Chili Verde Recipe with Ground Pork

Spoon the chili into ramekins, lay a tortilla crust on top, and you’ve got something that tastes like it took all day but didn’t. One pot. One pan in the oven. Done in an hour.

Why You’ll Love This Chili Verde Pork Recipe

Comes together fast — 20 minutes of prep, then you’re mostly waiting. Actual hands-on cooking time is maybe 15 minutes total.

One pot for the pork with green chiles and spices, one baking sheet for the tortillas. Cleanup isn’t nothing, but it’s minimal compared to what you’re getting.

Tastes better the next day. Not sure why. Just does.

Works for a crowd or just yourself. Scales down easy. The ramekins are honestly just a nice vessel — you could pour it in a bowl instead if you wanted.

What You Need for Green Chile Pork Verde

Red bell peppers. Two and a half. Seeded, diced. Not green. Red ones have more sugar, less bite.

Lean ground pork. 480 grams. Whatever ground pork is at your store works. Doesn’t have to be fancy.

One medium onion chopped fine. Yellow or white. Doesn’t matter much.

Oil for the pan. 25 milliliters. One and a half tablespoons. Vegetable oil. Olive oil burns too fast over medium-high heat.

Chili seasoning and cumin — that’s 20 milliliters of seasoning mix and 5 milliliters of ground cumin. You could make your own spice blend instead. Probably tastes better. I don’t bother.

Diced tomatoes from a can. 796 milliliters. Kidney beans, drained and rinsed. 540 milliliters. Frozen corn. 100 grams. Smoky chipotle sauce. 50 milliliters. Just that much.

For the crust: milk, olive oil, six tortillas, and cheddar cheese sliced. 150 milliliters milk, 35 milliliters olive oil, six 8-inch wheat tortillas, 180 grams cheese. The tortillas matter — flimsy ones tear when you dip them. Thicker ones work.

How to Make Chile Verde Pork Recipe

Oven to 195 Celsius. Middle rack. That’s the setup.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add the bell peppers and onion. You’re looking for them to soften, to go from firm to kind of yielding when you stir them. About 6 minutes. Don’t rush this — the vegetables should start picking up color at the edges.

Ground pork goes in next. Break it apart as it hits the oil. Stir constantly. You want it to crumble, not clump together in one mass. Takes about 8 minutes. When it’s mostly brown but not fully, move to the next step — it’ll keep cooking.

Stir in the chili seasoning and cumin. Just two minutes. The spices should bloom a little, release their smell. You’ll know when it’s right.

Pour everything else in — tomatoes, beans, corn, chipotle sauce. Stir it once. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for around 20 minutes. The sauce thickens, gets darker, starts to smell like it’s actually been simmering. Taste it now. Salt and pepper. Adjust.

How to Get the Tortilla Crust Crispy on Green Chile and Pork

Spoon the chili into six ramekins evenly. Two-thirds full or so. Arrange them on a baking sheet.

Mix milk and olive oil in a shallow dish. Just whisk them together. Nothing fancy.

Dip each tortilla into that milk mixture fast. Not a soak. A dip. One second in, out. They should be moist but not falling apart.

Lay cheese on one half of each tortilla — not too thin, not heaping. Fold it in half. Press gently so the cheese doesn’t slide out. It will anyway sometimes. That’s fine.

Set the folded tortilla on top of each ramekin of chili. Press down a little. You want contact between the tortilla and the chili, not just sitting on top.

Bake for 18 minutes. The tortillas go golden and crispy at the edges. The cheese melts through. You’ll see it browning.

Pull everything out. Let it sit for 5 minutes. The ramekins stay hot for a while — careful when you pick them up.

Chile Verde Pork Recipe Tips and Common Mistakes

Don’t skip the dipping step with the milk and oil. Sounds weird. It keeps the tortillas from drying out too much in the oven while they still crisp up. They end up with this weird texture that actually works — crispy outside, chewy inside.

The chili simmering for 20 minutes matters. That’s when the flavors settle. Everything melds. You can go longer if you want — 25, 30 minutes. The sauce just gets thicker and darker. Nothing wrong with that.

Chipotle sauce is the thing here. Don’t use regular hot sauce instead. Wrong heat profile. Too vinegary. The chipotle adds smoke, which makes it taste like someone actually worked on this.

Frozen corn is fine. Fresh would be better in summer. Canned works too. Just drain it first.

If the tortillas tear while you’re dipping them — and they will sometimes — just keep going. Use it anyway. The chili holds it together in the oven.

Chili Verde Recipe with Ground Pork

By Emma

Prep:

20 min

Cook:

43 min

Total:

63 min

Servings:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 25 ml oil (1 1/2 tablespoons) vegetable
• 480 g lean ground pork
• 20 ml chili seasoning mix
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) ground cumin
• 1 can 796 ml tomatoes diced
• 1 can 540 ml kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 100 g (2/3 cup) frozen corn kernels
• 50 ml (3 1/2 tablespoons) smoky chipotle sauce
• Crust
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) milk
• 35 ml (2 1/3 tablespoons) olive oil
• 6 wheat tortillas 20 cm (8 inch) diameter
• 180 g (6 oz) sliced cheddar cheese

Method

1. Pork Chili
2. 1 Preheat oven to 195 C (385 F). Position oven rack in middle.
3. 2 Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Sauté until softened, about 6 minutes.
4. 3 Add ground pork to pot. Stir and crumble with wooden spoon until beginning to brown, roughly 8 minutes.
5. 4 Stir in chili seasoning and cumin. Cook 2 minutes, stirring.
6. 5 Pour in diced tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, and chipotle sauce. Reduce heat to low.
7. 6 Simmer uncovered until sauce thickens, around 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
8. 7 Spoon chili evenly into six ramekins (375 ml each). Arrange on baking sheet.
9. Tortilla Crust
10. 8 In a shallow dish, whisk together milk and olive oil.
11. 9 Quickly dip tortillas into milk mixture to moisten without soaking.
12. 10 Place cheese evenly over one half of each tortilla. Fold tortillas over cheese to form half-moons sealing in cheese.
13. 11 Place tortilla crusts atop chili-filled ramekins, pressing down gently.
14. 12 Bake for 18 minutes or until tortillas crisp and turn golden brown.
15. 13 Remove from oven. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information

Calories

370

Protein

22g

Carbs

25g

Fat

18g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Chili Verde Pork Recipe

Can I use ground beef instead of pork for this chili pork recipe? Yeah. Ground beef works. Tastes a bit heavier. Brown it the same way. Don’t overcrowd the pan or it steams instead of browning.

How long does the chile verde pork recipe keep in the fridge? Three days easy. Maybe four. The tortilla gets soft but the chili tastes better on day two, so it balances out. Reheat in the oven at 160 Celsius until it’s warm through.

Can I make this taco casserole without the tortilla crust? Just eat the pork with green chiles as a chili. Works cold, works hot, works on rice, works on toast. The tortilla crust is nice but not required.

What if I don’t have chipotle sauce? You need the smoke somehow. Smoked paprika works — use about 2 milliliters. Or just skip it and add more regular hot sauce. It’ll be different but not bad.

Can I use a casserole dish instead of ramekins? Sure. Spread the chili in a 9-by-13 baking dish. Use six tortillas cut to fit, or overlap them. Same 18 minutes in the oven. Just watch the edges — they brown faster in a wide dish.

Can I prep this ahead and bake it later? Make the chili the day before. Keep it in the fridge. Assemble the whole thing the morning you want to bake it, cover it, and bake when ready. Add a few minutes to the time if it’s cold from the fridge — maybe 20 or 22 minutes instead of 18.

Do I have to use kidney beans? Black beans work. Pinto beans work. Black beans make it taste a bit earthier. Doesn’t matter much.