Throwback Thursday – Quick & Easy Green Chile Stew
This quick & easy Green Chile Stew is a dish I throw together whenever I don’t have a lot of time, but have a serious craving for green chile stew. It’s made with ground beef and pinto beans rather than sirloin, potatoes and tomatoes in our regular green chile stew. It does have a little different flavor because of some different ingredients. However, as with all green chile stews, the meat is not the star – the green chile is! So as long as you have roasted New Mexico green chile, it doesn’t matter if you use beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or no meat at all. It’s all good!
I was first introduced to this version of green chile stew back in the 70’s. It was the stew served at a neighborhood New Mexican restaurant we used to frequent. When the restaurant closed in the early 90’s, I started making it at home. It is extremely simple to make and, if you already have roasted chiles and cooked pinto beans, this stew comes together in about 30 minutes.
This recipe was originally posted in 2011 during the making of our New Mexico Chile Burn video. A few small changes have been made to the original, but only changes that make it better than before. I hope you enjoy!
Quick & Easy Green Chile Stew
New Mexico roasted, green chile can be purchased fresh in the late summer through fall, then roasted, peeled, packaged, and frozen for use later in the year. You can also buy it frozen or canned year round from several New Mexico suppliers. At some grocery stores one can find it in the frozen food aisle or in cans in the ethnic food aisle.
“*” See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
- 1 tsp. coriander seeds
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef (optional for vegetarians*)
- ½ medium onion, minced
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 4 to 6 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock (varies with amount of chile used)
- 1 to 3 cups roasted, peeled, chopped green chile*
- 2 cups cooked pinto beans*
- ¼ to ½ tsp. salt, to taste
- 6 Flour or corn tortillas
- grated cheese Cheddar or Montery Jack
- minced onion
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the coriander seeds and toast, shaking often, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until aromatic and lightly toasted. Transfer seeds to a spice grinder or mortar and grind.
- Add the oil, beef, onion and garlic to the hot pot. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add 4 cups of stock, the green chile, and ½ tsp. ground coriander. Cook for 15 minutes. (Add more liquid if needed)
Add the pinto beans. Cook for 10 minutes. Taste and add salt, if needed.
Serve. Top each bowl with grated cheese and minced onion.
Serve with warmed flour tortillas, corn tortillas or cornbread.
Make ahead of time – As with most stews and soups, it’s best to make the day before. This stew is no exception. The flavor and heat from the chile intensifies and all the flavors just come together for a delicious bowl of goodness.
Roasted Green chile – The range for the amount of chile is based on the heat index of the chile and how hot you want your stew. With medium chile, you could probably add at least 2 cups, if not 3. With medium to hot chile, add 1 cup, then taste and add more if needed.
Pinto Beans – Cook from dried beans ahead of time or used canned beans. No need to drain the beans. The bean broth just adds more flavor to the stew.
Vegetarian version – Omit the meat, use water or vegetable broth, and add a large diced potato and a can of diced tomatoes. You could also add more green chile if desired.
Servings – This recipe provides at least two meals for two people. Sometimes there might be 1 serving leftover for a lunch.
Next time you get a craving for green chile, I hope you give this Quick & Easy Green Chile Stew a try. As mentioned in the recipe, it takes only 40 minutes from start to finish (provided you already have the roasted green chile). It’s tasty on day one and even better on days 2 and 3.
Below are other ideas that might satisfy your green chile craving as well. Be sure to check out my green chile category as well. There you will find an abundance of green chile recipes and the list keeps growing.
Wonderful. A keeper
Thanks Marlene! So glad you like it. Cheers, MJ
So, I may have asked you this before….have you ever had the vegetarian green chile at Eske’s in Taos? I’ve tried to duplicate that for years. But with these recipes here, I have some go-tos for quick dinners!
Hey Debra, No I haven’t had the vegetarian stew in Taos. In fact I’ve never been to Eske’s. I’ll have to try it next we’re up there. I have made this stew with beans and potatoes and not meat and it was excellent. Hope you give it a try.
Could you substitute the fresh chili peppers for green chili pepper powder and still get the same outcome of flavor? If so, how much would you use?
Good morning Daisy. Good question. Substituting chile powder for the roasted chile in a stew is always tricky, but can be done. Too much chile powder can cause the stew to get muddy, so the right balance of powder to other ingredients is important. For this recipe I would increase the onion to 1 cup and add 1/2 of a large green bell pepper (roasted if possible, but not necessary). At the end of the vegetable and meat sauté add 2 Tbsp. chile powder and cook, stirring for about a minute. Slowly add the liquid because the powder is going to create a roux of sorts. Simmer the stew for about 15 minutes, then if possible, let it rest at least 30 minutes to allow the powder to reconstitute. Then reheat, taste, add a little more chile powder if needed but no more than another tablespoon. Add the beans, finish cooking and serve. I’ve personally never done this, but if I were to, this would be my process. Good luck and please let me know how it turns out. Thanks for contacting me! MJ
Sounds great–How might this be adapted as an easy crockpot recipe? Thank you!
Thanks AC! Well….let’s see. I don’t have a crockpot, so this would be guessing. You would probably want to brown the meat first, then just dump everything else in the crockpot to finish cooking, but I have no idea for how long. Definitely would use canned beans. At this point all the crockpot would be doing is finishing cooking the meat and heating the rest up allowing for the flavors to meld. That’s just a guess 🙂 Let me know how it goes. I’m sure others would like to know.
I made this for dinner tonight. In Jim’s words: This is quite delicious!
Instead of ground beef, I used turkey and cannellini beans, and turkey broth, Otherwise it was about the same. I may have used a good bit more of the cumin/coriander blend. The flavor was so so good. This is destined to be a staple.
YAY! As long as you have good chile, you can use any meat or beans, because it’s the chile that makes the dish. 🙂 So glad y’all enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know.
Sounds great – need to give it a try. Cheers
Thanks Carole!
So funny! I made something very similar to this last night with ground chicken and I used some leftover green chile sauce that I had frozen. Combined with chicken broth, it turned out pretty good. I know yous had to have been!
Thanks Abbe! I’m sure your chicken and chile soup was delicious! I love a good chicken and green chile soup, but haven’t used ground chicken much. Might have to try it sometime.
I still remember when, thanks to you, I discovered the taste of roasted green chile. It wasn’t the variety you use, it wasn’t certainly as good as the New Mexico green chile, but I loved it. It’s so warming and refreshing at the same time… This soup doesn’t look quick and easy at all (though I believe you!), but rather as a complex sophisticated meal! And so beautiful!
I would make it this weekend if I had some leftover frozen chile… It’ll have to wait next summer!
Thanks so much Darlin!!! I remember when first time you tried it as well. 🙂 It’s such a unique flavor and transforms the chile just like roasting red bell pepper transform the raw pepper. This soup is REALLY quite and easy if you already have the roasted chile, which I assume everyone has since it’s a staple like an onion is a staple. ha ha I’ll remind you this summer about this recipe so you can either make it or freeze enough to make it in cooler weather. XOXO
I have some roasted green jalapenos that would work perfectly in this dish. Such a strong and lovely flavour combination, this is definitely comforting soul food. Thanks for sharing 8)
Thanks Merryn! Roasted jalapenos…that’s going to be one delicious bowl of chile with a serious kick. 🙂 Hope you enjoy.
This looks so tasty and perfect for a cold winter meal. Alas, I’m still trying to find a Hatch pepper substitute here. I tried a canned green pepper from the Middle East, but it had no heat to it. My local veggie market has ordered a lug Spanish pepper she thinks will work that should arrive this week. If it does, this will be the first dish I make.
Thanks Ron! You’re already getting peppers in your markets? I’m jealous! 🙂 I’m not sure what a “lug pepper” is. I couldn’t find it on the Internet so it will be interesting to see what it is. Send me a picture, por favor. I hope they do work, because I’m sure you’ll love this chile.
The last time I was in New Mexico, I had such amazing food . . . food that I’ve never experienced anywhere else since it was totally unique to N.M. I’ve never seen N.M. green chili in the marketplace, MJ. What do I use that is a close substitute?
xoxo
Roz
Thank you so much Roz! Sorry for the late reply. Yes, New Mexico does have a very unique cuisine IMO. One that I absolutely love, but then that’s no surprise. 🙂 What can you substitute? The primary thing you would need to look for is a meaty chile. NM chile is a close to the anahiem chile which is grown in California. If you can find large meaty poblanos, those might as well. You will need to roast them. Smaller chile don’t work very well because, once roasted, you don’t have a lot of “meat”. Hope this helps!
You know I’m going to try this with Anasazi beans. I still have plenty of chiles in the freezer! Thanks!
Perfect Debra! Anasazi, pinto and bolita would be my three recommendations for the perfect in this stew. Enjoy!
This green chile stew is perfect for warming us up on these chilly days! I always get a bunch of New Mexico chilies when they’re in season and keep them in the freezer for special dishes like this one. So glad I did! This looks delicious!
Thanks Kelly! So excited to meet another green chile lover! Hope you get a chance to make this. Great for cold weather.
Oh, Matt is gonna love this! And we could use something warm about now with all this snow!
Thanks Judy! It’s been a cold hasn’t it? Hope you enjoy. Stay warm!
Oh boy ! I can already imagine the flavours ! Four seasons dish, at least at our home !
Thanks Darling! For me, this is a four season meal, but Bobby isn’t a fan of hot soups and stews in the summer; therefore, I try to get my fix during the cooler months. 🙂
We ate such terrific local fare in NM and I miss it. This stew looks very approachable and perfect for Friday when the temps plummet again! Thanks, MJ!
Thanks Liz! I’m sure you’ve had green chile stew during one of your NM visits. Now you can make it at home. 🙂
This sounds like the perfect February stew; now, if I could just get my act together to make it a day ahead… definitely craving warmth these days. It never occurred to me to check the frozen food aisle for roasted NM green chile, great idea! Thanks MJ.
Thanks Kelly! I know that Bueno Foods sells frozen chile commercially and there may be another brand. So yes, check the freezer section next time you’re at the store. Let me know if you find any.
With another cold and windy day on the horizon, a warm and welcoming hot dish of green chile sounds so inviting. The quick and easy takes care of the busy day, what will we have for dinner dilemma.
Thanks Deb! I know right? It’s been a colder than usual winter and I really feel for those in the north. Bet they are cooking up A LOT of soups and stews. 🙂 Yes, this is a great stew for a busy day. Enjoy!
This looks quite good… I have been really into soups recently! – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
Thanks Gingi! Cold weather certainly makes one crave a nice hot bowl of soup.
Love chili, esp. in this time of the year…so flavourful, warming and tasty!
Thanks Angie!
Perfect for a cold winter night.
Absolutely! Thanks Sharon!
I still have frozen green chilies on hand, so I’m good to go with the ingredients for this. Love dishes like this, particularly when the weather has been kinda cold and gloomy, as it has been lately. Thanks for this. 🙂
Well, I hope you still have chiles on hand. It’s only February. 🙂 Bobby always teases me about filling the freezer with chile every fall to where we don’t have room for anything else. Thanks John!
So much flavor with just a handful of ingredients and a wee little bit of time. Loving these kind of recipes. May try to do this in the instant pot/slow cooker and have something ready for the boys. Just pinned!
Thanks Bobbi! It’s quite spicy so I know your boys would love it! 🙂
Hi MJ – Love this version and I’ll be trying it very soon. I’ve never thought to make Green Chile with ground beef. Pinning.
Thanks so much Lea Ann! Probably a dish you could use in your instant pot, but probably wouldn’t need to since it’s so easy to make. 🙂 Hope you enjoy.
Oh my, your green chile stew is calling my name!! I love that you put beans in it, you know my husband would never go for that but it sounds so delicious to me! Can you imagine this ladled over a fry bread for the best Navajo Taco!! So So Good!!
Thanks so much Jan! The fry bread idea is a great one!!! Love it! So your husband isn’t a bean man or he just doesn’t like beans in green chile stew? I can’t imagine a person who doesn’t like beans, but then I’m a bean fanatic. 🙂