Have you ever had Beef Chile Colorado? Next time you’re in the mood for chili, take my advice and try the real deal. No beans, just meat and chili sauce, served up with brown rice and tortillas.
And if you want beans with your Chili Colorado, they’re served on the side…..Cowboy Style.
When you hear the words “Chile Colorado” it should evoke thoughts of dried chiles, tender pieces of chuck roast, and seasonings like ground cumin culminating in a symphony of deliciousness.
You can also think of Chile Colorado as a Mexican version of beef stew. And for me, it brings back memories from my childhood growing up in San Antonio, Texas.
Ingredients to make Chile Colorado Sauce
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make the Sauce for Beef Chili Colorado. In chef speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Once you’ve gathered the ingredients for the chili sauce, the first step is toasting the deseeded chili peppers.
This will enhance and deepen the flavor of the chilies. Just be careful not to scorch the peppers, which will make them bitter.
Chef Dennis Tip:
If possible wear plastic gloves when you handle the chilies. Also, make sure to clean all the surfaces and wash your hands thoroughly.
Can I toast the Chiles in the oven?
Yes, you can. Place the chili peppers on a baking sheet and toast in a 350-degree oven just until fragrant and puffed, about 5-6 minutes.
Can I use different Chile Peppers in the Red Chili Sauce?
Yes, you can. Depending upon your tolerance for heat, you can use hotter peppers. The peppers I’ve chosen are mild.
These are some of the other peppers you can use:
- Cascabel – Round, tropical, fruity, relatively mild heat.
- Puya – Similar to guajillos but smaller and spicier, earthy, fruity but with some acidity, medium heat.
- Chipotle – Medium-sized, tough-skinned, smoky, medium heat.
- Chiles de Arbol – Small, nutty, earthy, very spicy.
- Morita – Petite, smoky, sweet dried fruit flavors, medium to high heat.
- Pequin – Tiny, a little smoky, a little fruity, very spicy.
Chef Dennis Tip:
When you toast the chilies, make sure to have your hood fan on and open a window if possible. The lower-heat peppers won’t be a problem, but if you use the spicier varieties, the aroma coming off the peppers can easily choke you.
How to Chile Colorado
Sauté the onion in a little olive oil for 2-3 minutes then add the garlic and continue cooking for an additional minute.
Place the remainder of the ingredients for the chili sauce into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and allow too steep for 45 minutes.
Reserve one cup of broth for later use. Place the remainder of the ingredients into a blender and blend at its highest setting.
Depending on the power of the blender it may completely puree all the ingredients. If it has bits and pieces remaining, run the sauce through a sieve to take out and pieces that didn’t get pureed.
Gather the remaining ingredients, and let’s get started making the Beef Chile Colorado!
Season the beef with sea salt and black pepper. Then seer the beef in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Make sure to sear all the sides of the beef cubes.
Don’t overcrowd the pan, do the beef in two batches if you don’t have a big enough pot.
Add the chile sauce to the seared beef along with the reserved beef stock. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Let the beef simmer covered for 2 hours.
After simmering for two hours, uncover the pot. Mix the masa harina with 2 tablespoons of the broth to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the pot and stir well, making sure to have and lumps from the slurry.
Continue cooking the Chili Colorado for about 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
This post includes affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I used my All-Clad 6 Qt Pot to make the Chile Colorado, It’s a great all-purpose pot.
What should I serve Chile Colorado with?
Serve Beef Chile Colorado with seasoned rice (and beans if desired) and grilled (or heated) tortillas of your choice. I can never decide whether I like corn or flour tortillas the best. Today I went with flour tortillas.
The rich smokey flavor of the chilies with the fork-tender beef will soon become one of your favorite dishes. I love using brown rice with this type of dish, it adds a nuttiness that you don’t get with white rice. It takes a little longer to cook than most of my dishes but trust me when I tell you it’s well worth the effort!
If you like Chili with Beans try my Four Bean, Beef and Beer Chili.
Recipe FAQ’s
Chili Colorado wasn’t named after the state of Colorado? The name “Colorado”, which means “colored red”, is derived from the deep red color of the chile sauce.
Chuck, Short Ribs and Oxtail are my preferred choices for chile Colorado. The cheaper cuts of meat come from muscles that work more and would generally be tougher. But that also means more collagen-rich connective tissue. This connective tissue dissolves into the meat, adding to the body and richness to the stew that more expensive cuts of meat won’t give you. It also keeps the meat tender and moist which is exactly what you want with stew meat.
Chile Colorado gets its deep red color from dried chili peppers. Chile Verde sauce is made mostly with green tomatillos instead of dried red chiles.
More Recipes you’ll love
Beef Chile Colorado
Ingredients
Chili Sauce
- 3 dried Guajillo chiles stems removed and seeded
- 3 dried Ancho chiles stems removed and seeded
- 2 New Mexico chiles (or pasilla) stems removed and seeded
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ sweet Vidalia onion chopped
- 3 clove garlic finely chopped
- 3 cups beef broth 1 cup reserved (chicken or vegetable broth can be substituted)
- 3 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste
- 1½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup fire-roasted tomato
Beef
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 1 inch squares
- 1 tablespoon masa harina
Instructions
Red Chili Sauce
- In a large sauté pan or wide bottom pot, toast the chiles over medium heat for 1-2 minutes to bring out the flavor of the peppers. Remove from the pan until needed.
- Add olive oil to the hot pan and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes then add in the garlic and continue to sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the toasted chiles, fire-roasted tomatoes, seasonings and beef stock to the pan.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Turn off heat, cover the pot and let it steep for 45 minutes.
- Reserve one cup of the stock. Add the remainder of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth at the highest setting. Add additional liquid if the mixture is too thick for your blender. Reserve the remainder of the liquid till needed.**Depending on the power of the blender it may completely puree all the ingredients. If it has bits and pieces remaining, run the sauce through a sieve to take out and pieces that didn't get pureed.
Beef
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil and half of the meat and brown on all sides so they have a good sear, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the browned beef into a bowl and repeat the process with the remaining uncooked meat.
- When all the beef has browned, return all the meat to the pot. Add in the red chile sauce, and reserved beef broth. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture has begun to boil, reduce the heat to simmer. Cover the pot and continue to simmer for 2 hours.
- Uncover, taste and reseason as necessary.
- Mix the masa harina with 2 tablespoons of the broth from the pot to make a slurry. Add the slurry back into the pot and mix well.
- Raise to medium heat and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. If you prefer a thicker sauce, cook longer.
- Serve with rice, tortillas and beans and enjoy!
Raven
Hi, Chef Dennis,
Chili Colorado is one of my favorite foods. I can’t find it at any restaurants here. My husband can’t eat spicy foods, they cause his tongue to swell, so I’m torn between just making this for me as is or trying to make it for him with light spice. Would you have a recommendation for me to make it for him? Would just using 1 of each of the peppers still give it enough flavor?
Chef Dennis Littley
Cutting back on the peppers would still give it some flavor, but it won’t have quite the depth of flavor. It might still be too spicy for him so you might be better off to make it as written for you. Freeze portions that you can enjoy later and make your husband something he likes to eat. I do this with my wife all the time. She is not fond of most of the spices I like to use for my food.
Maureen. Ontario Canada
I can’t wait to make this. What kind of rice would be suitable? Can you please provide some suggestions? Thank you so much!
Chef Dennis Littley
You could use regular white rice, but I have come to enjoy brown rice more than white rice. It has more flavor and nutrients you won’t find in white rice.
Martha
Wow!!! This is absolutely delicious and really pretty simple to prepare. Going to make it for the 6th time. I recommend that all Mexican food lovers give it a try.
Angela
Dennis,
I’m having difficult time finding Mesa herina. I’m in Spokane WA. From what I have read this ingredient is different from Corn Meal. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Angela
Chef Dennis Littley
you can use a fine or medium grain corn meal in place of the masa harina
John
Angela, I’m in North Idaho and go to DeLeon Market in Spokane Valley for all my Mexican needs. They’ll have it there for sure.
Dawn
Angela, I too live in Spokane. I get my Masa Harina at Safeway or Yokes on which ever aisle the Bob’s Red Mill products are.
Marie W
My husband’s favorite meal is Chile Colorado. He loves only the one at one of our local restaurant. I’ve tried making it in the past with different recipes. They were just ok. Tonight I used your recipe. Wow!! It was delicious. He loved it. Kids loved it. I loved it. I didn’t have ancho chiles so I subbed chipotle in adobe sauce.
The only bummer to this is that he will now expect me too cook it more often.
Michelle
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious! My family was amazed and it honestly tastes like it was from an authentic Mexican restaurant. The aromas in my kitchen from the variety of chili’s is incredible.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed making the chili Colorado, I love the flavors of the chilis
Sapana Behl
All those Mexican chilies sounds so flavorful and tasty. I am sure they must have given a unique and exquisite taste to the beef chili colordao.
Marysa
Never heard of this before, but it sounds like a wonderful and hearty dish! Sounds like my kind of chili.
Ramona
This was such a delicious recipe packed with amazing flavours! I especially love the different kinds of dried chilies that you showed, I love chilies! thank you for sharing this recipe.
Gail Montero
Looks so tasty and perfect dinner option for fall’s chilly nights! Adding this to our must-try list!
Kushigalu
This was such a delicious recipe packed full of flavors. Love all the tips shared. Thanks for sharing.
Kerri
Oh Chef! This looks delightful! Packed with so much flavor! My family are BIG fans!
Daniela
Love all the info about the different kind of dried chilies and your in process shots made following the recipe so easy! It was delish :).
Gunjan
My brother is making this tonight. So far the aroma is absolutely appetizing. Will update you once it’s ready.
Martha Clyatt
Looking for pepper flavor with low heat scale- sounds good what peppers would give flavor without the heat?
Chef Dennis Littley
The peppers I use in the recipe are low heat, and I also have other peppers listed in the post with a description.
Sam
Yum!! This beef chili colorado was so cozy and comforting. Just what I was looking for in this cooler weather. Love the flavours in there.