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This chile colorado recipe combines tender pieces of beef with a rich and flavorful red chile sauce. Serve with Mexican rice and corn tortillas for an authentic and traditional Mexican dinner!
Chile colorado is one of my family’s staple recipes and I’ve finally recreated it.
Made of tender pieces of beef simmered in a rich and flavorful red chile sauce, chile colorado is one of my favorite things I ate growing up. I have fond memories of coming home from school and eagerly walking to the kitchen to see what my dad had cooked for me that day. If it was chile colorado, I was a happy girl.
Here’s why I love this recipe:
- It’s hearty and comforting. Chile colorado is very similar to a stew, making it an ultimate bowl of comforting warm and rich flavors with soft and tender beef.
- It’s hands-off. Once the red chile sauce is made, you just pour all the ingredients together and let it simmer and build that amazing flavor.
What Is Chile Colorado?
Chile colorado translates to “red chile”, which highlights the rich red chile sauce that is the star of this recipe. Chunks of beef stew meat are simmered in this delicious sauce until tender and is usually served with Mexican rice and beans. My version is an attempt to recreate my childhood memories and will probably never taste as good as my Dad made it, but I think I came pretty close!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Dried chiles: The most important part of this recipe is the red chile sauce, and dried chiles are what gives the red chile colorado sauce all the flavor! I used a mix of guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles that are then rehydrated and blended with additional ingredients. I recommend using dried chiles since the flavor is hard to replicate with fresh chiles. They can be found in the Mexican aisle at your local grocery store or a specialty Mexican grocer. If you can’t find any close to you, you can order them online here.
- Onion and garlic: Add more flavor to the red sauce.
- Cumin and oregano: Simple Mexican seasonings to compliment the flavor of the chiles.
- Beef stew meat: I used beef chuck roast since it’s great for slow cooking and braising, and it absorbs the flavor of the sauce really well.
- All-purpose flour: Lightly coating the beef in all-purpose flour helps it develop a crust when browning which adds so much goodness, and also helps thicken the sauce.
- Salt and pepper: Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper add a layer of flavor to the beef.
- Beef broth: Adds a layer of savoriness and richness to the chile colorado. If you don’t have beef broth, I recommend using vegetable or chicken broth.
- Bay leaves: Adding a couple of bay leaves to the chile colorado gives it an earthy and herbal flavor.
How to Make Chile Colorado
Make the red chile sauce. Add the dried guajillo chiles, ancho chiles, and árbol chiles, along with the onion in a pot of water, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and soak for 20 minutes. It’s important to take the pot off the heat and not to allow it to continue to boil since it can give the chiles a bitter taste. You want to gently rehydrate and soften them. Add the softened chiles and onions into a large blender along with some of the chile-soaked water, the dried oregano, salt, garlic and cumin and blend until smooth.
Brown the meat by tossing it with flour, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl. Add half the batch to a large pot or Dutch oven and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the browned beef to a separate bowl and repeat this process with the remaining meat.
Add the beef to the pot along with the red chile sauce, broth, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, then uncover and give it a taste to see if it needs more salt. Cook for a little longer uncovered to reduce the red sauce and thicken it up before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Swap the protein. You can easily swap the beef stew meat for pork (I recommend pork shoulder) or even chicken (I recommend chicken thighs).
- Make it vegetarian. While it won’t be authentic, you can easily make this dish vegetarian by using nopales instead of beef. Prepare the nopales (here’s a quick post on how to cook nopales) and then toss them together with the red chile sauce for about 15 minutes. You could also use potatoes or chickpeas, or a combination of your favorite hearty veggies.
- Add richness. Add ⅛ tablet of Mexican chocolate to the red chile sauce for a hint of sweetness and earthy flavor from the cocoa.
- Make it in the slow cooker. For a more hands off recipe, you can make this chile colorado in the slow cooker. Just make the red sauce and sear the beef as directed, add all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Keep in mind that the texture of the beef will be different and will likely be fall-apart tender and shredded instead of little chunks.
- Make it in the Instant Pot. Make the red sauce as directed, sear the beef using the sauté function on the Instant Pot. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 40 minutes using the manual setting. Keep in mind that the texture of the beef may be different and may be fall-apart tender and shredded instead of little chunks.
Serving Chile Colorado
I like to serve myself a good helping of this chile colorado alongside some authentic Mexican rice and homemade tortilla chips. It makes me feel like I’m back in my Mom’s kitchen. It’s just so good, so comforting, and oh-so satisfying. Here are a few other ways I like to enjoy it:
- Served with homemade corn tortillas or flour tortillas.
- Paired with a side of cilantro lime rice and pinto beans.
- In a burrito with lots of shredded cheese, refried beans, Mexican crema, and guacamole.
Storing and Reheating
Chile colorado can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
To reheat, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight if frozen, then heat in the microwave or in a pot over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes until heated. Make sure to cover the pot or container since the chile can splatter and stain!
More Mexican Recipes
If you tried this Chile Colorado Recipe or any other recipe on Isabel Eats, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below! I love hearing about your experience making it!
Chile Colorado
Ingredients
- 8 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 árbol chiles, stemmed
- ½ yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 pounds beef stew meat, like chuck shoulder or roast, cut into ½-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Make the red chile sauce. Add the guajllo chiles, ancho chiles, árbol chiles, and onion to a medium pot. Cover with water until they’re completely submerged and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let it sit for 20 minutes to soften the peppers.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles and onions into a large blender. Add in 1 cup of the chile-soaked water, the dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Add some of the beef broth from the meat ingredients as needed if the mixture is too thick for your blender. Set aside.
- Toss together the beef, flour, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a large bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add in half of the meat and brown on all sides so they have a good sear, about 5 minutes. Transfer the browned beef into a bowl and repeat the process with the remaining uncooked meat.
- Add all the meat back into the pot, and add in the blended red chile sauce, broth, and bay leaf. Stir to combine and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes or until the meat is tender.
- Uncover, taste, and add more salt as necessary. Raise to medium heat and cook for another 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. If you prefer a thicker sauce, cook longer.
- Discard bay leaves and serve with Mexican rice and beans.
Video
Notes
- Make ahead. The red chile sauce can be made ahead and stored in the freezer for up to 6 months until needed.
- Swap the protein. You can easily swap the beef stew meat for pork (I recommend pork shoulder) or even chicken (I recommend chicken thighs).
- Make it vegetarian. While it won’t be authentic, you can easily make this dish vegetarian by using nopales instead of beef. Prepare the nopales (here’s a quick post on how to cook nopales) and then toss them together with the red chile sauce for about 15 minutes. You could also use potatoes or chickpeas, or a combination of your favorite hearty veggies.
- Add richness. Add ⅛ tablet of Mexican chocolate to the red chile sauce for a hint of sweetness and earthy flavor from the cocoa.
- Make it in the slow cooker. For a more hands off recipe, you can make this chile colorado in the slow cooker. Just make the red sauce and sear the beef as directed, add all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Keep in mind that the texture of the beef will be different and will likely be fall-apart tender and shredded instead of little chunks.
- Make it in the Instant Pot. Make the red sauce as directed, sear the beef using the sauté function on the Instant Pot. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 40 minutes using the manual setting. Keep in mind that the texture of the beef may be different and may be fall-apart tender and shredded instead of little chunks.
- To make gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour like tapioca starch or white rice flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in October 2017 and has been updated with new photos and more helpful tips.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
Chile Colorado is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. My grandfather introduced it to me when I was a boy. It’s the one thing I look for when I eat out in a Mexican restaurant. The number of recipes out there for this dish are far and wide. Your recipe hits the spot. I added 1 extra Arbol to the mix, and my wife complained that it was too spicy. Next time, I’ll have to cut back. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be saving this one.
Hi Geoff! Thank you so much for sharing! We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Making this again today for the hundredth time. It is soooo good. i Follow the recipe exactly and it is always amazing.
I use boneless country style pork ribs cut into cubes. This meat is super tender after 60-90 minutes of cooking. You have to cut off visible fat before cooking.
I can’t wait to make this, my childhood was constantly surrounded by the Mexican influences of the hard working farming community. There was plenty of authentic cuisine to taste from in my town. My absolute favorite was a chili Colorado made by a mother/grandmother team back in the late 70’s at a small restaurant in town.
Curious question, I wonder if using corn flour instead of AP flour on the beef would lend more authentic flavor or take away from the dish.
In the video it looks like a whole onion quartered, but the recipe says 1/2 onion quartered. So need some clarification if possible.
I’ll need to run to the carniceria again to pick up some dried Ancho peppers, I picked up New Mexico chili’s by accident.
Oh and why do some people use tomatoes?
I’m going for authenticity so I’ll follow your recipe to the letter. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Grady! We hope you enjoyed this recipe! We used 1/2 of a large onion so that probably why it looks like that. You can also definitely try to use corn flour instead, that will give it a nice flavor too! Some people use tomatoes to make the sauce less “stew-like” and more like a salsa consistency, but both are delicious! Let us know how it turns out.
Thank You!! I’ve been looking for this recipe ever since I lived in Tucson 50 years ago as a kid. A small out of the way restaurant had the greatest Chili Colorado and I’ve been looking for a match ever since and this is it!
I did modify it a bit as the wife bought the incorrect peppers, Pasilla instead of Arbol. I subbed 4 Pasilla in place of 4 of the Guajillo and for the heat I used 6 2-3 inch long home grown Jalapenos instead of the Arbol. OMG it was awesome!!
For some who have asked, I used a 6qt Instant Pot and it worked great. I made the sauce as directed, sauteed the beef in the instant pot, used a cup of the beef broth to de-glaze, and then added the sauce and rest of the broth and hit Stew (35 Min High Pressure). Did a full release instead of Natural and it came out perfect. Beef was so tender and the sauce was rich and thick, I didn’t have to use corn starch and water at all for thickening.
Tonight I’m putting a Cajun twist on this and using Andouille sausage for the meat and chicken stock. I know it will be great!!
Thanks Isabel and I promise to get the right peppers next time so I can do the original. I have no doubt it will be as good if not better than how I modified.
Thank you so much for sharing Brian! Let us know how your cajun version turns out!
I made your Chile Colorado 9/9/22 it came out a little too rich and salty for my pallet. I would love to make it again what do I need to do to make right and more of a Mexican flavor thank you GREG FLIKE
Hi Greg! To make it less rich, you can change a couple things on the sauce. You can reduce the chiles to 6 guajillos, 1 ancho and 1 arbol, and then reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp. You can also leave the sauce as is and just add 1 more cup of broth also.
This was really really good. Instantly brought me back to something my Abuela would have made for the family. Ended up simmering the meat for ~3 hours or so and it came out perfect.
Hi! I was just gifted chuck roast that needs to be used ASAP and this recipe sounds delicious! Plus, I have all of the ingredients on hand! Unfortunately it’s over 100 degrees today so I don’t want to turn on the stove. I was hoping to use my Instant Pot. Have you ever made this in your Instant Pot or do you have any thoughts about how long I would cook it? Many thanks!
Hi Maria! We haven’t tried this in the instant pot, but in general I would suggest to make the sauce, brown the meat in the instant pot, and then add the sauce into it and cook on stew.
Hi Maria!
I know this is months after you asked… But I always use pressure cooker for this type of dish. You can experiment with time and pressure release, but I would likely do 15 min high pressure, natural release. If not done enough, add more time, or maybe you find you need less time and quick release. Pretty forgiving. I love how tender beef and pork get in the pressure cooker.
This dish is absolutely amazing. It is better than at any restaurant I’ve eaten it at. I follow the recipe exactly, the only modification I make as I do not strain and the peppers. I have made it both ways and I find it five times more flavorful if I do not strain them.
Unbelievably Delicious! Getting ready to make it again.