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Instant Pot Chile Colorado is tender beef stewed in a rich, flavorful red chile sauce made easy in the pressure cooker! This easy Chile Colorado recipe is amazing any time you’re craving restaurant-quality Mexican food.
If you’ve never tried Chile Colorado, I hope you try it to experience the pure magic of the dish!
The silky smooth, wildly rich chile sauce brings an indescribably flavor to the incredibly tender, mouth-watering beef.
Similar to the Crock Pot Birria Tacos recipe I posted recently, the sauce is made with a combination of dried chiles.
These chiles are truly incredible for those who enjoy making homemade Mexican food as they bring so much depth to a dish. The best part? They are inexpensive and they last for a long, long time in the pantry.
This authentic Mexican recipe makes for such a lovely meal that is sure to impress!
Let’s dive into the details!
What is Chile Colorado?:
Chile Colorado is a traditional Mexican dish of tender chunks of beef slow cooked in a rich, sweet and smoky red chile sauce. “Colorado” is Spanish for “colored red,” signifying the deep red color of the sauce that surrounds the tender pieces of beef.
But don’t let that fool you. While many dried chiles are involved, the types of chiles used are more sweet and smoky versus spicy and are actually relatively mild, making the dish itself mild (with plenty of opportunity to add heat if you like it). To make the sauce very mild, leave out the arbol chiles.
For the sake of comparison, you could compare it to a mild enchilada sauce.
It is typically served with Spanish Rice (or Mexican rice), corn tortillas or flour tortillas and beans. You can make little chile colorado tacos out of all of the fixings for a perfect bite. You can serve it up with fresh cilantro and limes so that one can squeeze fresh lime juice over everything if desired.
The main feature of the dish is the incredibly rich red chili sauce that engulfs the beef. There’s truly nothing like it!
The stars of the sauce are dried chiles, which can be found in the Mexican aisle of any grocery store (some grocery stores label this aisle “ethnic food”).
If you have a local Mexican grocery store, you can definitely source all of the ingredients you need (including the dried chiles) for this recipe there.
Why Make it in the Instant Pot?:
Traditionally, authentic chile colorado is made on the stove top, but it can also be made in the crock pot or the Instant Pot.
Because meat becomes more and more tender with the amount of time it is cooked, I find the slow cooker or pressure cooker methods to be very enticing. This way, you are sure to achieve incredibly tender and flavorful meat!
While this Instant Pot Chile Colorado recipe only needs about 20 minutes of high pressure cooking in the Instant Pot, I let it fully naturally release for 50 minutes, as it is the natural release process that makes meat so tender and inviting.
This way, you’re getting restaurant-quality Chile Colorado in a relatively short amount of time.
Ingredients for Chile Colorado:
For the Sauce: dried guajillo chiles, dried arbol chiles (also known as chiles de arbol), dried ancho chiles, chicken broth or beef broth, dried cumin, yellow onion, dried oregano (I go with Mexican oregano), sea salt. As previously mentioned, these chiles bring a sweet and smoky flavor to the sauce, but as long as the seeds are removed, the sauce is fairly mild. For spicier sauce, include a fresh jalapeno, serrano, pasilla chiles or habanero.
For the Meat: Beef stew meat, gluten-free all-purpose flour (or regular all-purpose flour), sea salt, and pepper. The beef gets tossed in flour to sear it prior to adding the sauce.
This is a phenomenal use for stew meat, as the pressure cooking turns the otherwise tough cut of meat into heavenly tender bliss.
For Serving: This hearty stew recipe is typically served with Spanish Rice, tortillas, and beans, but you can incorporate any sides or toppings you enjoy. Some people eat the chile colorado as a stew.
One of the amazing parts about the spicy red chile sauce is it can be used for all sorts of dishes. For instance, you can cook pork shoulder in the delicious red chile sauce or make a pork stew with it.
If you love burritos, use leftovers in a burrito recipe.
The dish becomes even more flavorful the next day, so if you’re planning on making this popular Mexican stew recipe, you’d be doing yourself a favor to make it a few days in advance!
How to Make Instant Pot Chile Colorado:
Make the Chile Colorado Sauce:
Add all of the dried chilies to a saucepan along with the chicken stock or beef broth. Bring the mixture to a full boil then remove it from the stove top.
Add the chopped onion to a blender along with the oregano, cumin, and sea salt. Once the reconstituted chilies are cool enough to handle, remove the stems and seeds (or leave some of the seeds for a spicier sauce) and transfer the chilies and the broth to the blender. Blend until everything is well-combined.
Sear the Beef:
Place the beef stew meat in a large mixing bowl along with the flour, sea salt, and pepper. Toss everything together until the beef is well-coated.
Plug in the Instant Pot and press the Sautee button. Pour in the avocado oil and allow the pot to heat up for a few minutes.
Transfer half of the meat to the Instant Pot, arranging it in a single layer. Allow the meat to brown for a few minutes before flipping it to the other side and allowing it to brown for another few minutes, or until there is a nice golden crust on two sides. Transfer the meat to a plate and repeat this process for the rest of the meat.
Put it All Together:
Once the meat is browned, transfer the meat from the plate back into the Instant Pot.
Pour the chile colorado sauce through a fine mesh strainer into the pressure cooker. Use a wooden spoon to stir it around until all of the liquid has strained into the pressure cooker and the strainer is left with just the pulp. Discard the pulp.
Add the bay leaves to the Instant Pot and give everything a stir.
Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and pressure cook on High heat for 20 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to naturally release (and go into Keep Warm mode) for at least 30 minutes. This process ensures the beef turns out nice and tender. While pressure cooking for 20 minutes will cook it all the way through and make it ready to eat, it’s the natural release process that ensures the beef turns out tender and rich in flavor.
Remove the lid on the Instant Pot and press the Sauté or Boil button. Allow the mixture to come to a full boil. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced down a bit and is nice and thick.
Serve Chile Colorado with Spanish Rice, tortillas, and any additional toppings or side dishes such as black beans, refried beans, cheese, etc.
While there are a few steps to making this recipe, it can easily be made in parts. For instance, you can make the chile colorado sauce up to 5 days in advance and store it in sealable jars until you’re ready to use it.
More Delicious Mexican Recipes:
Carnitas EnchiladasInstant Pot Chicken TacosFish Tacos with Mango SalsaShredded Beef Taco SaladShrimp Tacos with Chipotle Lime Crema
Enjoy this amazing meal!
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Instant Pot Chile Colorado
Yield: 6 ServingsPrep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Instant Pot Chile Colorado is tender beef stewed in a rich, flavorful red chile sauce made easy in the pressure cooker! This easy chile colorado recipe is amazing restaurant-quality meal.
Ingredients
Chile Colorado Sauce:
6 dried guajillo chiles2 dried ancho chiles2 dried arbol chiles1 small yellow onion, diced4 cups beef broth or chicken broth2 tsp dried oregano1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp sea salt
For the Beef:
2 Tbsp avocado oil3 lbs beef stew meat3 Tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour*1 tsp sea salt½ tsp black pepper2 bay leaves
Instructions
Make the Chile Colorado Sauce:
1. Add all of the dried chilies to a saucepan along with the chicken stock or beef broth. Bring the mixture to a full boil then remove it from the stove top.
2. Add the chopped onion to a blender along with the oregano, cumin, and sea salt. Once the reconstituted chilies are cool enough to handle, remove the stems and seeds (or leave some of the seeds for a spicier sauce) and transfer the chilies and the broth to the blender. Blend until everything is well-combined.
Sear the Beef:
1. Place the beef stew meat in a large mixing bowl along with the flour, sea salt, and pepper. Toss everything together until the beef is well-coated.
2. Plug in the Instant Pot and press the Sauté button. Pour in the avocado oil and allow the pot to heat up for a few minutes. Transfer half of the meat to the Instant Pot, arranging it in a single layer. Allow the meat to brown for a few minutes before flipping it to the other side and allowing it to brown for another few minutes, or until there is a nice golden crust on two sides. Transfer the meat to a plate and repeat this process for the rest of the meat.
3. Once the meat is browned, transfer the meat from the plate back into the Instant Pot.
4. Pour the chile colorado sauce through a fine mesh strainer into the pressure cooker.
5. Use a wooden spoon to stir it around until all of the liquid has strained into the pressure cooker and the strainer is left with just the pulp. Discard the pulp.
6. Add the bay leaves to the Instant Pot and give everything a stir.
7. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and pressure cook on High heat for 20 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to naturally release (and go into Keep Warm mode) for at least 30 minutes. This process ensures the beef turns out nice and tender. While pressure cooking for 20 minutes will cook it all the way through and make it ready to eat, it’s the natural release process that ensures the beef turns out tender and rich in flavor.
8. Remove the lid on the Instant Pot and press the Sauté or Boil button. Allow the mixture to come to a full boil. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced down a bit and is nice and thick.
9. Serve Chile Colorado with Spanish Rice, tortillas, and any additional toppings or side dishes such as black beans, refried beans, cheese, etc.
Notes
*Or regular all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, or arrowroot starch. You will need another 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the sauce once everything is cooked if you like it thick.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6Serving Size 1 Serving (of 6)
Amount Per ServingCalories 589Total Fat 37gCarbohydrates 11gSugar 4gProtein 47g
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