Slow Cooker Chili Colorado Recipe
This Slow Cooker Chili Colorado is a rich and authentic Mexican stew featuring tender beef chunks simmered in a deeply flavored red chile sauce made from dried guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles. The recipe involves soaking and blending the chiles into a silky smooth sauce, searing the beef for enhanced depth, then slow cooking the mixture to meld flavors and achieve melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours (High) or 8 hours (Low)
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes (High) or 8 hours 20 minutes (Low)
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Scale
Chile Sauce
- 4 cups beef broth
- 6 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- 2 dried arbol chiles
- 2 tsp dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
- 1 tsp sea salt (for sauce)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt (for meat coating)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 bay leaves
Beef and Coating
- 3 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (or neutral oil like canola)
Instructions
- Soak Chiles: Bring the beef broth to a boil in a pot, then add all dried chilies (guajillo, ancho, and arbol). Remove from heat and let the chilies steep for 10-15 minutes until they soften and absorb the broth flavor, which extracts the deep, complex flavors essential for authentic chili colorado.
- Make Chile Sauce: Remove the softened chilies with a slotted spoon, discard stems and seeds. In a blender, combine the chilies, soaked broth, chopped onion, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth. Strain the sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl, pressing gently to extract maximum liquid and achieve a silky texture.
- Prepare and Sear Beef: Toss beef chunks with gluten-free flour, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and freshly ground black pepper until evenly coated. Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. In batches, sear the beef 2-3 minutes per side until deeply browned but not cooked through. Transfer browned beef to a plate as you work through each batch.
- Combine and Slow Cook: Transfer the seared beef to a slow cooker. Pour the strained chile sauce over the meat and stir to combine. Add bay leaves and give a final stir. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours, allowing the meat to become tender and flavors to meld beautifully.
Notes
- Use Mexican oregano if available for authentic flavor.
- Straining the chile sauce results in a smoother, silkier chili but can be skipped if texture is preferred.
- Slow cooking on Low setting provides more tender meat and deeper flavor development.
- Adjust quantity of arbol chiles to control the heat level.
- Ensure beef is well coated and properly seared to develop rich Maillard flavors.
Keywords: Slow Cooker Chili Colorado, Authentic Mexican Chili, Beef Stew, Guajillo Chile, Ancho Chile, Arbol Chile, Gluten-Free Chili, Slow Cooker Recipes
Find it online: https://lieblingsmahlzeit.com/slow-cooker-chili-colorado-recipe/
