Mouth-watering Pork Chili with chunks of pork tenderloin, beans, green chilies, and vegetables in a delicious, mildly spicy red broth is a healthy, tasty meal with only 10 minutes of prep.
🐖Ingredients
- Pork tenderloin—other pork discussed in the options.
- Beans—any combination of black, kidney, or white beans.
- Green chiles
- Vegetables—onion, green bell pepper, jalapeno
- Salsa—salsa roja (red) or salsa verde (green)
- Chicken broth—low-sodium
- Seasoning—chili powder, oregano, cumin
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This pork chili recipe, sometimes called pork stew or soup, has that great combination of pork and Mexican flavors. It's a healthy, tasty meal with only 10 minutes of prep, cooked in a crock pot or on the stovetop.
This chili recipe is perfect for Healthy or Low Fat diets with only 3-4 grams of fat per serving. It also is gluten-free.
Check out some of my chili recipes, like Crock Pot Chili, Ultra Simple Crock Pot White Chicken Chili, Crock Pot Texas Chili, and Crock Pot Stew Meat Chili.
Inspired by Jerre's Black Bean and Pork Tenderloin Chili at Allrecipes but with many modifications and options added.
👨🍳How to Make Pork Chili in a Crock Pot or On the Stovetop
- Prep onion and green pepper and chop medium. Prep jalapeno and chop fine.
- Prep tenderloin by removing all trimmable fat and the silverskin. Cut into ¾ to 1-inch cubes.
- Place all ingredients in a crock pot or Dutch oven on the stovetop. Cook on low for 4 hours in the crock pot. Or simmer covered in the Dutch oven for about 2 hours until the pork is tender.
This is a summary of the steps and ingredients. See the recipe card or the step-by-step photo instructions below for complete instructions.
⏰Cooking Time
It is done when the pork is tender and the vegetables tender. In a crock pot, about 4 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high. On the stovetop, about 2 hours.
🥣Options and Variations
- Instead of using salsa roja (red tomato based), make it Pork Chili Verde by using salsa verde (green) for a different flavor.
- Pork tenderloin is the preferred pork, but a pork loin roast may be used, but it may take longer to cook—check the pork for tenderness before stopping cooking.
- Ground pork can be used but should be browned lightly and drained before adding to the crock pot. Or pulled pork butt may be added halfway through the cooking to make Pulled Pork Chili.
- Vary the salsa between mild, medium, and hot to adjust the heat, or add a second jalapeno to make hot chili.
- Use the beans of your choice—I chose black and red kidney beans, white beans like white kidney, navy, or great northern beans.
- There is usually some garlic powder in chili powder, but you may add more.
⬇️Crock pot size and making a smaller recipe
The whole recipe makes about 12 cups of chili, which makes 8 servings of 1 ½ cups each. This needs a slow cooker of 4 quarts or larger.
A half recipe is more "cooking for two" friendly, making 4 servings. But you may end up with partly used ingredients.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- The half recipe will fit in a 2-quart mini crock pot.
- Cook for the same amount of time.
🍴How to serve pork chili
Since it is a little spicy, a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese works well. Add fresh cilantro, lime wedges, or avocado slices, and serve with corn chips.
A side of Old Fashioned Cornbread or some Cornmeal Biscuits is an excellent addition to any chili.
How to store leftover chili
Store any leftover chili in an airtight container. You can refrigerate for 4 days or freeze for 3 months.
To reheat, thaw first if frozen, and use a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat.
❓FAQs
The beans can contain a significant amount of sodium. If you are concerned about sodium intake, draining and rinsing the beans will remove about ⅓ of the sodium, and use low-sodium beans.
Most chili, by their ingredients, have enough sodium. So don't add any at the start and add if needed at serving. And use all low-sodium products.
It is up to your taste, but there is usually some garlic powder in chili powder, but you may add more powder or use fresh garlic if you want.
No, they are significantly different in taste and ingredients and are prepared differently. Pork Chili Verde uses green Salas Verda, which is tomatillos-based.
Colorado Green Pork Chili uses green chile peppers for the flavor. While it originated in New Mexico, it is considered one of the state dishes of Colorado.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Chop onion and green pepper medium—prep jalapeno and chop fine.
Prep tenderloin by removing all trimmable fat and the silverskin. Cut into ¾ to 1-inch cubes.
Drain and rinse all beans. Place all ingredients in a crock pot or a Dutch oven on the stovetop.
It is done when the pork is tender and the vegetables tender. In a crock pot, about 4 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high. On the stovetop, about 2 hours.
📖 Recipe
Pork Chili
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Ingredients
- 1 pork tenderloin - about 1 ½ pounds
- 3 cans beans of choice—3 cans - rinsed
- 4 oz green chilies
- 1 onion - medium diced
- 1 green pepper - chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper - diced small
- 16 oz salsa
- 16 oz low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Chop onion and green pepper medium—prep jalapeno and chop fine.
- Prep tenderloin by removing all trimmable fat and the silverskin. Cut into ¾ to 1-inch cubes.
- Drain and rinse all beans. Place all ingredients in a crock pot or a Dutch oven on the stovetop.
- It is done when the pork is tender and the vegetables tender. In a crock pot, about 4 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high. On the stovetop, about 2 hours.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- This needs a crock pot of 4 quarts or larger. Instructions for a half recipe that will fit in a small or mini crock pot are in the post.
- You can adjust the heat in this recipe by eliminating the jalapeno pepper and the heat of the salsa. Or double the jalapeno or add some cayenne pepper.
- Good refrigerated for 4 days and frozen for 3 months.
- Nutrition is for a serving size of about 1 ½ cups.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally Published January 16, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Susan says
Dr. Dan - I realize this is not a new recipe for you but I just found your blog and tried it over the weekend. I'm a bit of a spice wimp so I did not add jalapenos and I only had half the red salsa called for. I ended up with half red and half chili verde salsa. It was wonderful. Thanks for the site. I live alone and it is great to find some recipe with smaller servings. The chili made a lot but I shared with extended family. Thanks again!
DrDan says
Hi Susan, I leave the comments open on all recipes (at least for now) so readers can still contribute.
I find it hard to believe this recipe is 4 yrs old. I really do love this one.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dr Dan
nbsp says
umbrellalady, I feel your pain re sodium. I am new to learning ways to curb it. But so far in my education it appears that prepared stocks and bouillons are the devil for me. (I started rinsing canned vegetables so many decades ago that I can't remember the reason.) I'm not about to begin making homemade stock regularly so I am relegated to diluting regular canned stock or using the low-sodium stuff.
DrDan, I really like this recipe. Pork is just wonderful easy low-fat thing, isn't it? And lends itself well to crockpotting.
Martha (MM) says
Gorgeous slow cooker dish! Thanks for linking this one up too :-)
Jeffrey and Juli says
This looks great- and I love your high-tech slow cooker!I agree with Chris, it looks like Darth Vader.
One assumes that the[cooking]force is strong with this one? ;)
Dr Dan says
I was thinking R2D2... it beeps
Chris says
Ahhhh! Your crock pot control panel looks like Darth Vader! I now dub he, Crock Vader.
"You don't know the power of the Crock side!"
Steph@PlainChicken.com says
sounds great!
Dr Dan says
I thought it was just right but I like salt and my blood pressure is good. I always use low sodium broth for what little that is worth.
You can rinse the beans if you're sodium sensitive or worried. The total sodium my way is about 3 teaspoons of salt. It sounds heavy but you add salt to a recipe but you don't usually count what is in the components. From what I can find, rinsing the beans would decrease the sodium by 20-40%. You could also use low sodium beans or dry beans.
umbrellalady says
This recipe sounds wonderful but I wonder about the salt content with all the canned beans and their liquids, as well as the chicken stock and salsa, especially if they are all commercially produced.
Great with the fat content being so low!