Pulled Pork Green Chile Recipe (Chili Verde)

Pork Green Chile Recipe—also known as Chili Verde—is a hearty dish full of warm, savory spices, meat, and a thick, rich sauce. It can be served as a tasty stew or used as a delicious filling for enchiladas or tacos! 

If there is any food that I crave, it’s Mexican cuisine any time of year. When it’s cold outside there’s nothing more comforting than a green chile stew that’s been in the slow cooker all day with large chunks of tender pork and zesty green chiles. Or, our Instant Pot Pork Green Chili with White Beans that only tastes like it is cooked all day. In the summer, we enjoy Ground Chili Pork Tacos with fresh salsa and guacamole or Zacata enchiladas smothered in green enchilada sauce. 

Originally released this recipe on 3/3/2015. This Pork Green Chili recipe. We’ve added some details and new images using *convenient ingredients that weren’t readily available when it was first released which simplified how it’s made.

Products that we used to make Pulled Pork Green Chili

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• Dutch Oven – I have several enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens. I started out with a few that cost about 4 times what this one does and it’s my favorite! I make my sourdough bread in it and it’s perfect for soups and stews, because you can cook everything in it and serve from it. It cleans up like a dream too!
• Cutting Board – I use a plastic cutting board for meat so I can sanitize it in the dishwasher. I like the juice groove when cutting meat too.

Ingredients for Pork Green Chili

• Pork Butt. You can also use a pork shoulder. You need a cut with a higher fat content than lean cuts such as a pork tenderloin. Trim excess fat before you cook it. 
• Yellow Onions – You can also use sweet onions.
• Garlic Cloves – Nothing compares to fresh garlic, but if you need to use jarred minced garlic you can.
• Ground Cumin – Warm savory spice that we love to use in this type of cuisine.
• Bay Leaves – These are inedible and should be removed before serving. They add amazing flavor, but the leaves are hard and tough.
• Dried Mexican Oregano – We make enough recipes with Mexican oregano that I can easily justify buying Mexican oregano. If you do not, you can substitute with ground or dried oregano.
• Salt – Kosher salt is what we prefer in this green chile recipe.
• Black Peppercorns – We use whole peppercorns.
• Cayenne – Adds heat without a distinct flavor. You can adjust this ingredient as desired.

Chile Verde Ingredients


• Green Peppers – Bell peppers.
• *Tomatillos – This small green fruit resembles a small green tomato that’s wrapped in a husk-like paper. Buying canned tomatillos is very convenient. It removes the tedious work of preparing them yourself.
• Fresh Chiles – We like the flavor of Jalapéno and serrano peppers. You can combine them with any fresh Anaheim peppers, poblano peppers, or New Mexico chilies such as hatch chiles, or as we now prefer, jarred hatch green chile peppers that are already roasted and diced.
• Chicken Broth or Water – We prefer to use low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth.
• Spices – Mexican Oregano, salt, ground cumin.
• Fresh Cilantro. If you aren’t in love with cilantro you can leave this off.

How to Make Pork Green Chili Verde

Slow-cook the pork roast until it is nice and tender.

To do so, place the pork butt, yellow onions, crushed garlic, cumin, bay leaves, Mexican oregano, salt, black peppercorns, and cayenne in a large pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes, skimming the surface to remove any impurities (foam) that form. Remove the bay leaves.

Make Chile Verde Sauce

Note: We used to roast our own tomatillos and fresh chiles. If you choose to do this, the instructions are below the recipe card.

Using an immersion (stick) blender or blender, blend the roasted peppers, and the canned undrained tomatillos with the cooked liquids from the pork (including onions and peppercorns) together until smooth. 

Shred the pork.

Shred the pork and add the fresh Jalapéno. Return the shredded pork to the pot containing the green chile sauce pot. Add the remaining spices and enough chicken stock to get the consistency that you want. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat for at least 20 minutes. The longer you allow it to simmer, the better the flavors combine. If it gets too thick, add water or additional chicken broth. I know mine simmered for 2 hours. Stir in fresh cilantro right before serving.

The hardest part about this pork green chili recipe is not digging into the pork as you are shredding it. It cooks up with so much flavor, and just smelling it simmer on the stove was enough to test my willpower. I successfully nibbled a bit here and there when I seriously wanted to just do a faceplant right into the middle of it.

How to Serve this Pulled Pork Green Chili Verde Recipe

The versatility of this dish is what makes it a great recipe and it’s so easy to repurpose leftovers.

• You can eat Pork Green Chile as a stew with lovely garnishes such as additional cilantro, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, or avocado.
• Put it in warm tortillas and for tasty tacos.
• Bake it with additional sauce and cheese for amazing enchiladas.

Hostess Tips

You could definitely reduce the recipe but when I go to all the effort to make something this amazing I make extra. You can reduce the amount of shredded pork that you make in this Green Chile Verde recipe and freeze some of it for easy meals like BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. It’s great to have on hand.

When adding the liquid cooked off of the pork, don’t add it all at once. If you want more of a green chili pork stew keep your green chili sauce thicker. Add the shredded pork and add additional liquid until you the consistency you want according to how you intend to use it.

Instead of shredding the pork, cut it into cubed pork for a hearty stew.

For time-saving convenience break this recipe up and make it over a couple of days by cooking the pork one day and the Chile Verde the next day.

How to Store Pork Green Chili

Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. We freeze leftovers in smaller portions in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. You can reheat it in a saucepan, in the microwave, or put it in a crock pot for a delicious meal on busy days.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.

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Roast the peppers and tomatillos for the chili verde sauce.

If you choose to roast fresh peppers and tomatillos, this is how it’s done.

Place peppers and tomatillos on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler and watch carefully. When skins blister and turn dark, turn until each side is browned. Remove from the oven and put peppers in a glass bowl. Immediately cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let them sit for 15 minutes. The steam will help remove the skin. Under running water, remove the tops, skins, and seeds from the peppers. Remove the tomatillo skin and stems, but you will want the insides, including the seeds.