New mexico green chile stew with ground beef and potatoes

February 5, 2019 Beef, Pork, Lamb, Green Chile, Soups & Stews

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.

A quick and easy green chile stew made with ground beef, New Mexico green chile, and beans. Great for when you’re in a hurry and craving for a bowl of green chile stew and even better the next day.

“*” See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.

Course: Main Course, soups & stews

Cuisine: New Mexico

Keyword: green chile, ground beef

Yields: 6 servings

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

Toppings

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.