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 guajillo chiles, stems removed and seeded
- 2 ancho chiles, stems removed and seeded
- 1 árbol chiles, stem removed and seeded (or more if you like spicy food)
- ½ medium yellow onion, quartered
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
For the meat
- 2 pounds beef stew meat (like chuck shoulder or roast), cut into ½-inch squares
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground 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.
Video
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
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Chile Colorado is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. My grandfather introduced it to me when I was a boy. It’s the one thing I look for when I eat out in a Mexican restaurant. The number of recipes out there for this dish are far and wide. Your recipe hits the spot. I added 1 extra Arbol to the mix, and my wife complained that it was too spicy. Next time, I’ll have to cut back. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be saving this one.
Hi Geoff! Thank you so much for sharing! We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Making this again today for the hundredth time. It is soooo good. i Follow the recipe exactly and it is always amazing.
I use boneless country style pork ribs cut into cubes. This meat is super tender after 60-90 minutes of cooking. You have to cut off visible fat before cooking.
I can’t wait to make this, my childhood was constantly surrounded by the Mexican influences of the hard working farming community. There was plenty of authentic cuisine to taste from in my town. My absolute favorite was a chili Colorado made by a mother/grandmother team back in the late 70’s at a small restaurant in town.
Curious question, I wonder if using corn flour instead of AP flour on the beef would lend more authentic flavor or take away from the dish.
In the video it looks like a whole onion quartered, but the recipe says 1/2 onion quartered. So need some clarification if possible.
I’ll need to run to the carniceria again to pick up some dried Ancho peppers, I picked up New Mexico chili’s by accident.
Oh and why do some people use tomatoes?
I’m going for authenticity so I’ll follow your recipe to the letter. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Grady! We hope you enjoyed this recipe! We used 1/2 of a large onion so that probably why it looks like that. You can also definitely try to use corn flour instead, that will give it a nice flavor too! Some people use tomatoes to make the sauce less “stew-like” and more like a salsa consistency, but both are delicious! Let us know how it turns out.
Thank You!! I’ve been looking for this recipe ever since I lived in Tucson 50 years ago as a kid. A small out of the way restaurant had the greatest Chili Colorado and I’ve been looking for a match ever since and this is it!
I did modify it a bit as the wife bought the incorrect peppers, Pasilla instead of Arbol. I subbed 4 Pasilla in place of 4 of the Guajillo and for the heat I used 6 2-3 inch long home grown Jalapenos instead of the Arbol. OMG it was awesome!!
For some who have asked, I used a 6qt Instant Pot and it worked great. I made the sauce as directed, sauteed the beef in the instant pot, used a cup of the beef broth to de-glaze, and then added the sauce and rest of the broth and hit Stew (35 Min High Pressure). Did a full release instead of Natural and it came out perfect. Beef was so tender and the sauce was rich and thick, I didn’t have to use corn starch and water at all for thickening.
Tonight I’m putting a Cajun twist on this and using Andouille sausage for the meat and chicken stock. I know it will be great!!
Thanks Isabel and I promise to get the right peppers next time so I can do the original. I have no doubt it will be as good if not better than how I modified.
Thank you so much for sharing Brian! Let us know how your cajun version turns out!
I made your Chile Colorado 9/9/22 it came out a little too rich and salty for my pallet. I would love to make it again what do I need to do to make right and more of a Mexican flavor thank you GREG FLIKE
Hi Greg! To make it less rich, you can change a couple things on the sauce. You can reduce the chiles to 6 guajillos, 1 ancho and 1 arbol, and then reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp. You can also leave the sauce as is and just add 1 more cup of broth also.
This was really really good. Instantly brought me back to something my Abuela would have made for the family. Ended up simmering the meat for ~3 hours or so and it came out perfect.
Hi! I was just gifted chuck roast that needs to be used ASAP and this recipe sounds delicious! Plus, I have all of the ingredients on hand! Unfortunately it’s over 100 degrees today so I don’t want to turn on the stove. I was hoping to use my Instant Pot. Have you ever made this in your Instant Pot or do you have any thoughts about how long I would cook it? Many thanks!
Hi Maria! We haven’t tried this in the instant pot, but in general I would suggest to make the sauce, brown the meat in the instant pot, and then add the sauce into it and cook on stew.
Hi Maria!
I know this is months after you asked… But I always use pressure cooker for this type of dish. You can experiment with time and pressure release, but I would likely do 15 min high pressure, natural release. If not done enough, add more time, or maybe you find you need less time and quick release. Pretty forgiving. I love how tender beef and pork get in the pressure cooker.
This dish is absolutely amazing. It is better than at any restaurant I’ve eaten it at. I follow the recipe exactly, the only modification I make as I do not strain and the peppers. I have made it both ways and I find it five times more flavorful if I do not strain them.
Unbelievably Delicious! Getting ready to make it again.
Great recipe!!
Isabel, do you have a modification of this recipe to use in a slow cooker? I’d love to come home from work with a crockpot full of Chile Colorado ready to eat. Thanks!
Hi Kevin! Yes you can make this in a crockpot. I would recommend following the directions for the red Chile sauce as directed. For the meat, follow step 1, then sear them in a skillet. For step 3, place all the contents into the crockpot and then cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
This was so awesome I’m making it again next week (along with your recipe for Mexican rice)! Can’t get enough of it!
Thank you, Ron!
So, so good! Sunday dinner today was the chili colorado, homemade Mexican rice and homemade corn tortillas – from Isabel too!
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing Dennis!
This sound like something I have been looking for! I love what I use to get at work called pork and red! So I will try if I can find this recipe again!
Hi Janice! We’re glad you found this helpful! Let us know how it turns out.
Just made it. Delicious… I will definitely make it again
Got the recipe this morning and made it for dinner. It was excellent with no changes. Just the right amount of heat for a senior citizen who doesn’t like it blazing!!
i made this today it was so delicious i will be trying more of your recipes
thank you
Isabel’s recipes are ON POINT. Made the Chile Verde and it was incredible. I made this one with a brisket I smoked, skipped the flour/oil/browning step. Used 6 Guajillo and 6 California dried and a can of Chipotle with sauce. Added an extra teaspoon of fried garlic. Came out amazing!!! I tell everybody I can about this site. Resteraunt quality. And now I have the right spice mix for my Chile sauce I’ve been trying to dial in for years.
Forgot to mention. I used a 24 ounce can of beer and 2 cups chicken stock. Just cook a little longer to reduce the fluid until a spoon will stand by itself in the middle of the pan. Or add some masa flour or corn starch to thicken if you don’t want to wait. And I didn’t strain the peppers. I just pureed for about 90 seconds on low. Phone typo’ed restaurant above.
Hi Dave! That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your tips and we’re glad you enjoy our recipes!
Simply delicious my family was really satisfied