Chicken Chile Verde Stew

This is a homemade version of my favorite store bought chile verde stew base, and it's packed with flavor! Chicken chile verde stew includes tomatillos, roasted peppers, jalapenos, rotisserie chicken, white beans, and broth. It's a versatile and easy slow cooker family dinner.

For years, I've been buying an amazing pre-made green chile stew base at my local grocery store, and serving it to my family every other week. It's so easy! I just add some rotisserie chicken and a few cans of white beans, and heat it all up in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.

When it's time to eat, I tear off some cilantro, get out a bag of shredded cheese, and heat up tortillas.

Related recipe: Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's been bothering me that I can't share this favorite dinner recipe of ours on my blog because the stew base is only available locally in Texas. So, I came up with a homemade version that anyone can make. And guess what -- the homemade version is even better than the store bought one we love.

To make sure I got it just right, I served my homemade chicken chile verde stew to my family without telling them I'd made it from scratch instead of using the jarred stew base I've been serving for years. Nobody said a word! That's when I knew it was perfect.

Preparing the Vegetables for Chile Verde

The best way to prepare the tomatillos, peppers, and garlic for this dish is to roast the ingredients under the broiler. This gives a nice charred flavoring, and it also makes it an easy "one pan" dish since you cook everything at once.

Simply place the items on a sheet pan and place under the broiler for 15-20 minutes. You will need to "babysit" the vegetables a bit during this phase of cooking. Just turn the ingredients occasionally so that they cook on all sides.

After the skin has blistered on the peppers and jalapenos, place them into a sealable ziplock bag and allow them to cool. When they've cooled down, you should be able to easily peel off the skin. (If a little bit of skin remains, it's fine.)

Cut off the stems and remove the seeds. Then chop the peppers.

*Note: The tomatillos do not need to have their skin peeled -- only the papery husks they come in at the store. They can be put into the blender straight from the sheet pan.

Best Chiles for Chile Verde

When it come to choosing chile peppers for your chile verde stew, you've got a few options. My personal favorite is poblano peppers. This is because they've got a mild heat that tends to be fairly consistent (ie: you're not going to end up with a fiery hot pepper one day and a mild one the next).

If you prefer a milder chile, or you can't find poblanos, I recommend Anaheim chiles.

You can also use hatch chiles (in season). But be aware that these are the hottest option.

Don't be afraid to use a combination of all three chiles! The best way to figure out the flavor and heat of your chiles is to taste them. Just slice off a little sliver and eat it. If it packs a punch, you know you should use less. If it's mild, you know you're safe using a larger portion.

How to Serve Chile Verde Stew

There are a few different ways you can serve this dish.

• As is
• Over cooked white rice
• Spooned into warm flour tortillas
• Scooped up with tortilla chips
• Use leftover filling to make quesadillas

We typically serve this stew with skillet-warmed flour tortillas. My daughters like to put the filling into the tortilla and eat it like a taco, while I prefer to tear off bits of tortilla and dip it into the sauce. There's no wrong way to eat this dish!