Easiest Chile Verde {Instant Pot}

4.66 from 20 votes

Easiest Chile Verde {Instant Pot}

Truly the easiest Chile Verde recipe, you will get fabulous flavor here and all you do is chop the ingredients and dump them into the pot. No need to roast the vegetables beforehand. And though this recipe is ready in less than an hour, I highly recommend you let the completed Chile Verde sit in the fridge at least overnight but seriously, if you can make it two days ahead of serving, this will rival any authentic Mexican restaurant's Verde.

Prep Time15

Cook Time28

Total Time43

Course: Instant Pot

Servings: servings

Calories: 266kcal

Author: Good Dinner Mom

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed, toasted and ground
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 to 2-inch chunks**
¾ pound tomatillos, about 4 tomatillos, quarterd, husks discarded
⅔ pound Poblano peppers, about 2 peppers, roughly choppd, seeds and stems discarded
6 ounces Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers, about 2 peppers, roughly chopped, seeded and stemmed
2 jalapeno or serrano chilles, roughly chopped, keep seeds, discard stems (1 extra for added heat, if desired)
½ yellow bell pepper, roughly chopped
½ cup green onions, rough chopped
1 medium white onion, about 1 cup, roughly chopped
7-8 medium cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon dried Mexican Oregano
Generous pinch of Kosher salt
1-2 habenero peppers, roughly chopped, with or without seeds depending on desired heat
½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and fine stems, about ½ ounce, plus more for garnish
½ to 1 Tablespoon Asian fish sauce
Flour or corn tortillas and lime wedges, for serving
Prepared long or short-grain white rice, black or pinto beans, enough for serving ,optional

Instructions

Heat heavy bottomed pot to medium-high and add 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds. Heat until seeds start to brown and become fragrant (watch to prevent burning), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Grind in an electric grinder or by hand with a mortar and pestle. Set aside until needed. See notes if you only have ground cumin.
In an Instant Pot or other stove top pressure cooker, combine 4 pounds pork, ¾ pound tomatillos, ⅔ pound Poblano peppers, 6 ounces Anaheim peppers, 2 jalapeños or Serranos, ½ yellow pepper, ½ cup green 1 onion, 7-8 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 Tablespoon cumin, and salt (also add 1-2 habanero pepper and additional Serranos if you want added heat).
Press Saute button (for Instant Pot), then adjust to High. Heat until gently sizzling. Now place lid on cooker, select Manual button/Normal Pressure, Sealing function, and adjust time to 28 minutes. Once pressure cooking time is up, release pressure with Quick Release method.
Using tongs, or slotted spoon if pork pieces are small, transfer pork to a bowl and set aside. Add ½ cup cilantro and ½-1 Tablespoon fish sauce to remaining contents in the pressure cooker. Blend with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender, then season to taste with salt, about 1 ½ teaspoons. Return pork to the sauce and stir gently to combine. Serve immediately OR better yet, cool and place in 6 quart container with lid and keep in refrigerator for up to 3 days, at least overnight. Reheat over medium heat on stovetop and enjoy.

Notes

If you only have ground cumin, I still recommend roasting it on the stove until fragrant. This enhances the cumin. When roasting the ground cumin, only heat on medium and stir frequently, watching to prevent burning.
It's a good idea to wear kitchen gloves when chopping your peppers for this recipe. Just a good practice for anytime you handle peppers with any amount of heat.
The 15 minute prep time indicated in the recipe is with the assumption that your meat is already cut. I always ask the butcher to do it and some stores have pre-cut pork shoulder for chile verde already in the meat section. If you're cutting your own meat, allow another 15 minutes for this step.
If your pork is cut in small pieces to begin with, the step where you remove the pork from the vegetables will be a bit tedious. If you're not wanting to be patient with this step, you can cut the meat into larger pieces to begin with and then cut them down more after they're removed from the stew prior to blending.

Nutrition