I didn’t need all the extra stuff like rice and beans and tortillas – all I wanted was a bowl of chile colorado, some tortilla chips and life was good.
Those were the days.
This dish is an attempt to recreate those childhood memories as best as I can. This dish will never taste as good as my Dad makes it, but I think I came pretty freakin’ close!
The most important part of this recipe is the red chile sauce. To make it, you’ll need some dried chiles that can often be found in the Mexican aisle at your local grocery store or a specialty Mexican grocer. If you can’t find any close to you, I recommend ordering from Amazon. Here are the three types of chiles you’ll need.
They’re pretty inexpensive, especially when you consider how many chiles come in a bag, and they’ll last forever! Okay, not literally forever, but they’ll last in your pantry or cupboard for up to a year.
I served myself a good helping of this chile colorado alongside some authentic Mexican rice and I felt like I was back at home. So good, so comforting and oh-so satisfying.
Here are some ideas for sides to eat with this dish.
- Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
- with some corn tortillas
- Mexican rice
- Mexican refried beans
- with some flour tortillas
- Cilantro Lime Rice
Or you can be like my 13-year-old self and enjoy it an a bowl with some tortilla chips. Highly recommend.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe if you make it!
INGREDIENTS
For the red chile sauce
- 8 dried Guajillo chiles, stems removed and seeded
- 2 dried Ancho chiles, stems removed and seeded
- 1 dried Arbol chile, stem removed and seeded (or more if you like spicy food)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
For the meat
- 2 pounds beef stew meat (like chuck shoulder or roast), cut into 1/2 inch squares
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 3 cups beef broth, divided (or chicken or vegetable broth)
- 2 bay leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
For the red chile sauce
- In a medium pot, add dried Guajillo chiles, Ancho chiles, Arbol chiles, and onion to a medium pot. Cover with water until chiles and onions are completely submerged and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat, cover and let it sit for 20 minute to soften the peppers.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles and onions into a large blender. Add in 1 cup of the chile-soaked water, the dried oregano, salt, garlic and cumin. Blend until smooth. Add some of the beef broth from the meat ingredients as needed if the mixture is too thick for your blender.
- Once the red chile sauce is as smooth as possible, pour it through a strainer into a bowl, pushing down on the solids that accumulate to get as much moisture out as possible. Discard the solids.
For the meat
- In a large bowl, add the beef, flour, salt and pepper. Toss together to coat.
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add in half of the meat and brown on all sides so they have a good sear, about 5 minutes. Transfer the browned beef into a bowl and repeat the process with the remaining uncooked meat.
- Once the second batch of meat has browned, return all the meat into the pot. Add in the red chile sauce, beef broth and bay leaves. Stir to combine and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes.
- Uncover, taste and add more salt as necessary. Raise to medium heat and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. If you prefer a thicker sauce, cook longer.
- Discard bay leaves and serve with Mexican rice and beans.
ISABEL'S TIPS
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jim Peterson says
Right on, Kid…You hit this recipe, like, perfect.
I usually don’t cook recipes, that aren’t written by anyone who’s not a chef; not old; and not fat. But I’m really glad I lost my recipe for Chili Colorado, and came across yours. Super eating.
Thanks for your time and interest in good food.
peterson
Ry Dogg says
THIS is the authentic flavor I remember from growing up in southern California. I’ve made this 5 times in the last month. Only change I make is omitting the cumin. I think that’s more of a tex-mex thing that just doesnt mesh with my californian sensibilities
Pat says
Truly love this recipe
Gary says
I made this recipe and it was Sooo much better than the Chili Colorado I first had in Houston Texas back in the 1980’s. We will be having this on a regular basis now. Next up …….Ginger Pigs! Just got my cookie cutters yesterday.
Christoph S. says
Absolutely love this recipe. This is a family favorite in our house. We have this once a week. Recipe is amazing, the flavors are on point. This recipe is also very good with pork instead of beef. This recipe is a must try for anyone thats been wanting to make Chile colorado.
Kim says
I made this for my family since the quarantine has restricted our visits to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Everyone loved it and asked I’m SURE I don’t have any Latina heritage! I’m making it again. It’s the perfect dish for comfort, for entertaining a big group, when you need to impress someone or just make your stomach happy.