Pork Tenderloin Chili Verde

This Pork Tenderloin Chili Verde recipe makes a warm and comforting pot of green chili inspired by authentic Mexican-style stew. Tender morsels of pork tenderloin simmered on the stove top in a tomatillo-jalapeno broth with potatoes.

Up until recently I preferred tomato-based Mexican dishes. I love red salsa, enchiladas with red sauce and red chili, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about green chili. Turns out, I love tomatillo-based Mexican dishes just as much.

This chili verde with pork tenderloin uses tomatillos which are less acidic and less sweet than tomatoes -and because this is green chili, naturally it also has green jalapenos and fire roasted green chilis.

🧄 How To Roast Tomatillos, Jalapenos & Garlic

The first component of pork chili verde is roasting the tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic for the verde broth base.

• 1️⃣ Preheat broiler on HIGH.
• 2️⃣ Lay halved tomatillos and jalapenos flesh side down on a rimmed baking sheet.
• 3️⃣ Place baking sheet under broiler and broil for 5 to 7 minutes or until the skins begin to crinkle and char.
• 4️⃣ With tongs, move roasted vegetables to a blender. Add canned green chilis and cilantro. Blend on high speed until a sauce forms but still has some visible pieces of veggies. Use the sauce in recipe below.

📖 How to Make Chili Verde Pork

1️⃣ Brown pork: In a large stockpot, over medium heat, warm oil until hot but not smoking. Add diced pork tenderloin and saute until the pork is no longer translucent but not cooked through (about 5 miniutes).

2️⃣ Saute vegetables: To the stockpot, add garlic, onion, potatoes, bell pepper, salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder and cumin. Continue sauteeing together with pork until the vegetables begin to soften (5 to 7 more minutes).

3️⃣ Add verde sauce: To the stockpot, stir in blended verde sauce and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high, bringing the liquid to a boil. Let liquid boil for 5 minutes before lowering the heat, bringing the liquid down to a low-simmer. Simmer until potatoes are fork-tender and the pork is cooked through (about 30 minutes).

4️⃣ Adjust seasonings and serve. Stir in coconut milk, adjust seasonings to taste and serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro.

👩🏻‍🍳 Chef Val’s Tips

• Roasted tomatillos and jalapenos give the chili a subtle smokey flavor. Let the veggies broil until you begin to see charred edges. Be careful not to let them burn.
• You can make the verde sauce base up to 2 days in advance or freeze it in and thaw it in the fridge before using in recipes.
• To adjust how spicy your pork tenderloin chili verde turns out, remove as little or as many seeds as you want from the jalapenos.

🔁 Variations

• Chicken Chili Verde – Simply swap out the pork for diced chicken breast.
• Chili Verde con Carne – Make chili verde with cuts of sirloin steak instead of pork.
• Vegetarian Chili Verde – Hold the pork and chicken stock and add use veggie stock and a blend of white beans, black beans, corn, etc.

♻ Storing & Freezing

Storing – Let pork chili verde cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

Freezing – Store cooled verde chili in a freezer-safe airtight container in the freezer for up 4 months.

❔ FAQ

🍲More Soup & Chili Recipes

• African Beef Stew
• White Chicken Chili
• Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chili
• Buffalo Chicken Chili

Pork Chili Verde

This simple pork chili verde uses pork, tomatillos, jalapenos, green chiles and golden potatoes to make a hearty green chili that is warm and comforting. This recipe can be made on the stovetop.

4.86 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cups

Calories: 309kcal

Author: Valerie Skinner

Ingredients

For Verde Sauce Base:

• 3 Tomatillos about 2 cups
• 2 Jalapenos medium
• 16 oz Roasted Green Chiles canned
• ¼ cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves

For Chili Base:

• 2 pounds Pork Tenderloin diced in 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 medium Yellow Onion small dice
• 4 cloves Garlic minced
• 1 Green Bell Pepper diced
• 1 pound Golden Potatoes medium diced
• 5 oz Coconut Milk
• 6 cups Chicken Broth or Stock
• 1 tbsp Avocado or Olive Oil
• ½ tbsp Salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano

Instructions

For Verde Sauce:

• Preheat your oven to broil on HIGH
• Cut your tomatillos and jalapenos in half and lay them flesh side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Remove the seeds from the jalapenos if you want to keep the spice mild.
• Broil for 5-7 minutes or until skin begins to roast or blacken.  Watch carefully so they do not burn
• Add the roasted tomatillos and jalapenos whole to a high speed blender along with canned green chilis and cilantro.
• Blend until fully combined but still a little chunky in texture.

For Chili Base:

• In a large stock pot, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat.  Add the diced pork and saute for about 5 minutes until all pork turns white.
• Add garlic, onion, potatoes bell pepper, salt, ground pepper, oregano, chili powder and cumin and saute for another 5-7 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften making sure that the seasonings are stirred evenly throughout.
• Add blended verde sauce and chicken stock and stir to combine.
• Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil for 5 minutes before turning down the heat to a simmer.
• Simmer for 30 minutes on low heat or until pork and potatoes are fully cooked through.
• Add in coconut milk and stir to combine.
• Adjust seasonings as necessary.
• Serve hot & garnish with cilantro

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 309kcal