This Instant Pot Chile Pork Stew was inspired by a restaurant that I love to visit any time I’m in Chicago.
The Inspiration
Chef Rick Bayless is an Icon in Mexican cooking. I grew up watching him on TV and couldn’t wait to visit one of his restaurants. So, my first time in Chicago, not having a budget for his signature Frontera Grill, I eagerly visited his fast casual outpost, XOCO. He offers tortas and tacos, but I went for one of his caldos, a hot, complex, murky, magical bowl of soup. I can’t recall the exact caldo that I ordered, but I do remember it had fork tender meat. It had bright red broth with the perfect balance of spice and acid and that hit of fat on the finish that kept me going back to the bowl to the very last slurp.
I wanted to create a soup, or stew rather, inspired by Chef Bayless’ caldos but with easy to find ingredients and done in an hour in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. This is that soup.
One Pot Meal
The best part is that it is truly a one-pot meal. Dump everything in, set the timer and don’t forget the condiments for when it’s ready. To me, garnishing this with red onion, cotija and cilantro is mandatory. They add additional texture and round out the full flavor profile of this meal in a bowl.
You’ll know when the stew is done because you’ll be able to pull the cuts of pork apart easily, but you also don’t want them to turn to mush. So, don’t let this go too long thinking that longer is better. There’s a sweet spot so that the meat pulls apart, but still has enough chew to it.
Slow Cooker?
Don’t have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker? This can be done in a Slow Cooker, too. Just set it on low for 8 hours or high for 6.
I have a similar Mexican Pork Stew recipe that you might also like on my other site, The Dinner Bell.
The Recipe
PrintInstant Pot Chile Pork Stew
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 mins
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
Description
A one-pot Instant Pot Mexican Soup recipe with lots of chiles and pork loin roast.
Ingredients
- 4 lb pork loin Roast, cut into 6 pieces
- 3 – 7oz cans diced green chiles
- 3 poblanos, diced
- 1 red onion, diced (divided)
- 1 15oz can Rotel
- 2 Tbs chili powder
- 2 Tbs Goya Adobo Seasoning
- 1 Tbs paprika
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tsp salt – more to taste
- Cilantro, lime and cotija cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the pork loin roast into 6 pieces and place in the Instant Pot along with 1 can of the diced green chiles (reserve the other two cans for after cooking), the diced poblanos, 1/2 of the diced onion, Rotel, chili powder, adobo seasoning, paprika, water and salt. Select ‘manual’ on the Instant Pot and set the timer for 50 minutes.
- Once the time expires, allow it to naturally release pressure (approx 20 minutes)
- Once the pressure is released, remove the lid and using the back of a spatula, start breaking up the pork pieces so that they become smaller shredded pieces. I personally like to keep some a little large, not completely smashing all of them.
- Add the remaining two cans of diced green chiles and stir.
- Serve with chopped cilantro, crumbled cotija and lime for garnish.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 80 mins
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Mexican
April 7, 2017, 7:56 am
Your recipes “sound” FABULOUS! I’ve started my shopping list! Thanks!
April 8, 2017, 8:06 pm
I hope you enjoy!!!
June 5, 2017, 12:25 pm
Made this recipe yesterday in the slow cooker and it turned out fabulous!! I served it over some brown rice and plan to make tacos with it tonight! Great flavor and will definitely make this again! Another winning recipe Joanie!
★★★★★
June 5, 2017, 1:34 pm
Hooray! How long did you do it in the slow cooker? Just curious for timing sake. So glad you enjoyed it!!! <3
December 28, 2017, 5:30 pm
I have some pulled pork left over and plan to use it for this soup tomorrow. Thinking 20 mins + natural release. My pork is already pretty spicy, so am thinking half the chillies to start off with, can always add if I want more heat.
December 29, 2017, 6:07 pm
Hi Michelle! Sorry for the delayed response. If the pork’s leftover, I would think 10 minutes would be plenty to keep the pork from getting too mushy. Hope it all went well!!
January 25, 2018, 6:57 am
If you were using a pork butt rather than pork loin, how long in Instant Pot?
February 8, 2018, 7:52 pm
Sorry for the delayed response! It’s roughly the same timing, approximately 15 minutes per pound. Here’s a time table that I find to be super helpful: https://instantpot.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/12.07.2017Cooking_Time_Table.pdf
January 26, 2018, 5:09 am
This was just OK. It was very watery when done. Could have used some tomato past or reduced it down.
March 24, 2018, 3:02 pm
Is the remaining 1/2 cup diced onion for garnish? I don’t see it mentioned in the recipe. Thanks!
March 29, 2018, 8:08 am
Ah! Good catch! Yep! It’s garnish for serving.
September 30, 2018, 12:29 pm
Have mad this 3 times in the past couple months! The family and I love it
★★★★★
October 1, 2018, 8:57 am
So glad to hear! Happy Instant-Potting <3
November 6, 2018, 12:57 pm
I want to try this tonight. Did you put this on high in the instant pot for 50 min?
November 6, 2018, 4:00 pm
Yep! Exactly. 50 minutes on manual (or some pots it’s “High”) and then natural release. Cheers!
November 7, 2018, 12:15 pm
I made this last night. I made a couple of tweak, by adding some canned beans (I wanted to make enough to last a few meals) and served with lime. Delicious!!!!
★★★★★
December 12, 2018, 12:14 am
Hey i want to try this recipe but w pork stew meat that I got on sale at Fry’s! How long would I put the manual cooking setting time for??
December 12, 2018, 7:58 am
Is the stew meat already cut up? How many pounds?
December 12, 2018, 5:19 pm
It’s not cut up yet but I will cut it up ❤
December 12, 2018, 6:38 pm
20 min per pound should be about right.
December 14, 2018, 9:29 am
Great recipe. I never take the time to comment but this was super easy and delicious and low carb.
I cubed the meat and seared it first though.
January 5, 2019, 5:18 pm
I made this chili pork stew today and absolutely love it! I served over rice and used less chili powder and less green chili’s but everything else is per recipe. This is a real keeper! Thank you for sharing!?
★★★★★
December 26, 2020, 6:27 am
I made this for our Christmas day dinner and served it with baked brown rice and warm, crusty bread. It was delicious.
I made my own adobo and only used one can of chile, rather than opening a second. I halved the recipe (2 lbs of pork) for the two of us and have more than enough for another meal.
★★★★★
December 28, 2020, 2:11 pm
That is great to hear! Hope it was a happy Christmas!