Lean pork cooks low and slow in a flavorful green chile sauce until fork tender. This easy Crock Pot Chile Verde is a delicious, busy day choice!
Each time I visit my big brother, Jim, I come home inspired and with a new recipe in hand. The man can cook. You may remember my visit with him last year and his out-of-this-world-good grilled country style ribs. Well, my friends, he did not disappoint this time around. Our visit this summer was a quick one so we opted to eat out at restaurants for most of our meals but Jim mentioned this new recipe he’d come up with for slow cooker chile verde.
I know my brother well enough to understand that when he praises a recipe you should definitely pay attention. So I did, and I bugged him incessantly to send me the recipe, and he did, and I made it, and wow! We have another winner from brother Jim! Not only is it delicious, it is a low calorie, low fat meal that truly satisfies.
What is Chile Verde?
Authentic chile verde is a Mexican stew made with chunks of pork shoulder simmered until tender in a green chile sauce made with roasted tomatillos, jalapenos, and garlic. This flavorful pork is used as a burrito or taco filling and can also be served in bowls with rice and assorted toppings.
Easy Crock Pot Chile Verde
Instead of a fatty pork shoulder, this easy chile verde recipe calls for either pork tenderloin or pork sirloin tip roast. These much leaner cuts allow you to skip the step of trimming fat and they are also a little easier on your waistline, but fear not, the slow cooker method ensures a perfect, fork tender result. Another timesaver is the shortcut green chile sauce. Pantry staples make it a snap to create this flavorful sauce with minimal time and effort.
Ingredient Notes
- Vegetable oil
- Pork tenderloin or pork sirloin tip roast – Pork tenderloin is easy to find at most grocery stores in 2 to 2 ¼ pound packages. If you have access to Costco in your area, they carry pork sirloin tip roasts in a similar weight range for a great price.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Dried minced onion – When onions are dried, they take on a rich, toasty flavor. They are a great way to add a more intense onion flavor to recipes. You’ll find dried minced onions in the spice section of your grocery store.
- Yellow onion
- Diced celery
- Jalapeno – You can control how spicy the sauce is by removing the seeds and membranes.
- Minced garlic
- Tomatillo salsa – Any tomatillo based salsa you like will work in this recipe. I like Herdez Salsa Verde which is a mild green salsa.
- Green enchilada sauce – I recommend Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce if you can find it. It is an excellent canned sauce.
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes – Tomatoes add a nice boost of color and flavor to this chile verde recipe.
- Low sodium chicken broth
How to Make Crock Pot Chile Verde
- Sauté the chunks of pork in vegetable oil, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Add the dried minced onion and cook and stir for another minute or two. Transfer the pork to the slow cooker.
- Add a little additional oil o the skillet and add the onions, celery, garlic, and jalapeno. Cook and stir until the vegetables have softened a bit.
- Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker with the browned pork.
- Add the green salsa, green enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for one hour. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for an additional 5 to 6 hours or until the pork is fork tender.
How to Serve Chile Verde
- Pork Chile Verde Bowls – Serve the pork with plenty of sauce over rice with the toppings you love. For me, it’s some light sour cream, chopped avocado, and a little cilantro.
- Chile Verde Tacos or Burritos – Toast flour tortillas in a dry skillet and serve them with the pork and assorted toppings. Delicious!
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator – Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for three to four days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave.
- Freezer – Chile verde freezes well on its own or combined with any leftover rice in serving size portions. Just transfer it to a freezer safe containers and freeze for up to three months. Thaw it safely in your refrigerator overnight before reheating.
More Pork Recipes You’ll Love
- Carnitas (Oven or Slow Cooker)
- Shredded Chipotle Pork
- Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Pork with Beans
- Southwestern Pork Tenderloin
Crock Pot Chile Verde
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, or as needed
- 2 to 2¼ pounds pork tenderloin or pork sirloin tip roast, sliced into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground pepper black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion,
- 1 cup diced sweet yellow onion, approximately ½ a large onion
- 1 cup diced celery, 3 to 4 stalks
- 1 jalapeno, seeded as desired and diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 16 ounces tomatillo or green (verde) salsa
- 10 ounces mild green enchilada sauce, (I like Hatch brand)
- 15 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups cooked white rice
Optional Toppings
- avocado, sour cream, cilantro
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a large sauté pan and place over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add the chopped pork and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until lightly browned. Add the dried minced onion and cook and stir for another minute or two. Transfer the pork to the slow cooker.
- Add the remaining vegetable oil to the same sauté pan and place it over MEDIUM heat. Add the onions, celery, garlic, and jalapeno. Cook and stir for two to three minutes, until the vegetables have softened a bit. Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker with the browned pork.
- Add the green salsa, green enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth and stir to combine. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for one hour. Turn to LOW and cook for an additional 5 to 6 hours or until the pork is fork tender.
- Serve over rice with optional toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Slow Cooker Suppers
So delicious. My 15 year old couldn’t stop raving about how good this was. Even my 12 year old who told me no way! I HATE pork….loved it (he is so picky). Chile Verde is one of my husband’s favorite Mexican dish but he doesn’t order it a lot since it is so fattening. He was in heaven with this dish. We never add jalapeno to the whole dish since my kids won’t eat anything spicy. So we added jalapeno to our plates when we dish it all out. As we are not celery fans at all that was left out. Otherwise I made it exactly as stated and the pork came out super tender. We served it with homemade “unfriend” refried beans and corn tortillas. This will become a regular meal in our house as we love Mexican food weekly! Thanks for sharing!
Hi there! What would be the reheating instructions if this meal was frozen?
Hi Carlie. I’d allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then just warm it on the stove or in the microwave.
I’ve had one of those pork roasts thawed out in the fridge for about a week, what to do, what to do……..
Oh, yeah, MAKE THIS!
Also had a giant can of fire-roasted tomatoes hanging around, some jalapenos/serranos that needed to get used up, a big jar of 505 green chile sauce from Costco, it was the perfect storm of ingredients looking for a home!
OH MY GOODNESS THIS WAS FANTASTIC!!! My whole family loved loved LOVED it ! Many thanks to you, many thanks to your brother. I used about a 2 1/4 pound pork tenderloin roast (from half of a Costco twin-pak) and cut it up like you said. I did not have celery though, so next time I will try it with that. This is by FAR the very best thing to do with pork in a slow cooker!!!
I’m so happy to hear that you all enjoyed it! I’ll pass your words along to my big brother 🙂 Thanks so much for the feedback.