This Hatch Green Chili Recipe with Pork (Colorado Green Chili) features roasted pork shoulder and plenty of warming spices. This Award Winning Pork Green Chili Recipe is comfort food at its best and one of our favorite Hatch green chili recipes.
Got leftover green chili? Use it to make breakfast the next morning with easy Green Chili and Eggs.
Every August when chiles are roasting in our markets, I make a couple of large batches of my Hatch Green Chili Recipe to pack away in freezer containers to keep us warm until Spring.
A nod to our neighbors to the South, no surprise that the dish originated in New Mexico.
Traditional New Mexico Hatch Green Chili is a simple sauce or soup with seasonings and roasted Hatch Green Chile peppers.
Heading North, it transforms into a thicker soup or stew with the addition of pork for this Colorado Green Chili Recipe.
This Pork Green Chili Recipe, Colorado is the only way I’ve ever prepared it … for over 40 years.
Where Did I Get This Hatch Green Chili Recipe?
Back in 1979 I had my first introduction to this incredible Southwestern treat when a coworker, who happened to be from New Mexico, brought a crock pot full of Green Chili with Pork to an office pot luck.
I hounded her for at least a year for her recipe but to no avail. All I knew was that it was full of pork and green chiles. Keep in mind this was before computers, Google search options and the wealth of resources we have at our fingertips current day.
With that said, this Pork Green Chili recipe has developed into my own, with countless tweaks since 1979. And has turned into an award winning Hatch Green Chili Recipe.
With that said, let’s get started.
Table of contents
- Where Did I Get This Hatch Green Chili Recipe?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Important: Chili vs. Chile
- How To Make Colorado Green Chili, It’s Easy
- How To Serve Pork Green Chili
- Questions You Might Have
- Storage and Reheating
- Tips for Success
- Why All The Fuss Over New Mexico Hatch Chile Peppers?
- How To Stash Roasted Hatch Chile Peppers
- Hatch Green Chili Recipe With Pork (Colorado Green Chili)
- What Can You Do With Hatch Chile Peppers? More Recipes:
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 3 pound pork shoulder roast, preferably bone in. Remember, that bone adds a boost of flavor.
- Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
- Neutral Oil: Canola oil or Vegetable Oil.
- Bacon Grease Drippings
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 14.5 ounce can chopped tomatoes
- Chicken Broth
- Spices: Cumin, Coriander, Chimayo Chile Powder, Chili Powder, Mexican Oregano, Smoked Paprika
- Chile Peppers, roasted and chopped
- Lime Juice
- Water
- Cornstarch
Mexican Oregano is preferred for this recipe. It’s peppery, grassy, earthy flavor is a good compliment for Mexican Food. If you don’t have Mexican Oregano, substitute Marjoram. Known for its aroma and delicate flavor, its related to oregano and will bring a sweet undertone to any recipe.
Important: Chili vs. Chile
Please note that this pork green chili recipe uses both Chile Powder and Chili Seasoning. Chile Powder with an “e” is a single ground chile powder.
Chili (with an “i”) Seasoning is a blend of seasonings that routinely consists of cumin, chile powder, Mexican Oregano, garlic, etc., used to season Chili soup.
Chile with an “e” refers to a chile pepper. Chili with an “i” refers to a soup or stew.
To learn more, check out my article Chili vs. Chile.
How To Make Colorado Green Chili, It’s Easy
Pro Tip: When cleaning roasted Hatch chile peppers, don’t run them under water to remove the charred skin. Doing so will wash away most of that smoky flavor that comes from the roasting process. Simply remove the burnt skin with your hands. And leaving a few small little patches of that smoky skin will simply add flavor to any green chile recipe.
- Step 1: Start by roasting a three to four-pound pork shoulder roast in the oven, 350 degrees for 3 hours. Simply seasoned with salt and pepper, or you can season with pork rub, a sprinkling of chile powder, you choose.
- Step 2: Remove the roast to a large cutting board. When the roast is cool enough to remove large pieces of fat and shred the meat. Place the shredded meat into a large Dutch oven.
- Step 3: Chop the tops off fifteen roasted Hatch Chile Peppers, remove some of the blistered skin and seeds and rough chop. Most of the seeds come out when you chop the top off. If you want to take the time to clean the peppers by removing the veins and all of the seeds, you’ll have to split them open and scrape. I don’t do that, unless they’re too hot. The heat is in the veins and seeds of the pepper.
- Step 4: Add chicken broth and a can of (or fresh) chopped tomatoes and spices. Chimayo Chili Powder is important in this recipe. Or use a good quality red chile powder purchased from a reputable spice shop. I also use Chili Powder in my recipe. Chili powder is a combination of dried chilis with other spices added in. It’s what you use to make Beef and Bean Chili Soup. Let simmer on low for at least an hour or preferably 2 – 3 hours.
How To Serve Pork Green Chili
- Simply serve the green chili with warm flour tortillas for dipping or scooping.
- A dollop of sour cream or Mexican Crema is always welcome
- Some chopped cilantro works well here.
I entered my Colorado pork green chili recipe in the South Metro Denver Realtor Association Green Chili contest for nearly 6 years, and it always placed at the top.
Questions You Might Have
Pork shoulder roast or pork BUTT is commonly used to make Hatch Green Chili. More fat = tender and moist. If you use a pork tenderloin or pork loin roast, the meat may be dryer.
Most Hatch Chile peppers are not as hot as a jalapeno pepper. On the other hand they can be as hot as a jalapeno or hotter. Why? There are several varieties of chile peppers grown in the Hatch Valley. And are categorized as Hatch Chile peppers because of the location they’re grown. They’re commonly labeled simply as Mild, Medium and Hot. Easy, let that be your guide.
Many farmer’s markets will set up chile roasting machines to roast peppers on site. If you simply can’t find Hatch Chiles in your area, you can always order them delivered to your doorstep. And they’re already roasted! Yes please! During harvest season, which starts in late August, you can also order fresh chiles.
No. You can chop and de-seed green chiles just like you do jalapeno peppers. Then use them in fresh salsas like Pico de Gallo, or saute them to add flavor to dishes like Mexican Scrambled Eggs. For Hatch Green Chili, it’s customary to use roasted green chile peppers.
Storage and Reheating
- As I mentioned, I’ve been known to double this recipe just so I can have a stash of this Hatch Green Chili Recipe in the freezer to keep us warm all Winter. I like to store it in half gallon or gallon freeze safe plastic storage bags. Just fill them most of the way to the top, squeeze the air out and seal well. Those bags will lay flat in the freezer to optimize freezer space. They’ll keep for up to 6 months.
- To refrigerate leftovers, simply place in a sealed container. This green pork chili will keep for up to 5 days. To reheat, a microwave safe soup bowl works great.
Tips for Success
- Purchase Quality Products: If you’re looking to make an award winning pork green chili recipe, I urge you to always buy quality Chile Seasoning for the single blend of Chile Powder. I used New Mexico Chimayo Red Chile powder or simply powder labeled as New Mexico Red Chile Powder. Ancho chile powder, or cayenne pepper will also work for this recipe. If you use Chipotle Chile Powder, you’ll get a smokier flavor.
- I like to leave a few small chunks of that smoky skin for extra flavor.
- Don’t need to use 8 chiles at a time? Just put the 8-pack of chile in the microwave for 1 minute. After 1 minute, pull out the amount of chiles that you need and put the rest back in the freezer.
Why All The Fuss Over New Mexico Hatch Chile Peppers?
You can roast any variety of popular capiscum chile peppers, Anaheim, Big Jim or even chiles grown here in Colorado known as Mirasol to make a pot of Pork Green Chili.
But if you can get your hands on Chile Peppers from the Hatch Valley of New Mexico, they’re meatier, they’re larger and have a beautiful chile pepper flavor. Some say superior flavor.
A great balance of heat and sweetness. New Mexico terroir, the long hot days and cool nights, the climate is perfect for producing excellent peppers for your Southwestern recipes. They’re wildly popular here in the West.
Each Fall, we celebrate the arrival of Chile peppers from the Hatch Valley. Parking lot and roadside stands fire up their chile roasting drums and the aromas of New Mexico fill the air.
We evangelize and we obsess. We talk constantly about them and we add Hatch chile peppers to almost everything. We clear out our freezers to make room for as many packages of roasted chile peppers as we can possibly squeeze in.
A Winter stash is a cache to cherish. And the first thing I make is this Colorado green chili recipe with pork.
How To Stash Roasted Hatch Chile Peppers
- How To Store Hatch Chile Peppers? I always purchase a large amount of roasted whole chile peppers. When I get home, I divide them into individual zip-lock style freezer bags, eight per package and then seal and freeze them after using my beloved vacuum food sealer machine.
- How Long Do Hatch Chiles Last In The Freezer? Popped into the freezer they keep for months and retain their flavor beautifully. To use, just thaw, cut off the tops, remove seeds and most of the charred skin.
- I like to leave a few small chunks of that smoky skin for extra flavor.
- Don’t need to use 8 chiles at a time? Just put the 8-pack of chile in the microwave for 1 minute. After 1 minute, pull out the amount of chiles that you need and put the rest back in the freezer.
Hatch Green Chili Recipe With Pork (Colorado Green Chili)
I hope you give my Colorado Pork Green Chili a try. You’ll find many great reviews of this recipe in the comments section.
Now that you’ve got that big glorious batch of Green Chili, here’s a couple of way to use the leftovers:
How To Use Leftovers
- Smothered Hatch Green Chili Breakfast Burrito, Hatch Green Chili Smothered breakfast burritos are a breakfast burritos championed. Clearly one of our best burrito recipes. A perfect combo of potatoes, scrambled eggs and bacon.
- Fried Eggs with Green Chili, This is just one of our ways to enjoy our stash of Hatch Green Chili. Green Chili and Eggs with refried beans on a flour tortilla, you’ve got a killer Southwestern breakfast.
And if you’re of fan of New Mexico Recipes like we are, don’t miss my Mexican Southwestern Category. You’ll find lots of great recipes, including another classic New Mexico recipe for Carne Adovada, New Mexico Red Chile Pork.
And don’t miss my post for Chili vs. Chile for some great info on all things Chile Peppers and recipes. There’s something for everyone.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
And, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for more delicious recipes and cooking tips. Make it a delicious day … every day.
Hatch Green Chili with Pork (Colorado Green Chili)
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons neutral oil Such as vegetable or canola oil.
- 3 pound pork shoulder roast Pork BUTT, bone in
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon bacon drippings
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 14.5 ounces can chopped tomato undrained
- 1 quart chicken broth or more. Depending on how much meat came off the roast.
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons coriander dried, ground
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon hot Chimayo Chile Powder or good quality red chile powder
- 1 teaspoon of your favorite chili powder
- 2 teaspoons Mexican Oregano or more if needed
- 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- 15 chile peppers roasted, skinned and chopped. 1 ½ – 2 cups. Depending on the heat level you'd like. Use Hatch, Pueblo or Poblano
- juice of ½ lime
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Season the pork roast with salt and pepper. Heat the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the neutral oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the pork roast and sear about 2 minutes on each side. Or until golden brown.
- Place the seared pork roast in a large Dutch oven. Cover and roast in a 350 degree oven until done. About 3 hours. Remove the roast from the pan and let cool enough to be handled and then shred the meat with two forks. Set aside.
- Heat the oil and the bacon drippings in the same Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes . Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the shredded pork, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, coriander, cumin, oregano, chile powders, paprika and chiles. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for at least 1 hour. Up to 2 hours is good.
- In a bowl combine water and cornstarch and stir until combined. Towards the end, I like to add a little of this to thicken the soup.
- Add a squeeze of lime to each bowl of chili. From here, taste and adjust the seasonings to your taste. Serve with warm flour tortillas.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Colorado Pork Green Chili … It’s What’s For Dinner
What Can You Do With Hatch Chile Peppers? More Recipes:
How do you use Hatch Chile Peppers? If you love Chile Peppers as much as we do here’s a great line-up of Recipes with Green Chiles.
- Baked Avocado and Scrambled Egg Breakfast Burritos with Green Chile Gravy
- Green Chile Chicken Lasagna
- Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes with Green Chiles
- Pork Green Chile Stew with Potatoes
- Green Chile Shrimp Quesadillas
- Hatch Green Chile Quiche with Bacon
- Green Chile Chicken Burgers
- Hatch Green Chile Pasta with Chicken
- Green Chile Dip
- Toasted Pueblo Chile Chicken Sandwich
- Overnight Hatch Chile Breakfast Burrito Casserole
- Easy Breakfast Tacos with Hatch Chile Potatoes and Eggs
- Roasted Hatch Chile Sauce
- Hatch Chile Hummus
- Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese
- Hatch Chile Burgers with Tequila Lime Seasoning
- Hatchamole Scrambled Egg Breakfast Sandwich
- Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Beef Chili Recipe
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
This is hands down my favorite green Chile recipe, and I’ve tried A LOT. I used pork loin because I found the pork shoulder to be a bit rich for my taste, but that’s just me. Thanks so much for the excellent recipe!
I used your recipe last year and absolutely loved it. The hatch Chile’s just came in at our local Kroger and pork shoulders are on sale for $.99 a pound. How convenient. I’m going up to purchase about 10 to 15 pounds of hatch Chile’s. While roasting my shoulders I’ll char my Chile’s on the grill. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Looks delicious but green chile Colorado style is confusing. Colorado means red chile. But I figured out you mean the state. I grew up in NM with all our summers in CO.
Hi Katy and thanks for your note. I totally agree about the “Colorado” reference. That’s why I put “Colorado-Style”. Hopefully people will be able to figure that out.
Perfect Hatch Chili recipe. Delicious.
I haven’t tried this yet, but it looks great! Headed to the store to pick up peppers! Looking forward to seeing more recipes!
I used chicken breast because I happened to have everything but the pork. It still turned out amazing. Thanks for this
Did you use bone in?
Yes I do. Using a bone in pork roast will add more flavor to the shredded meat. Please note, you can use a bone in or boneless pork roast for this recipe. Let me know if you have any more quesitons.
The most tender pork! Smooth flavor.
Love this! I used a pork loin that I shredded after cooking in the instapot because we are on a low fat diet and threw it all in a crockpot. It came out so so good! Thank you!
Wow! This recipe is absolutely amazing!!! Flavorful and delicious. Thank you so much for posting
If I don’t have a dutch oven can I cook the pork in my crockpot?
Absolutely. I’ve done it that way many times.
When cooking the crockpot would you put everything in at once?
Or still cook the roast separate for 3 hours then add all the ingredients for another hour in the crockpot?
The problem with putting everything in at once, is the fat content in the pork roast. It will turn out very greasy, unless you refrigerate overnight after you cook it, and then skim the fat from the top.
Use a pork loin roast, that’s less fatty. I’ve done that and added everything at once in a crockpot.
If you’re going to use a pork BUTT shoulder roast, I’d roast it in the oven and then shred the meat and then finish in the crockpot.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
I have to admit I happily borrow recipes all the time but never bother to leave comments.
This was amazing.
I used a tsp of ancho chili powder and another of plain ole chili p. My hatch peppers were HOT so I used about 12, carefully removed seeds, and supplemented with a few poblanos. The multiple colors and textures were definitely additive for me.
Will definitely make again!! Sad there isn’t as much to freeze as I hoped…! Many thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hi Monica. Thanks so much for your email. I like ancho chile powder. It’s my 2nd choice after anything from New Mexico. And I like how you added poblano peppers. They add a unique flavor. Nice combo of chile pepper choices. Not enough to freeze? You’ll have to make another batch. 😉
Sooooo good!! I love this recipe it’s my favorite green Chile ever.. thanks for the recipe
I made CO quarantine Chile Verde in my new old home of Carlsbad, CA. Your base recipe is delicious and of course I had to make it my own. Used some of the fat in the Dutch Oven vs. Bacon Drippings, Roasted all of my Chiles on the grill (Anaheim, Poblano and Jalapeño) along with half of a red & white onion, and 2 Roma tomatoes I left the other halves on onion un-roasted, added Black Pepper and and some Costco No Salt Salt. Can’t wait for leftovers today. Happy Easter! Missing Colorado…
I am planning on making a pot of ground elk/ bison with Hatch Green Chili for Super Bowl. What do you think about using your recipe and substituting for pork?
Hatch green chile for Super Bowl is always a great idea. And any type of meat would make a good substitute. Of course the cooking time will reduce dramatically. This recipe calls for a cut of meat that need to be slow roasted. For ground meat, brown it separately, then make the stew and let it simmer for about an hour. Then add the ground meat and let the flavors marry for about 30 minutes.
Made this for a New Year’s Day treat – it is DELICIOUS! Thank you for such a great recipe.
Amy, thank you so much for taking the time to write a note about your experience with the Green Chili. So glad you liked it. 🙂
We love Hatch chili so much that we’re planning a trip to their festival next year. I’ll be putting this on our menu!
Great recipe — I made it tonight with New Mexico big Jims and Jalapenos that I grew in my garden here in Calaveras County and roasted on the BBQ, and with a Pork butt that I smoked on the BBQ — turned out delicious!!
Hi Paul, and thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. So glad you were pleased with the recipe. 🙂
Made this last night and it is DELICIOUS!!!!
One question do you use or discard all the juices from the pork shoulder?
Hi Christopher. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. And so glad you liked the recipe. Those juices are pretty greasy if you’re using a pork shoulder. If I feel like taking the time to strain the fat, I’ll use them in the chili. But if I’m feeling lazy, I throw it out.
I’m making this on Wednesday with the pork shoulder on my smoker at 225F for many hours.
I purchased 3 lbs of fresh hatch chiles here in Denver. But they are hotter than I expected. How can I keep the delicious flavor of the chilis without burning my insides? Could I use maybe use half of them with some other substitute?
Also, I see a lot of green chili recipes that use tomatillos instead of traditional red tomatoes. Have you used both? Thoughts?
Hi Gregg, smoking that pork shoulder will make that chili so good. Please let me know how it turns out. Keep in mind, if you take the time to remove veins and seeds, that will lessen the heat a bit. I always like Poblano Peppers. They can be a little unreliable with heat, but almost always milder than Hatch or our Colorado Pueblo Chile Peppers. I like tomatillos. They do add quite a “tangy” flavor. It would change the flavor profile of this dish. For me, and Green Chile, I’ll stick with red tomatoes. I’d save those tomatillos for green salsa. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I am planning on making this recipe in late September. Hatch chilis are coming to South Dakota now, even, so I’m hoping it turns out well. I’ll keep you posted! I miss Santiago’s green chili. But I’m a 1/2 and 1/2 girl.. 😀
Fabulous! So glad you’re getting those chile peppers. Please let me know how you like it.
I was introduced to hatch chiles by my uncle who grew up in New Mexico. He lives in Idaho now and orders them. I was pleasantly shocked to see them at our local specialty grocer here in WI this past weekend. I made your recipe today in my electric pressure cooker and it turned out even better than I had hoped for! I didn’t have the specialty chile powder but it still tastes amazing just with the regular kind. I can’t wait to try this on a breakfast burrito. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I was in Aspen this winter and went to a BBQ place and ate a delicious green chile pulled pork soup, and I’ve obsessed over it ever since. After a thorough internet search, I landed on your recipe.
I tried it last night, and it was epic! my guests loved it too!
And loved it again this morning, in an omelette.
I used canned Hatch green chiles since that’s all I can find here in Ca, but I’m going to chase some fresh ones in the fall and make this again.
I’ve poked around your site, and am going to try other recipes as well.
Thank you for a great recipe!
Hi Cat. You don’t know how much I appreciate you taking the time to let me know about your experience with this Green Chili. And I love your omelette idea. Those canned Hatch Chiles are great for those who don’t have access to the real deal. I’ve used them.