Instant Pot Green Chile Stew

Roasted New Mexico hatch chiles give this Instant Pot green chile stew its smoky, slow-simmered flavor, minus the hours on the stove. Tender pork shoulder and potatoes round it out into a proper bowl of comfort food. Stovetop directions are included too, if you’d rather skip the pressure cooker.

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ℹ️ Introduction

Prized for their earthy, buttery flavor, authentic hatch chiles come from New Mexico’s Mesilla Valley, though they’re now grown across the Southwest.

Don’t worry if you can’t find these chiles – I’ll share great substitutes in the tips section below.

These unique peppers are harvested for 6-8 weeks in August and September, celebrated during the annual Hatch Chile Festival.

While they’re available at Whole Foods Markets in the West during the season and online year-round, I wait for my local Harmons’ roasting weekends here in Salt Lake City.

When the aroma of roasting peppers fills the air, I know that summer’s over and fall is here.

I stock up on mild and spicy varieties of these New Mexico chilis, freezing enough for a year’s worth of Mexican dishes, spiced mashed potatoes, and curries.

Today’s recipe – my Instant Pot pork stew – showcases these chiles at their best. It’s a hearty stew where the natural smokiness of the peppers is the star of the recipe.

🧂 Ingredients for Hatch Green Chile with Pork

💡 Recipe and Ingredient Tips

Peppers

Hatch chiles give this stew its smoky backbone. If they’re not available, Anaheim, cubanelle, or poblano peppers all work as substitutes. Buy them pre-roasted, or roast your own: char the skins over an open flame until blackened, cool in a paper bag, then peel. Bottled or canned roasted chiles work too, if you’d rather skip roasting.

Meat

Trimmed pork shoulder or country-style ribs are the best cut for the Instant Pot. If you want to swap in a different protein, chicken needs just 4 minutes (cook the potatoes and chicken together), while beef chuck needs about 15 to 20 minutes.

Seasonings

If you can’t find Mexican Oregano, substitute marjoram, or use a smaller amount of regular oregano – it comes from a different plant family, so a little goes a long way.

Broth

Use low-sodium chicken broth so you can control the salt yourself. For extra depth, deglaze the pot with a ¼ cup of white wine before adding the broth.

Vegetables

Yukon gold or red potatoes work best for me – pressure cook for about 2 minutes or more depending on how soft you like them. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or other root vegetables make good substitutes. Stir in a handful of spinach at the end and let it wilt for extra greens.

Thickeners

Optional, but if you want a thicker stew: mix equal parts softened butter and flour until smooth, then stir it in gradually so it doesn’t clump. For a lighter option, use cornstarch mixed with water instead.

What To Serve With This Stew

This stew is hearty enough to be the whole meal with crusty French bread for scooping up the broth. It’s also good spooned over rice, or with a side of cornbread if you’re leaning into the Southwestern flavors.

⏲️ How to Make Instant Pot Green Chile Stew

1. Peel charred skin and discard. Finely chop roasted chile peppers.
2. Turn on Saute mode. Once the Instant Pot has preheated, add oil to the inner pot and let it heat up. Add onions and garlic. Saute until onions are transparent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Stir in pork, salt, and pepper. Saute until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Deglaze as needed by adding small quantities of broth and using a spatula to loosen the brown bits.
4. Stir in broth, Mexican oregano, chiles, and bay leaves.

1. Close the lid.
2. Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
3. The display will go from On to 20:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
4. Do a 15 minute natural release of pressure or a full natural release. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.

1. Stir in cubed potatoes. Close the lid and pressure cook again for 4 minutes (2 minutes for firm potatoes), and do a quick release of pressure. Open the lid.
2. Stir in chopped cilantro. Serve with crusty French bread.
   
   Optional: to thicken the stew, mix equal parts of softened butter and flour till smooth. Stir mixture into the Instant Pot pork green chili stew before adding cilantro, and simmer until thickened.

♨️ Stovetop Method for Green Chile Stew

1. Peel and chop roasted chile peppers.
2. Trim the pork and sear in oil in a large pot.
3. Saute onions, garlic, Mexican oregano, and bay leaves.
4. Stir in chiles, broth, potatoes.
5. Cook for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours
6. Add potatoes and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
7. Thicken with butter and flour (optional).
8. Stir in cilantro. Serve the soup with crusty french bread.
   
   Get all the details in the recipe card below.