This Easy Mexican Chili Verde recipe is composed of tender chunks of chicken or pork in a flavorful broth of Mexican chilies. This rich Chili Verde recipe is made in the Instant Pot to create a quick and easy weekday dinner. Serve them with a side of Air Fryer Tortilla chips or flour tortillas for a complete meal.
Mexican Chili Verde, along with Instant Pot Carnitas, is one of our go-to Mexican recipes during the fall and winter months. The tender and flavorful chunks of chicken or pork, smothered with green chili verde sauce is comforting after a long day. Serve along side tortillas, rice and Instant Pot Refried Beans or slow cooker refried beans, and you’ve got an easy weekday meal. Prefer chili verde burritos? Just use tongs to scoop out the meat and fill up your flour tortilla.
The trick to making authentic chili verde is building flavors. From the variety of chilies to the toppings, chili verde sauce is best when layered with flavor. Our easy Mexican chili verde is made using a variety of Mexican chilies and spices. Think tomatillos, jalapeños, poblano and hatch chilies.
Just look at all the good stuff we have brewing:
How Long Does it Take to Make Chili Verde?
While traditionally made on the stove, we’ve cut down the process by using the Instant Pot. Gone is the time-consuming roasting of the chilies and the meat searing. This dump and go Instant Pot Green Chili version delivers all the same flavor in half the time as a stove top version. The cooking time does vary from chicken to pork so adjust accordingly.
For this recipe, we used the popular Instant Pot Duo Plus, which has a 6 qt capacity. We’ve posted quite a few Instant Pot recipes, so make sure to check them out.
Does Chili Verde Freeze Well?
Yep – it freezes extremely well. This is a great freezer meal for sure. If meal prepping, combine all the uncooked ingredients (other than the cilantro) in a freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. When ready to cook just dump it all into the Instant Pot and steam for 5 minutes to start thawing out the sauce. Then follow the same cooking directions as outlined below.
To reheat frozen chili verde just dump it all into the Instant Pot and saute for 5 minutes to kick start the defrosting of the sauce. After sautéing, use the steam setting for 5 to 10 minutes (lid on – valve in the sealed position). It will take more time to come to pressure as the contents are frozen.
What Meat is Used For Chili Verde?
You can use chicken or pork in our Chili Verde recipe. Both meats provide a flavorful base and outstanding finished product. We tend to use what’s in our freezer.
If using chicken, make sure to use drumsticks or thighs with the bones and skin intact. Chicken breasts will not provide the same depth of flavor as drumsticks or thighs, but will work. Just decrease cooking by 5 minutes.
If you’re using pork, use boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks. Boneless pork shoulder is the traditional cut and it is relatively inexpensive and easy to find.
What Peppers Are Used For Chili Verde?
You can use a variety of peppers, depending on your heat preference and what’s available at your local market. Don’t have hatch chilies? Replace with more poblano or Anaheim peppers. Want some heat? Replace the poblano peppers with more serrano or jalapeños. The mix is up to you as long as you keep the amount of peppers used similar to as written below.
Chili Verde Toppings
We love topping our chili verde with a ton of sour cream. Actually we top all our Mexican recipes with a ton of sour cream. (Tip- if you haven’t tried sour cream on your pancakes, you’re missing out). Other topping ideas: avocado, cilantro, pickled peppers, pickled banana peppers or small tortilla chips for a little crunch.
Hailing from San Diego we’re Mexican food fiends. A few of our other Mexican Recipes to check out: San Diego-style Carne Asada, Carne Asada Nachos, Carne Asada Tacos, Carne Asada Fries, Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas, Restaurant Style Homemade Salsa and Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas.
Tip – Use Mexican Green Chili in Chili Cheese Dip for a fun twist!
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs chicken thighs or drumsticks (with bones and skin) (or 2 pounds of boneless pork shoulder – cut into 2″ chunks)
- 5 Medium tomatillos (husked and quartered)
- 3 Medium poblano peppers or hatch chilis (roughly chopped and seeded)
- 2 Medium Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers (roughly chopped and seeded)
- 2 Medium Serrano or jalapeño peppers (roughly chopped and seeded)
- 1 Medium white onion (roughly chopped)
- 5 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
- ½ Tbs. Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- Kosher Salt (to taste)
- ¼ Cup Cilantro Leaves
- Optional: Tortillas, Lime Wedge, Avocado, Sour Cream
Instructions
CHICKEN VERSION
- Add the chicken, peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, garlic powder and a pinch of salt to the Instant Pot and stir to combine.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot with the valve in the sealed position. Set at High Pressure for 20 minutes. Once finished, you can QR or let it naturally release.
- Using tongs, carefully transfer the hot chicken to a large bowl and set aside. Add the cilantro and blend the sauce with a hand blender (or a standing blender). Taste and adjust salt accordingly.
- Once chicken has cooled slightly, discard the skin and bones and shred (using two folks). Place the shredded chicken back into the sauce and stir to combine.
- Garnish with desired topping and serve immediately. Or keep on the “warm” setting until you’re ready to serve.
PORK VERSION
- Pre-heat the instant pot on the "saute" feature. Add the pork, peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, garlic powder and a pinch of salt to the Instant Pot and stir to combine.
- Once sizzling, place the lid on the Instant Pot with the valve in the sealed position. Set at High Pressure for 30 minutes. Once finished, you can QR or let it naturally release.
- Using tongs, carefully transfer the hot pork to a large bowl and set aside. Add the cilantro and blend the sauce with a hand blender (or a standing blender). Taste and adjust salt accordingly.
- Place the pork back into the sauce and stir to combine.
- Garnish with desired topping and serve immediately. Or keep on the “warm” setting until you’re ready to serve.
