Eating this delicious Colorado Green Chili brings back so many precious memories.
I first experienced Colorado when my dad took us on a family vacation. Dad loved to travel, and he wanted us to experience Colorado for its beauty and majesty.
My husband and I spent a few days driving up to Pike’s Peak on my second visit years later. We also visited Rocky Mountain National Park, which is a gem of a park!
The second visit brought back so many memories of when my dad took us there. Now I’m happy to say my sister lives there and I have a free pass to visit anytime. 🙂
Colorado’s Version of Chili
Being a Texan is synonymous for me with loving barbecue and hot and spicy chili con carne (our state dish)! I discovered that Colorado had its own version of chili. Colorado Green Chili sounded absolutely mouth watering! I love chilis so I had to try it out.
The Colorado Green Chili appears often on lists that name the most iconic foods in Colorado. After trying it out I can certainly taste why!
All you need for this dish is olive oil, pork tenderloin, green chilis, diced tomatoes, an onion, garlic cloves and seasoning. You won’t believe how easy and inexpensive this is to make!
Click below on the Instagram post to see a short video of this delicious green chili simmering on the stove. 🙂
The Green Chili is often used as a topping for another dish. It is great over a burrito for example! However, I discovered that this pork based chili is good enough to eat on its own. Another option is to serve it over rice which is how we enjoyed it. You must try out this recipe for Colorado Green Chili! You won’t be disappointed!
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Colorado Green Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb pork tenderloin cut into bite sized pieces (I used Smithfield Roast Garlic and Cracked Pepper Marinated Pork Tenderloin)
- 3 4 oz cans green chilis I used Hatch Green Chilis – there is a mild or hot version – pickyour favorite or combine however you like – do not drain)
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 lg onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ts chicken bouillon granules I used Maggi
- 1 ts corn starch if thicker chili is desired
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large pot and heat up (med high heat). Add the pork tenderloin (which has been cut into bite sized pieces) and brown. Once the pork is browned add your onion, garlic, green chilis (not drained), tomatoes, water, and chicken bouillon. Mix well and bring to the boil.
- Turn down to med low heat (or whatever setting provides just a small simmer), cover, and cook for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, taste and add some salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook another 15 minutes at a small simmer.
- If at the end of this time the chili is too thin for your liking, add a small amount of corn starch (which has been mixed with some cold water) to thicken. Allow to come to the boil for a few minutes to thicken.
Notes
This recipe touches my heart because I’m Grace’s sister who lives In Colorado 😊❤️ This recipe was so delicious and my house had a wonderful aroma while I was cooking. I used 2 cans of the hot chili’s and 1 can of mild but if you want it more spicy, use all 3 cans of hot chili’s. The only reason why I used 1 can of mild chili’s was because I was afraid that it would be to hot. This Colorado chili was amazing and I’ll be making it again!! 😋
April I’m so very happy you tried the Colorado chili and that you liked it! Thank you for your kind heartfelt comments my Colorado sister!! 🙂
This recipe sounds really good to try. And thank you Grace for sharing.
Thank you Tami for your comments! I hope you might try it someday and let me know what you think. Thanks again!!
How good does this look!! YUM
Thank you so very much! If you do try making it please let me know how it turns out! Thanks again!! 🙂
Planning on making this over the weekend and I can’t freaking wait! Was curious if anyone can tell me about how many this served?
Thanks!
Hi Dallie! Thanks for your question and I’m so sorry that the servings aren’t on the recipe I will add this info! Should serve around 3-4 people (generous serving sizes). 🙂 I really hope you like it and if you could let me know what you think after cooking it up I would be so very grateful! Thank you!!! Grace
1 big tomato, chopped (some claim that you should omit the tomato for authentic Colorado green chili)
Hi there! Thanks so much for commenting! I didn’t know about omitting the tomatoes for the authentic version, and I appreciate you telling me! Have an awesome day!!
This looks and sounds delicious! I have a good portion of spicy grilled pork loin leftover and was wondering if I could use it for this recipe. I figured I would follow the steps sans the pork until it was simmering and then add the meat just to heat. Thoughts appreciated!
Hi Melissa, thank you so much for commenting! Actually adding the spicy grilled pork loin that you have sounds absolutely divine! That would work just fine I believe! I hope you will give the recipe a go and please let me know what you think of it. 🙂 Thanks again! Stay safe and well! Grace