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Katerina 4.76 from 29 votes
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Slow cooker pork chile verde is a deliciously easy, Mexican-inspired slow cooker recipe for pork loin cooked in a vibrant and flavorful chile verde sauce. Serve this chile verde recipe as an easy family meal with rice, tortillas, and sour cream.
Pork loin is a lean, tender cut of meat that’s perfect for slow-cooking recipes like this chile verde and my crock pot pork loin recipe. Try this Instant Pot pork loin, my stuffed pork loin, or this juicy pork loin roast for more easy ways to cook pork.
Chile Verde is one of our favorite dinner recipes that ticks every box in terms of taste, texture, and satisfaction! This Pork Loin Chile Verde recipe pairs juicy, tender pork with piquant green salsa and savory aromatics cooked together in your crock pot.
Why You’ll Love Pork Chile Verde
- Easy ingredients. My particular version of this classic Mexican dish is easy and full of flavor. The secret is in using prepared salsa and enchilada sauce, read: store-bought. I also used pork loin, rather than butt or shoulder, for the ultimate quick-prep, slow-cooked entree.
- Packed with flavor. If you love spicy dishes, this recipe is for you! This delicious pork chile verde is filled with smoky chili heat, aromatic veggies, and tender pork loin pieces. It’s rich, savory, juicy, and an absolute flavor bomb in every sense of the word.
- Made in the slow cooker. What’s better than a set-it-and-forget-it recipe on a busy weeknight? Making this chile verde in the slow cooker means that you can leave it to cook, and come back hours later to a wholesome dinner that the whole family will love.
What Is Chile Verde?
Chile verde translates to “green chili”, and it’s a Mexican stew traditionally made from pork cooked in salsa verde, a flavorful sauce made from tomatillos and green chilies. Also called puerco con salsa verde, pork chile verde is a soulful, comforting dinner filled with zing. Making this recipe in the slow cooker is a great way to let the flavors mingle while the pork pieces cook until they’re fall-apart-tender.
Ingredients for Pork Chili Verde
- Oil – Vegetable oil, olive oil, or another neutral-flavored oil, for sautéing.
- Pork Loin – You’ll need a 3-pound, boneless pork loin, cut into cubes. Make sure that you’re buying pork loin roast and not pork tenderloin. They aren’t the same thing! Pork tenderloin cooks much quicker and will turn out dry.
- Carrots, Onion, and Garlic –Easy aromatics that build up the flavor of the stew. Slice the carrots and onion, and mince the garlic.
- Enchilada Sauce –Use your favorite jar or can of prepared green enchilada sauce.
- Salsa Verde –This recipe uses one cup of salsa verde. You’ll find it in the international aisle or condiment aisle in most major grocery stores. There are lots of brands available, but my favorite is Herdez. Spicy, smoky, vibrant, it’s truly *chef’s kiss*.
- Chopped Green Chiles –These usually come in a 4-oz can. Choose a variety that’s spicy or mild depending on your preference.
How To Make Pork Chile Verde in the Slow Cooker
- Sauté. Start by heating oil in a large skillet, and add the pork pieces, carrots, onions, and garlic. Sauté until the pork is nicely browned on all sides. Afterward, transfer the pork and veggies to your slow cooker.
- Combine and cook. Next, stir in the enchilada sauce, salsa verde, green chiles, and salt. Cover the slow cooker and cook the chile verde on Low for 6 hours, or until the pork is cooked through and tender.
- Serve! Dish up your chile verde over fluffy rice or warm tortilla, garnished with jalapeños, cilantro, and sour cream. We love ours with a squeeze of fresh lime. See below for more serving suggestions.
Recipe Tips And Variations
- Use a large enough slow cooker. For this recipe, you’ll want to use a 6-quart slow cooker or larger. If you’re scaling the recipe, make sure that your slow cooker is large enough to fit all the ingredients.
- Don’t overcook. For best results, test the pork for doneness about 2 hours into the cooking time, and at least once per hour afterward to ensure it doesn’t overcook and become dry. Even with a moist, slow cooking process, pork loin can overcook and become dry, grainy, and tough. To avoid this, test the pork with a meat thermometer. Pork is done when its internal temp reaches 145°F. The pork will continue to cook even after you turn off the heat, so you’ll want to turn off the slow cooker just before it hits that temperature.
- A little pink is fine. It’s always important that proteins are properly cooked, but if you test the pork and find that the temperature is right, but the meat itself is still a rosy color, don’t worry. The low and slow cooking method doesn’t blanch the meat quite as much as a high-heat method, so some or all of the pork loin pieces may still be pinkish even when they’re done.
- Adjust the consistency. The sauce in your chile verde should have a gravy-like consistency once all’s said and done. If you’d like to thicken it, make a slurry from 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch and a bit of water. Whisk in the slurry into the sauce one spoonful at a time, until the stew thickens. To thin out chile verde, add a little water or broth. Taste for seasonings afterward.
- Spice. Depending on the salsa and the green chiles you add, this recipe can range from mild to very spicy. If you select mild salsa and mild chiles, you can expect a dish with just a little spicy kick. If you go with hotter chiles and/or salsa, you can amp up the heat! Some chiles are not marked with a level of spiciness, so add a little at a time and adjust the heat to taste.
Serving Suggestions
A bowl of pork chile verde is really a meal in itself, so it doesn’t really need much. Load up servings with seeded and thinly sliced jalapeños, chopped fresh cilantro, dollops of sour cream, and lime wedges. Serve it over my fiesta rice, or you can try this keto-friendly cloud bread. Creamy mashed cauliflower is also a nice veggie side dish. If you want to get the meal started with something special, whip up delicious strawberry pomegranate mojitos! My air fryer zucchini corn fritters would make a wonderful appetizer or side. There’s nothing like silky and satisfying low-carb chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and raspberries to finish off a meal. Or, try this spicy Mexican hot chocolate fudge!
How To Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Store leftovers in airtight containers and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To reheat, place the desired portion in a covered skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Cook until just heated through.
More Mexican Inspired Dinner Recipes
- Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
- Carne Asada
- Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas Tacos
- Slow Cooker Beef Machaca
- Mexican Taco Pasta
Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde
Katerina | Diethood
Slow cooker pork chile verde is a deliciously easy, Mexican-inspired slow cooker recipe for pork loin cooked in a flavorful chile verde sauce.
4.76 from 29 votes
Rate this Recipe!
Servings : 10
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 6 hours hrs
Total Time 6 hours hrs
Ingredients
For the Pork:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into cubes
- 3 carrots, sliced into coins or shredded
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 ounces green enchilada sauce
- 1 cup salsa verde
- 1 can (4-ounces) chopped green chiles
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
For Serving:
- Prepared rice
- Flour Tortillas, warmed
- Jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced, for garnish
- Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
- Sour cream, for garnish
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Heat oil in a large skillet. To the hot oil, add the cubed pork, carrots, onions, and garlic; saute until the pork is browned on all sides. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the pork mixture to a 6-quart, or larger, slow cooker.
Stir in the enchilada sauce, salsa verde, green chiles, salt, and pepper; cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours, or until meat is tender and internal temperature registers at 145˚F. Use an instant read thermometer, and start checking for doneness around the 4-hour mark.
Remove cover, stir, taste for salt and pepper, and adjust. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Garnish with jalapenos and cilantro.
Serve it over prepared rice or tortillas with sour cream and lime wedges.
Equipment
Notes
- Avoid Overcooking: Use a meat thermometer to avoid dry, overcooked pork. Pork is cooked through when its internal temperature reaches 145°F.
- Adjust Sauce Consistency: Add a cornstarch slurry if you need a thicker sauce. For a thinner sauce, use water or broth. Taste and adjust the seasonings afterward.One tablespoon of cornstarch to two tablespoons of water will make a small amount of slurry — just whisk it all together until it’s smooth, then stir it into the sauce.
- Spice: The spiciness of this recipe varies based on your choice of salsa and green chiles. Mild selections yield a gentle kick, while hotter options increase the heat.
Nutrition
Calories: 275 kcal | Carbohydrates: 12 g | Protein: 32 g | Fat: 10 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Cholesterol: 86 mg | Sodium: 1092 mg | Potassium: 649 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 8 g | Vitamin A: 3742 IU | Vitamin C: 9 mg | Calcium: 23 mg | Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chile verde pork, chile verde recipe, pork chile verde
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Categories:
- Appetizers
- Christmas
- Dinner Recipes
- Freezer Friendly Meals
- Holidays
- Pork Recipes
- Recipes
- Slow Cooker/Crock Pot
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