Chile Colorado Style Beef made in the slow cooker in a simple and easy way. Serve it in a warm tortilla and enjoy it’s deliciousness. The leftovers, if there are any, are also amazing.
There’s nothing quite like sitting down to a hearty, slow cooked dinner at day’s end. Whether its slow cooked brisket this Thai pulled pork or a batch of saucy, slow cooked chicken, its so nice to come home to a meal that’s basically cooked itself.
Chile Colorado Style Beef (Slow Cooker) Recipe
While I love the authentic way Chile Colorado is made, with cubed meat dredged in flour and real chili peppers ground up to make the sauce, it’s a more timely process.
This recipe was developed specifically to be able to enjoy Chile Colorado on a regular basis without all the fuss.
It took a while to get the flavor just right, but it is absolutely delicious and has all the nuances of the real thing.
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Ingredients for Chile Colorado
Full recipe and instructions can be found at the bottom of the page.
Pantry Ingredients
Las Palmas Red Chile Sauce – this sauce is key (there is a picture of it towards the bottom) and it can be found in most supermarkets next to the enchilada sauce or check your local Hispanic market. If it’s not at your market you can purchase a large pack of the red chile sauce online.
beef bouillon – I’ve tried using chicken bouillon and it’s not the same. This also adds enough salt to flavor the recipe.
chile powder – use plain chile powder, not chipotle or ancho
ground cumin
oregano leaves
onion powder
garlic powder
ground black pepper
masa harina – a flavorful flour that is used to make homemade corn tortillas and found in the Hispanic aisle of the supermarket
Fresh Ingredients
beef chuck roast – make sure to trim it of visible fat
How to Make Chile Colorado
Step one: In a 7-quart slow cooker, add chile sauce, bouillon, chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper. Add chuck roast. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
Step two: When finished the sauce will be very thin. It’s okay to keep it like this or you can easily thicken it. Either way, remove the meat and pull it apart with two forks, it will be very tender. If you want to leave the sauce thin, place the pulled apart meat back in the slow cooker with the sauce to flavor it.
Step three: To make the sauce thick and rich, remove meat from the slow cooker and pull apart with two forks. Leave slow cooker on low. Add 1/4 cup more chili powder (the regular kind, NOT chipotle or ancho etc) and 1/4 cup masa harina (in the Hispanic section). Stir to combine and place pulled apart meat back in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for one more hour. Your sauce will be perfectly thick.
Recipe Tips
Make sure you trim your chuck roast of all of its visible fat. If you cannot find one 5 lb. roast you can always use two smaller ones. This could potentially change the cooking time.
The red chile sauce is key to this recipe, make sure to seek it out.
Because this is slow cooked and the sauce mixes with the juices from the meat, the finished sauce is not a thick, pouring sauce, it’s very thin. As you pull apart the tender meat, the sauce will get in to every crevice and flavor it perfectly.
Directions on how to thicken the sauce are located in the recipe.
Serve with warm tortillas, avocado, tomatoes and cheese…it tastes amazing.
You will have leftover sauce once the meat is eaten. Use it to make a dip or a casserole with crushed chips, more meat and cheese. You won’t want to waste this flavorful sauce.
What Is Chile Colorado?
Chile Colorado is served at most Mexican restaurants. If you have a chance to order it, you should!
It is a very popular Mexican stew that is full of tender pieces of beef (or pork) that have been simmered in a flavorful red chile sauce made from dried Mexican chiles, spices and broth. The word Colorado in the Spanish language translates to “colored red” which is why Chile Colorado is made with a red chile sauce.
This is not to be mistaken as a chili recipe from Colorado!
Las Palmas Red Chile Sauce
This is the exact can you will be looking for in the supermarket.
I promise you will love this recipe, it has an exceptional flavor.
As you can see here, serving it almost as a taco is absolutely the best way to enjoy it.
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Chile Colorado Style Beef made in the slow cooker in a simple and easy way. Serve it in a warm tortilla and enjoy it's deliciousness. The leftovers, if there are any, are also amazing.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time7 hourshrs
Total Time7 hourshrs10 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Chile Colorado Style Beef (Slow Cooker)
Servings: 8
Calories: 426kcal
Author: Cathy
Ingredients
1(28 oz) canLas Palmas Red Chile Sauce
3beef bouillon cubes
1/4cupplus 2 tbsps chile powder, divided
1tbspground cumin
1tbsporegano leaves
2tspsonion powder
1tspgarlic powder
1tspfinely ground pepper
1(5 lb)beef chuck roast, trimmed of most visible fat
1/4cupmasa harina
Instructions
In a 7-quart slow cooker, add chile sauce, bouillon, chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper. Add chuck roast. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
When finished the sauce will be very thin. It's okay to keep it like this or you can easily thicken it. Either way, remove the meat and pull it apart with two forks, it will be very tender. If you want to leave the sauce thin, place the pulled apart meat back in the slow cooker with the sauce to flavor it.
To make the sauce thick and rich, remove meat from the slow cooker and pull apart with two forks. Leave slow cooker on low. Add 1/4 cup more chili powder (the regular kind, NOT chipotle or ancho etc) and 1/4 cup masa harina (in the Hispanic section). Stir to combine and place pulled apart meat back in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for one more hour. Your sauce will be perfectly thick.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Chile Colorado Style Beef (Slow Cooker)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 426Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 6.1g38%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.2g
Cholesterol 96.1mg32%
Sodium 925mg40%
Potassium 117mg3%
Carbohydrates 11.7g4%
Fiber 4.1g17%
Sugar 0.6g1%
Protein 45.2g90%
Vitamin A 69IU1%
Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
Calcium 5.2mg1%
Iron 36mg200%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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