This Pork Chili Verde is sure to hit the spot when you’re craving an easy, but oh so flavorful, weeknight dinner! With minimal prep, and little to no cooking on your part, the hardest bit will be holding back drool as your house fills with the light smells of chili and lime!
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This recipe is…
This pork chili verde is DELICIOUS, y’all. It’s loaded with such incredible salsa verde flavor, is nice and creamy thanks to the coconut milk, and requires very little effort to bring together (hello, slow cooker meal!).
Though this is a pork “chili” verde recipe, don’t think of it as a traditional red chili (like easy homemade beef chili one) that you’d be more likely to fix on a cold winter’s night — this chili variation is really different from that and truly isn’t too hot (or “wintery”) of a meal to serve year-round.
Serve over white rice or, for a low carb option, cauliflower rice works really well!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy! With minimal prep and little to no cooking on your part, this chili makes for the perfect mid-week dinner.
- It’s flavorful – Between the zing of the lime and the slight spice of the green chili’s, your taste buds are in for a treat!
Pork Chili Verde Ingredients
Though on the longer side, a good bit of the ingredients on this list can probably be found in your pantry and on your spice rack! Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Salsa Verde – any jar of salsa verde will work, so feel free to reach for a jar that best suits your needs and preferences!
- Coconut Milk – this is what creates the creaminess you crave in a chili verde! The coconut flavor gets drowned out by the lime and spice, so don’t worry about a funny tasting dish!
- Jalapeno Peppers – dial down the spice by removing the seeds or by lightly toasting in a pan until lightly browned. These are used as a topping, so removing them is definitely an option too!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Use a different bean – feel free to use whatever bean you have on hand! You can’t really go wrong here!
- Use a different salsa – though a recipe for salsa verde, and salsa will work!
- Adjust your toppings – either knicks them all together or switch up the ones you don’t love!
How to Make Pork Chili Verde
Just 3 steps and very little effort gets this meal on the table! Follow along below.
Step 1: Add the pork, onion, garlic, salsa, canned chilis, coconut milk, lime juice, cumin, and sea salt to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
Step 2: Once the time is up, pull the pork tenderloin out of the slow cooker and use two forks to shred it in a medium sized bowl.
Step 3: Add the shredded pork back into the slow cooker, add the pinto beans, and let cook for 30 more minutes.
Step 4: Serve the slow cooker chili verde pork over the white rice and garnish with the cilantro, jalapeños, sour cream, and sliced limes.
Recipe Tip
Cut cooking time down by an hour – use “carnitas cut” pork in place of the pork tenderloin.
How to Serve
Serve over white rice or whatever you have in your pantry. If you’re looking for a low-carb option, our super easy cauliflower rice works great, too! Finish with a dollop of sour cream, jalapeno slices, cilantro, and lime! Feel free to add or omit as you see fit!
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover chili verde in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or a plastic baggie in the freezer for 3 months. Leftover rice and toppings can be placed in a combination of containers and baggies and stored in the fridge for a week.
To reheat, place either refrigerated or frozen chili verde in a pot and reheat over the stove on low until fully warmed. Place stored rice in a microwave safe dish, add a splash of water, and microwave in 15 second increments until completely warmed. Serve and enjoy a meal just as delicious as the day you made it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Most chilis do tend to deepen in flavor the longer that they cook, and because this one is cooked in the slow cooker, we’ve already built that step in for you!
Unlike a traditional red bean chili, chili verde should be on the thinner side of things. When topped over rice, the goal is for a good bit to be soaked up!
We LOVE this pork chili verde over white rice (though any rice that you prefer would be great!) and garnished with a generous dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro, sliced, fresh jalapeno pepper, and lime wedges!
More Favorite Pork Recipes
If you tried this Pork Chili Verde or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Pork Chili Verde Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin, about 1-1.25 pounds
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 16- ounce jar of salsa verde
- 1 4- ounce can of green chilis
- 1 13.5- ounce can of full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup of fresh lime juice, about 4 limes
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 15- ounce cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup white rice
- Fresh cilantro, to serve
- Sliced fresh jalapeno peppers, to serve
- Sour cream, to serve
- Sliced limes, to serve
Instructions
- Place the pork, onion, garlic, salsa, canned chilis, coconut milk, lime juice, cumin, and sea salt in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
- Shred the pork with a fork, stir in the beans, and let cook for 30 more minutes, until the beans are heated through.
- After you add the beans, cook the rice on the stovetop according to package instructions.
- Serve the chili over the white rice and garnish with the cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream, and sliced limes.
Recipe Notes
- To make on the stovetop: Dice the pork into 1/2 inch pieces, then add one tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil to a large pot and saute the pork over medium-high heat, until browned, then remove from the pot. Add the garlic and onion to the pot and saute for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent, then add the pork, salsa, canned chilis, coconut milk, lime juice, cumin, sea salt, and beans. Cook over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, until the pork is fully cooked through. At this stage, the pork will be fully cooked, but not yet shreddable. If you’d like it to be a shreddable consistency, continue to simmer over low heat for about 2 hours.
Nutrition
We love this recipe! It’s easy, so delicious, and you feel good eating it! Perfect comfort food!
Woohoo! We are so so happy y’all love it, Taylor!
I made this for dinner with leftover Carnitas! It was a PERFECT way to repurpose the protein I’d already made! I just followed the stovetop instructions and let it simmer until everything was warmed through! Perfect for a cold, winter day!!
GREAT IDEA, Kimmie! We are so happy loved it!
Have you made this with turkey tenderloins? My husband has Alpha Gal, so pork is out of our diet. 🙁
We haven’t but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, Suz!
YUM! I will be making this again and again. I was nervous about the coconut milk; I’ve never used it before because my husband has a short list of foods he doesn’t like, and coconut is one of them! But there really wasn’t a coconut flavor, and my husband liked the chili. (His list also includes olives and liver if anyone was wondering. )
This was so freaking good! Flavorful and filling. I did add garlic salt and it took it to another level of deliciousness. Don’t skip this one! Even better for leftovers!
We’re so glad you loved it, Kellyann!! Thank you for taking the time to share this with us!
This is such a great recipe. I have made it several times now. It is SO EASY to throw together, healthy and the flavor is delicious. Making coconut rice to serve the chili on top of takes it up even another notch. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful, clean and quick recipe!
Ooooh, what a great idea, Amanda! Coconut rice sounds delicious with this recipe. Thanks so much for taking the time to share this with us!
Delicious! So easy. My whole family loved it. I feel like the pork that is left over could be used for so many things…tacos, loaded potatoes, etc. Win!
Delicious! So easy. My whole family loved it. I feel like the pork that is left over could be used for so many things…tacos, loaded potatoes, etc. Win!
How wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to share with us. We are so glad it was a hit for the entire family. -Melissa
I have this cooking now. I’m not sure if I’ve put together an easier recipe. I doubled it, threw everything in (step 1) and cleaned up my house and kitchen to get ready for company. It was the easiest way to have the lowest stress for company and I got so much done! Can’t wait to gobble it up!
I’m so glad to hear it was an easy and low stress process for you! Hope everyone enjoyed! ~Melissa
Can you double the meat and leave same amount of other ingredients? I know it says serves 6 but one tiny pork tenderloin will be devoured very quickly by my big appetite teens.
Hi Marci! That should work out fine! ~Melissa
Hi! Sounds amazing. Can I do this in an instant pot?
Thanks
Hi Monica! Absolutely! I would add all the ingredients in step 1 into the instant pot and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. ~Melissa
Would it be longer if they are frozen?
Hi Sam, I would add an additional 20 minutes in the instant pot if you are cooking from frozen. ~Melissa
Kind of random question – but I’m thinking of making this with the meat I have in the freezer (brisket!). Do you think it’ll work okay?
Definitely! That would be delicious.
Could I use heavy cream in place of the coconut milk?
I don’t see why not, Crystal!
Is there an alternative to the coconut milk?
You could try stirring in sour cream instead, Jessica!
These two recipes sound amazing! I can’t wait to try them and have the book with even more ideas to make those 2nd meals as tasty as the first!
They are really delicious, Wendy! We can’t wait for you to get the book either!!