There are dishes you make for efficiency, and then there are dishes you make because the process itself feels grounding. This Hatch green chile pork stew falls squarely into the second category. It’s slow, deliberate, and deeply satisfying—built around roasted New Mexico Hatch chilies, patiently browned pork, and a sauce that thickens into something silky and comforting.
This is not a quick weeknight chili. It’s a pot you tend, adjust, and let simmer until the pork relaxes and the chilies fully give up their flavor. The reward is a stew that tastes layered, warm, and quietly powerful.
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Great for Breakfast Burritos
This Hatch green chile pork stew also makes an excellent substitute for the pork adovado in my breakfast burritos. The chile-forward sauce, tender pork, and gentle heat work beautifully with eggs, potatoes, and tortillas—especially when you want something rich without overpowering heat. It’s one of those leftovers that somehow tastes even better the next morning.
Finely diced red serrano chilies, for finishing (optional, for color)
Fresh lime juice (for finishing)
Cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
Brown the pork
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Add the pork to a large Dutch oven with 1/2 cup water and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, covered, for about 20 minutes.
Cover the pork. After 20 minutes of cooking, the pork will have steamed and released a lot of fat into the water.
Then remove the lid and cook until the liquid evaporates and the pork begins to brown in its own fat, stirring occasionally, about 20 more minutes.
After cooking for 20 minutes uncovered, pork will be deeply browned.
Once deeply browned, transfer pork to a bowl and set aside.
Prepare the chile base
Add the roasted Hatch chilies and roasted garlic to a blender and blend until mostly smooth.
Add the diced tomatoes and blend again until fully combined. Set aside.
Build the stew base
Heat the oil in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. There should be plenty of fat leftover from cooking the pork. Add the onions and cook until soft and lightly golden, 6–8 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture looks dry and pasty, about 1 minute.
After sprinkling in the flour, the mixture tightens and looks noticeably drier.
Simmer
Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, then add the chile-tomato puree and reserved pork along with any accumulated juices. Bring to a gentle simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Cook low and slow
Cover and transfer to a 325°F oven until the pork is tender and the stew has thickened, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Finish and serve
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and fresh lime juice. Serve over white rice and finish with finely diced red serrano chilies if desired.
The Chilies: Roasted, Peeled, and Clean
I start with roasted New Mexico Hatch green chilies. After blistering them, I remove the stems, then run them under cool water to slip off the burnt skins and rinse away the seeds. I’ve found this is the easiest, least fussy way to get clean chile flesh without losing flavor.
What you’re left with is pure roasted chile—smoky, vegetal, and spicy enough on its own that I skip jalapeños entirely in this version.
The discarded skins and seeds tell their own story: all the work you did so the final stew wouldn’t be bitter or harsh.
How I Serve It
Most often, I spoon this over plain white rice or some griddled hot flour tortillas. Nothing fancy. The rice absorbs the sauce and lets the chilies stay front and center.
For a little contrast and color, I like to finish the bowl with finely diced red serrano chilies—not for heat so much as brightness.
This is a quiet bowl of food. No toppings circus. Just depth, warmth, and the kind of meal that makes you slow down without trying to.
A Note on Leftovers
Like most stews, this only improves with time. The sauce tightens, the pork softens further, and the flavors settle into each other. It reheats beautifully and holds its structure, which is exactly why it works so well folded into breakfast burritos, spooned over eggs, or tucked into tortillas.
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