This authentic Mexican Chile Verde recipe is made of tender pieces of pork simmered in a flavorful tomatillo and chile broth. Serve in a bowl or with a side of rice for an authentic Mexican meal! (low carb, gluten free, paleo, freezer-friendly)
Pork chile verde will always hold a special place in my heart.
When I was in middle school, I used to walk home after school instead of taking the bus. It was a short walk, probably 15 minutes or so, and I really liked having that alone time to unwind after all the middle school drama. After my little walk, I’d step inside my house and be greeted by my dad and the wonderful smells of whatever he decided to cook for me that day. One of my favorite things he made for me after school?
Mexican pork chile verde and a batch of homemade flour tortillas.
Coming home to this after school was pure heaven! It was one of my favorite things. He made it spicy, but not too spicy and perfectly salty and savory every single time. I loved it so much that I thought I’d take a shot at recreating the recipe! Personally, I think his will always be the best but my recipe is a very close second.
The trick to making chile verde that’s rich and fall-apart tender is the idea of building flavors at each step in the cooking process.
The first flavor builder – roasting the tomatillos and peppers under a broiler. This gives the chile verde sauce a slightly smokey flavor, and cuts down on the sourness of the tomatillos. (Learn more about tomatillos here.)
The second flavor builder – searing the pieces of pork on all sides. This caramelizes the outside of the meat, seals in some of the juices and creates that finger-licking good flavor that everyone loves.
The last flavor builder – simmering the meat in the chile verde sauce for 2ish hours. This makes the meat super tender and juicy, reduces even more of the sourness from the tomatillos and further melds all the flavors together.
The final result is a bowl of chile verde goodness that words can’t do justice.
My favorite way to eat chile verde is in a bowl with some flour tortillas, but here are a few other ideas!
- on a plate with Mexican rice and refried beans
- in a burrito with rice and cheese
- in tacos
- you can also shred the meat and add it to your morning eggs
How to make Chile Verde {VIDEO}
Ingredients
For the chile verde
- 12 ounces tomatillos, husked and rinsed (about 6 tomatillos)
- 3 jalapenos, stems removed
- 2 large poblano peppers, stems removed
- 1 serrano pepper, stem removed
- 2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
For the pork
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into bite sized chunks
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups water (or more depending on how thin or thick you want the sauce)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about the juice from a lime)
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
For the chile verde
- Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or grease with oil. Place the tomatillos, jalapenos, poblanos and serrano peppers on the baking sheet and place under broiler. Broil on high for 10 minutes, turning the tomatillos and peppers over halfway through.
- Remove the baking sheet from the broiler and cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Uncover and remove as much of the skin from the peppers as you can. At this point, you can also remove the seeds from any of the peppers if you don't want it too spicy.
- Add the broiled tomatillos, peppers, onions and garlic into a large blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
For the pork
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add in the cooking oil and then the pork. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sear the meat on all sides until nicely browned.
- Add the prepared chile verde and mix thoroughly, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon so you get all the brown bits. Cover, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until the pork is tender.
- Add the water, lime juice and cilantro. Stir until combined. Taste and season with more salt, if necessary.
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
Hi Isabel… I have seen other versions of the dish with Mexican oregano (which I use for a chicken dish — “chicken in clay pot”). If adding oregano to your dish, at which stage would you introduce it? (FYI I made your recipe once and it’s great… now I am just experimenting.)
Hi Jon! I would add it in step 3 under the Chile verde sauce instructions.
We just made this recipe. What a delicious dish. It reminds us of a restaurant we used to go to that we loved. Thank you for sharing. It’s a keeper!
Thank you so much Steve!
Wonderful!
Delicious! Very easy to make!
I tried this recipe, and it was wonderful. I roasted the chilis on my gas grill and they turned out great. I served it over a bed of rice with corn and flour tortillas. Instead of the shoulder roast, I used pork loin roast, since my wife has a cholesterol problem, and there is very little fat on the loin roast. I will be cooking this one often. Thank you so much.
Hi David! This recipe is definitely one of our favorites. We’re glad you enjoyed it!
Exactly like I remember it growing up. Muchas gracias.
I followed the recipe exactly, but didn’t seed the Serrano and it was a little too spicy. So I added some chicken broth and a can of cream of mushroom soup. It was DEVINE! My husband said “Please make this again!”
Hi Rita! I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish!
Would you have directions for using an Instant Pot?
Hi Charlene! Right now we don’t have the instant pot directions. Sorry!
Made this to the letter and it was so delicious!
This recipe came out great as is, and I’ve made it twice now. I’m going to try this in a slow cooker, I’m wondering if you have ever tried that and how it came out?
Hi Erin! We haven’t tried it in the slow cooker but I bet it would work! The meat would come out super tender. Let us know how it turns out!
Excited to try this recipe! Could you reserve some chili verde and add it after cooking in lieu of the water or in addition too?
Hi Jay! You can definitely try it! When the Chile verde is cooked with the pork it develops a different flavor than when its fresh and not cooked down, but I think it should still be okay! Let us know how it turns out.
Is it a must to skin the peppers after broiling them???
Hello! We definitely recommend taking the skin off because it can be stringy and hard to chew if you don’t.
Hi, my family loves chili verde and with the comments on here, I can’t wait to try your recipe. BTW, are these stock photos? I’m searching recipes and I saw the exact pictures on whimsyandwow for chili verde.
Hello Molly! Let us know how the Chile verde goes! In regards to the photo, all the recipe photos on IsabelEats are taken by Isabel herself so thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Will it work well if I were to put it in a slow cooker? This sounds amazing I just don’t know if my Dutch oven is big enough for the amount I will be making
Hi Deana! We haven’t tried this recipe with a slow cooker but you are more than welcome to try! Let us know how it goes!
I am going to try this recipe, but do you really put the water in after simmering??? Was that a mistake?
Hi Mary! That step is mainly to ensure that the Chile verde sauce doesn’t dry out. You can use more or less depending on how thick or think you want the consistency. If you get to that step and it’s to your liking you may not need to add it!
I love, love, love, cooking from scratch and there’s not like good uncomplicated comfort food to help you relax from the day. I roasted my 8 tomatillos, 2 jalapenos, and 2 poblanos. While the rested/steamed, I cut my pork shoulder into pieces and seared them in a cast iron dutch over with EVOO in 3 batches so they browned and didn’t steam. The remaining time I put everything in the blender and pulsed a few seconds and continued browning the pork on all sides, seasoning with fresh cracked pepper and pink Himalayan Pink Salt. When the meat was nicely browned and wonderful bits on the bottom I added my peppers and cilantro to the oven, put a lid on and slid the pot into my Traeger at 200. With the lime and Cilantro I had left over I made Cilantro/Lime rice. After 3 hours I added the water and lime juice and left it to cook a bit still while making scratch Margaritas. 20 minutes later the rice was done and dinner served. Garnished with chunks of avocado and it all came together perfectly! Thank you so much for this wonderfully simple, delicious, and health-friendly recipe! We’re going to Mazatlan for 11 days. My first time out of the country and I can’t wait to explore all the wonderful food venues and come home with some exciting recipes to try.
Hi David! We are glad you enjoyed the recipe! Have fun on your vacation!
Wow! Making this now. It is on to simmer for a few hours but already taste so good! I did add some potatoes to it bc I know my 6 foot 2 teenagers will eat all the meat up! So lovely vibrant and fresh! Love cooking with you!
I think I want a dinner invite to David’s house !
He’s got some cooking chops!!!!