Craving some comfort food that’s utterly bursting with flavor? You can’t do better than this Chile Colorado recipe. Believe me when I say that it takes keto chili to a whole other level! Serve it over some cilantro lime cauliflower rice for a delicious low carb meal.
I had a plethora of stew meat from one of my shares and wondering what to do with it. Of course, I could have made my Keto Beef Stew, but I wanted something a little different. I perused my saved recipe ideas and when I spotted Chile Colorado, I knew I was onto something.
If you love Mexican cuisine, you are in for a treat. It’s an incredibly hearty dish made with dried chiles and stew meat. It has a wonderful flavor from the different varieties of chiles, and it doesn’t contain any beans. The authentic version usually takes some flour, but I swapped that out for some keto-friendly thickener to keep the carbs in check.
And the classic is often served with rice, but it’s just as delicious with cauliflower rice. One bite and
your mouth and tummy will do the happy dance. And when it’s cooking, your nose will get in on the action too!
Why we love this recipe
I made a huge batch of this amazing Mexican stew. But between my husband and the kids, there were hardly any leftovers!
- Amazing flavor: There is something magical about using dried chiles as part of the sauce. The flavor is intensified and the sauce is thick and rich.
- Easy to make: You do need to take some time to soften the chilies but it’s a very easy, straightforward recipe.
- Adjust the heat level: Chile Colorado tends to be a little spicy but you can adjust the heat to your liking. See the Tips section below!
- High protein: This classic Mexican dish is packed with 39g of high quality protein per serving.
- Low carb: With a few tweaks, I made it low carb and keto-friendly!
Ingredients you need
- Dried chiles: You need several varieties of dried chiles for this recipe: ancho chile peppers, guajillo chile peppers and chiles de arbol. These are best found in the international food aisle or at a Latino market. See the Tips section for more information.
- Beef stew meat: You can also cut up a chuck roast and use that instead. Some Chile Colorado uses pork butt roast so that’s also an option.
- Onion: You can use white or yellow onions for this recipe.
- Jalapeño: Fresh minced jalapeño adds a little more heat, if you like things on the spicy side.
- Garlic: I always use fresh minced garlic but you could sub in 1 teaspoon garlic powder if you needed to.
- Glucomannan: A little thickener like glucomannan or xanthan gum will keep the stew from being too thin.
- Pantry Staples: Tomato paste, beef broth, olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.
Step by Step Directions
- Prep the chiles: Use a sharp knife to remove the stems of the dried chiles. Shake out the seeds, or leave them in for a bit more heat. Place the chiles in a saucepan with broth and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, then cover the pot and let steep for another 10 to 20 minutes, until very soft. Transfer the chiles and the liquid to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Brown the meat: In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the stew meat with salt and pepper, then add half of the meat and cook until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and repeat with the rest of the meat.
- Add the other seasonings: Add the onion, and jalapeño, if using, and cook until the onion is becoming tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and paprika and cook another minute, until fragrant.
- Add the chile purée: Pour the chile puree into the pan and add the remaining broth, tomato paste, and the browned beef with any accumulated juices.
- Simmer. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the stew meat is tender. Serve with cauliflower rice and toppings of choice.
Tips for Success
I recommend using a high-powered blender to blend the sauce until it’s very smooth. If yours isn’t super strong, consider straining the sauce to get out any bits of dried chilies that don’t blend up properly.
To reduce the spiciness, make sure to get most of the seeds out of the dried chilies and skip the jalapeño altogether. Conversely, if you want it spicier, leave in those seeds!
Can’t find ancho chilies? Try using pasilla peppers or ancho chili powder. If you’re still having trouble, try using one chipotle pepper in adobo. For guajillo peppers, you can use New Mexico dried chilies. Chiles de arbol are small red dried chilies similar to Thai dried chilies (also known as bird’s eye chilies). The point here is to get a little spice, a touch of smokiness, and that particular flavor that comes from dried chilies, so use what you can find!
For reference, both ancho and guajillo peppers are mild to medium in heat, whereas the chiles de arbol are quite spicy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chile Colorado is a hearty Mexican stew made with beef or pork simmered in a red chile sauce. For the sauce, a variety of dried chiles like ancho chile peppers, guajillo chile peppers
and chiles de arbol are softened and blended together for maximum flavor. To make it more keto-friendly, serve with cauliflower rice and top with a wedge of lime, chopped avocado and some fresh cilantro.
This wonderful Mexican dish is on the spicier side, but you can tame it down by cutting back on the chilies, and making sure you remove all the seeds.
This Keto Chile Colorado recipe has 7.2g of carbs and 2.5g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.7g net carbs per serving.
More Mexican-inspired keto recipes
Chile Colorado Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 medium ancho chile peppers
- 2 medium guajillo chile peppers
- 2 to 3 medium chiles de arbol
- 3 cups (709.76 ml) beef broth, divided
- 2 tbsp (28.4 g) olive oil
- 3 lb (1,360.78 g) beef stew meat, (cut into even 1 inch pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup (80 g) white onion, chopped
- 1 medium jalapeno, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3/4 tsp glucomannan, (optional)
Toppings
- Lime wedges
- Avocado
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to remove the stems of the dried chiles. Shake out the seeds, or leave them in for a bit more heat.
- Place the chiles in a saucepan with 1 cup of the broth and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer 10 minutes, then cover the pot and let steep for another 10 to 20 minutes, until very soft.
- Transfer the chiles and the liquid to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the stew meat with salt and pepper, then add half of the meat and cook until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and repeat with the rest of the meat.
- Add the onion, and jalapeño, if using, and cook until the onion is becoming tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and paprika and cook another minute, until fragrant.
- Pour the chile puree into the pan and add the remaining broth, tomato paste, and the browned beef with any accumulated juices.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the stew meat is tender.
- Serve with cauliflower rice and toppings of choice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
this is so good!! we had it for breakfast the next day too. I’m always so impressed how well you nail these flavors. if I didn’t know better, I’d assume you were born and raised in South Texas.
I think I may sub out the Mexican peppers for Mediterranean ones: aleppo and Urfa biber from Turkey. Not sure how much to add as mine are almost powdered.
The urfa biber has the smokiness flavor (and I think it also has a bit of saltiness) and I have found that I prefer these peppers to any Mexican ones as they seem much smoother and, for me, a bit less spicy, which I like.
I think they would go great in this with the other (minus the peppers) ingredients. I’ll come back with a review when I make this.
I know it’s not nice to make changes to a recipe, but I have never liked hot, spicy Mexican peppers. They just always seemed too strong and ‘harsh’ to me. But I have found that the Mediterranean ones I DO like. They are ‘smoother’.
I made this Saturday night. Leftovers tonight😊 Did the simmer on low in the crockpot for about 2 hours. Used xanthan gum to thicken. We like things spicy so next go round I would add red pepper flakes. The taste was wonderful
Yummy!
This looks amazing. I love Chili Colorado and can’t wait to give this a try.
This was amazing. I especially loved the sauce and am going to make it again to use with keto tamales. Was delicious with beef and I am sure any meat would work well.
So glad you liked it!
Started this on the stove and tossed it in the crockpot for the simmer. Absolutely amazing!
I was wondering if you could cook it in the crockpot,
how long did you cook it? And what how many hours?
On what temp, high or low?
thanks!!!
Sta
I’ve been cooking your recipes successfully for a couple of years. I’m making a cauliflower and cream cheese slow cooker side tonight, and I made your beef w/ guajillo, ancho, and arbol chillies last night. I loved it! Deep rich flavor and cooked to perfection. Instead of the glucomannan I substituted the same measure of beef gelatin and it worked just right. I also like spicy food so I left the seeds in. I’m going to make this for company, along with you newly received recipe for cheese and jalapeño muffins, and your shortbread cookies for dessert. Thank you for making this diet so tasty! Ted.
So glad you liked them all!
Delicious!