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There are some recipes that just feel like home, and this Mexican Pork and Tomato Chile Verde is one of them for me. This isn’t a traditional pork chile verde, the addition of tomatoes takes it a bit off the beaten path, but it is still our favorite version of chile verde.
Pork Chile Verde
Pork Chile Verde is one of the Mexican foods I crave the most. Whenever I am in New Mexico, I order chile verde burritos and tacos more frequently than any other food. Learning how to make this at home has been such an awesome experience.
The recipe I’m sharing has been very lightly adapted from Simply Simpatico. The Junior League of Albuquerque wrote this cookbook to celebrate the authentic flavors of New Mexico, and it is a fantastic guide to real Southwestern cooking.
New Mexican Chile Verde
Cozy food at its best.
Learning how to make chile verde at home has been such an awesome experience. This recipe is hearty and flavorful, the kind of dish that makes your whole kitchen smell amazing while it simmers away on the stove. The pork gets fork tender, the tomatoes break down into a rich sauce, and the roasted green chiles give everything warmth and flavor without being overly spicy. If you try this, be sure to come back and let me know what you think of it!
Tomato and Pork Chile Verde
In the past, a long simmer time always intimidated me, but there really is nothing to it. The whole prep and kitchen work time in this recipe is easily completed in under 15 minutes. My entire family, even my youngest son, (who was a toddler the first time we made this) enjoyed this meal and asked for seconds.
I’ve since learned to double this recipe every single time I make it. The leftovers here are everything, as this is a recipe that is even better the next day. I’ll happily eat this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
I just made this in a dutch oven, recipe as is…it’s AMAZING! Will be serving with polenta and am equally as excited for the leftovers. Just the right amount of heat for me (a wimp when it comes to chiles). I ended up browing the pork for 7-8 min to begin with and cooked for about 110 minutes at a simmer…it’s super tender. This is on my list to be making over and over again!!
Ingredients for Tomato Pork Chile Verde
I love how simple the ingredient list is, but don’t let that fool you – every bite is layered with flavor. Browning the pork first gives it that deep, savory base, and then you have the garlic, onion, and bell pepper building on that.
Add in the tomatoes, green chile, and a few spices, and the result is a pot of food that tastes like a whole lot more than the sum of its parts. The slow cook is where the magic really happens as the pork simmers in that green chile tomato broth. Everything melds together beautifully, and the pork becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender.
How to Serve Chile Verde
Chile verde is often spicy enough to just warm your mouth, but then it is balanced by the polenta, rice, or tortillas served with it. I serve this most often over cheesy polenta, as pictured here, the polenta soaks up that rich sauce so well.
However, we also enjoy it over rice or mashed potatoes. And it is delicious the next day as a thick soup or stew, sopped up with hearty flour tortillas or cornbread. The meat is perfect stuffed into burritos and tacos as well. I don’t think there’s a way we don’t enjoy eating chile verde.
Mexican Pork and Tomato Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds pork cubed into 1″ pieces, I used boneless pork sirloin chops, but pork shoulder is good as well
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ yellow onion diced small
- 1 red bell pepper chopped small, green bell pepper works as well
- 29 ounces can whole tomatoes
- 4 ounces chopped green chile roasted, peeled and chopped small, frozen or canned is fine also
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup beef broth (or 1/2 cup water, plus 1/2 teaspoon beef base)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley about 2 tablespoons minced
Instructions
- Heat the oil, over medium high heat, in the bottom of a large dutch oven or soup pot with a lid. Brown the pork and then add the onion, garlic and bell pepper. Saute for a few minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the tomatoes and crush them with your hands or a wooden spoon. Add the green chile, cumin, cloves, salt, lemon juice, and beef broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium low.
- Cook, covered with a lid, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be barely simmering. After two hours, remove the lid and add the parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Simmer for an additional 30-45 minutes, uncovered, until the mixture has thickened.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 2/8/13 – recipe notes and photos updated 10/4/25}
This is exactly what I need now in this snowy Friday! Yum!
I think we may have been separated at birth… I too am a huge fan of pork chili verde and get it as often as I can. Can't wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I've never had chili verde and I've never had carnita's either. Living under a rock indeed! I'm making pork carnita's this weekend but now I want to make chili verde. It is a lovely dish and your descriptions are wonderful. Be sure to stop by for a chance to win my giveaway! Have a lovely weekend Mary.
Looks delicious Mary and I'll have mine over polenta please.
Looks so yummy, I've been eating leftovers all week, I need this! That polenta looks especially tempting.
This is a fabulous dish. I used a pork sirloin roast cut into 1-2” cubes. I added about 1/2 tsp more cumin. Other than that followed the recipe. Smelled great as it simmered. I used fresh milled corn for the polenta. So soft and perfect under the tomato chili verde. It was even better the next day. I’ve shared this recipe with everyone I know!
I’m thrilled that you like it so much!
I love Mexican food and the flavors and spices here are fabulous:))
Mary x
Sounds delicious and full of flavor…perfect for the cold weather. I especially like the idea of serving it with polenta.
I am always on the lookout for a great Chili Verde recipe and the picture/recipe confused me as it is red and tomato based. Here in the south west US Pork Chili Verde is tomatillo based and green in color. Here this probably would be considered Chili Colorado, done with either beef or pork and delicious in its own right. I only mention this in case one is in the area and orders from a menu.
The linked recipe is what we are used to in a Chili Verde. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chile_verde/
My best, Steve
Sorry for the confusion, Steve. Having grown up in Albuquerque, I'm familiar with that version as well. I adapted this version from the Junior League of Albuquerque's Cookbook, Simply Simpatico.
The recipe substitutes a tomato base for the more traditional tomatillos, simplifying the original recipe. The heat in the sauce is still from hatch green chiles, not from red chiles. So, you wind up with the flavors of a green sauce, despite the red color. Different, I know, but it worked for our taste buds. Elise's recipe looks fantastic though. Next time I have tomatillos on hand, I'll try that one. Thanks!
Slow cooked pork is about the best meat you can find, because it's so tender! Glad you finally tried one of your favorites.
Wow that sounds good. I have a pork shoulder in the freezer, this would be a good way to use it.
Going along with what Steve said, this recipe is not actually chile verde. I'm sure it is delicious, but chile verde is green and is made primarily of roasted tomatillos. I just thought I would let you know.
As I replied to Steve, the recipe substitutes a tomato base for the more traditional tomatillos, simplifying the original recipe. The heat in the sauce is still from hatch green chiles, not from red chiles. So, you wind up with the flavors of a green sauce, despite the red color. Yes, it is nontraditional, but it works for me.
Have a blessed day.
Made this last night, let it sit overnight and ate for dinner tonight! GREAT recipe!!! I added a dollop of sour cream on each plate along with avocado and queso cheese. Tastes more morrocan than it does Mexican, but will definitely make again!
Hi Mary,
Do you have an instant pot version of this recipe?
Thank you,
Rory
I just made this in a dutch oven, recipe as is (left out parsley because I don’t care for it)…it’s AMAZING! Will be serving with polenta and am equally as excited for the leftovers. Just the right amount of heat for me (a wimp when it comes to chiles). I ended up browing the pork for 7-8 min to begin with and cooked for about 110 minutes at a simmer…it’s super tender.
This is on my list to be making over and over again!!
im going to try this….My father who has passed would make this for special family get togethers….and his recipe has been lost 🙁 ….. i was around 12 the last time i had his…and i remember sitting on a stool and watching him make it……i think he used beef and pork together has anyone ever tried it that way? anyway everyone always brings up his chile verde at get togethers….im hoping this will live up to their memories…fingers crossed and thank you for the recipe
I hope you love it, Mary. I bet it would be great with both beef and pork.
Nice recipe! I up the heat by subbing a roasted, skinned poblano for the red pepper, throw in a minced serrano, and use a can of original Ro-Tel for 1/2 of the tomatoes., but my family likes things hotter than most, I suspect.
I also shake the meat with a couple tablespoons of flour and some salty carne asada seasoning mix (from Pico de gallo in California) before browining it in batches. Blooming the cumin and cloves by cooking them briefly as the onions finish rather than adding them with the liquids likely improves their flavor, so I do that too. Still, I really appreciate the base recipe! It’s far too hard to find a good pork “chili” recipe that’s tomato-based!
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Kim. I bet your variation is delicious too!
I couldn’t find canned roasted green chiles so I substituted canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. Careful – they are very hot. I also used fire roasted whole tomatoes which added an added layer of flavor. I didn’t have to cook the pork very long in fact I braised the pork in the sauce. Aprovecha!
I’m so glad you like it, Patty!