The Greenest Chili

This is not a traditional “green chili”, it was a personal challenge for me to make the greenest chili I could possibly make! I put every ingredient I could possibly think of that was green and would taste good in a chili into this soup. It came out so green! But also so good! The slow cooked pork and beef add so much amazing flavor to the dish, and all the green ingredients worked well together in the final dish.
Where did I come up with this idea?
My friend recently told me that there is too much green in my photos and on my blog in general so I made this recipe to spite her. But COME ON! Green is the best color to eat. Fact. There are arguments for red and brown but green wins everytime. I wanted to make a green chili but just really go for it in the color department. I put tomatillos, poblano peppers, green bell peppers, serrano chiles, collard greens, broccoli, and even some chopped cilantro at the last minute to make this the greenest chili I have ever seen.
Start by roasting the poblano and tomatillo
Tomatillos and poblano peppers are roasted to form the base for this soup. It not only adds a great flavor but helps make the broth for the chili the greenest it can possibly be!

Blend up the tomatillos and poblanos with some water and set it aside for later.

Sear the beef
Sear the meat on all sides, then cook it for an hour in chicken stock. This step is required because the beef takes about an hour longer than the collard greens and pork to get really tender. If we added it all together, the pork would be overcooked and the greens would be falling apart.

Saute the greenest chili base
When about an hour has passed, start to build the soup. Peppers and onion in first, then garlic.

Then the tomatillo mixture followed by the beef and stock it was cooked in. Looking green!

Finishing the greenest chili
Add the chopped collard greens to the soup and let it simmer a while. The broccoli goes in a bit later.

Once the meats are tender and everything is cooked, mash up the meats with a potato masher to get them nice and shredded.

Finally, kill the heat and stir in some cilantro. Adding the cilantro at the very end keeps the chili at it’s vibrant greenest. As you can see the chili is looking a little brown-green at this point and the cilantro helps freshen it up.

This chili has so much flavor and just enough kick from the serrano peppers. The green color also becomes a green flavor from all those green ingredients melding together.

Serving the greenest chili
This chili is loaded with so much good stuff. And so much green stuff! Top it with a little sour cream and dig in!

A great hearty meal for these cold october nights!

Twists on the greenest chili
You could make this with other greens or herbs. Spinach would work instead of the collard greens, I would just add it much later in the cooking process. You could also do parsley or basil if you don’t like cilantro.
If you are looking for an actual traditional green chili, check out this one. Or how about a vegetarian version?
For more chili goodness, check out my gnocchi chili bowls, this cornbread chili pie, or my all time favorite chili.
The Greenest Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 tomatillos
- 6 poblano chiles
- 2 pounds beef chuck stewing meat
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 7 serrano peppers diced, seeds removed if you are a baby
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 head broccoli chopped
- 1 bunch collard greens stems removed, chopped
- 1 pound pork tenderloin sliced against the grain in 2 inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped very small
- sour cream for garnish
Instructions
- Remove the papery shell from the tomatillos and rinse well. Quarter them. Chop the poblanos into large chunks. Place the tomatillos and poblanos onto a baking sheet with lots of olive oil and salt and roast at 450 for about 15-20 minutes until soft and slightly charred. Place into a large bowl with 1 quart of water and blend until smooth.
- Sear the beef on all sides in a hot pan wit some oil. Brown really well. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, saute the onion and both peppers in some oil in another pan. About 7-10 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add in the cumin and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatillo puree. Add the beef and liquids to the pot. Also add in the collard greens and the pork. Simmer for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Add in the broccoli along with the vinegar and cook another half hour. Taste the broth for seasoning and add more salt or cumin if needed. By now the meats should be very tender. Use a potato masher to shred all the meats right into the soup. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve with sour cream.
As a fan of all things Green, this is awesome.
Green Overload! Looks delicious.
You have green bell peppers and serrano peppers listed in the ingredients, but I don’t see them mentioned in the steps. Are they supposed to be roasted with the tomatillos and poblanos or do they come in later?
Hi Erin!
In step 3 where I say “saute the onion and both peppers” those are the both peppers I am talking about.