Chile Verde Stew

When I think of Chile Verde my mind always goes straight to traditional tomatillo sauce with braised pork. While that’s an amazing dish in itself it’s fairly common at this point. So, when my Mom brought me this recipe that she created, I was blown away. It’s super easy to make in the Instant Pot and consists of very simple ingredients. Which would never be guessed based on its complex flavor, texture, and overall beauty.

What is Chile Verde?

Chile Verde literally translates to “Green Chile”…however, when referring to the dish of chile verde most people are referring to pork simmered in a green sauce consisting of roasted green chiles, tomatillos, jalapeno’s etc.

In that sense this, this recipe is not traditional but definitely uses some of the same ingredients. This is more of a stew and instead of being braised or slow cooked, we’ll be using an Instant Pot.

There isn’t a ton of information out there for the origin of the simmered pork dish. All I really know is that it was created in Northern Mexico and of course has been popularized through the United States in many restaurants and taquerias alike.

Typically it’s topped with anything from cilantro, radishes, lime, avocado, and served with chips and tortillas.

What Kind of Meat?

Just like the traditional recipes, we’ll be using pork for this chile verde stew. I used a pork shoulder, also known as a picnic roast. It comes out perfectly tender without falling apart like you would want from a slow smoked pork butt (also made with pork shoulder).

Chile Verde Stew Recipe

For this particular recipe you’ll need a 2 pounds of pork picnic roast, minced garlic, cumin, an onion, bell pepper, potatoes, frozen corn, roasted hatch green chiles, Hatch green chile enchilada sauce, a can of fire roasted dice tomatoes, beef broth, salt, and pepper.

Start by cubing the pork and then covering it in salt and pepper. Set the Instant Pot to sauté on high and brown the outsides of the pork cubes.

Next, add the garlic and cumin. Continue to sauté until the garlic becomes aromatic and the pork is full covered in the cumin.

Now, turn the Instant Pot off, add the remaining ingredients stirring to combine.

Lastly, set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 40 minutes then naturally release for 15 minutes.

Manually release the remaining pressure and pour in a cup of heavy cream stirring to fully combine.

Serve and Enjoy!

In Conclusion

While this may not be a traditional Chile Verde recipe, it’s one of the easiest and most flavorful Instant Pot Recipes I’ve ever made.

Thanks to the extra hot Hatch Green Chiles this had a good amount of heat to it. If you enjoy cooking with fresh roasted Hatch chiles I highly recommend checking out The Hatch Chile Store. They ship right to you from New Mexico. In fact I’ve written an entire article on the subject that you may like.

Check out my article on Hatch Chiles!

Be sure to let me know int he comments how liked this recipe and any special tweaks you made.

Thank you so much for reading and as usual…

Happy Cooking!

-Jeremy