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:
Nutrition Information
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Staci Jamieson says
This recipe I’ve made before..only leaving a comment now…. F’in amazing…. my mom used to make Mexican food when I was a kid… maybe that’s where I got my love for Mexican food! (White people here) but I am a 100% lover of all Mexican food… and try to recreate what I’ve had in restaurants… this recipe by far hits that mark!!!! Thank you sooo much!
M Lanier says
Made this twice so far. It’s very good and way worth the small extra effort of making the red sauce and cutting the beef. Never eat ground beef chile again
Ciaran says
Insanely delicious!
Robert Moya says
I made this once and now. I have to make it just about all the time. Thanks Isabel. LOL!!! It was a hit with the family that I am making it for Christmas meal. Awesome
Charles Pascual says
Makes a terrific dish. We will make this again. Served it simply in bowls along with tortillas but I can see how beans and rice (especially the cilantro lime rice) would go well with this. As one whose conception of “chili” is the Tex-Mex variety; this is a welcomed addition to our table.
Mary Friedman says
This was soooo amazing. Such a great smoky flavor! I made it with venison and cooked it longer than what was called for to make sure it was super tender. My husband and 3 teenage sons LOVED it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe