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    Home » Recipes » Pork » Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales

    Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales

    Last Updated November 9, 2022. Originally Posted April 26, 2020 By Maggie Unzueta

    This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    This Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales recipe is to die for. Tender pork in a RICH, red chile sauce with incredible depth of flavor. This dish is seriously OMG delish!
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Pork and Nopales in chile colorado sauce served on a white plate.

    Pork and nopales in chile colorado served on a white plate with fried beans.

    Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales is the BEST of the best of Northern Mexican food.

    My family is from Durango, Mexico, a state in Northern Mexico. It’s where sombreros, horses, and pickup trucks rule.

    This recipe delivers some serious FLAVOR. That red chile sauce is every Mexican food lover’s dream. With bites of tender nopales… You just can’t go wrong.

    More Chile Colorado Recipes:
    Instant Pot Chile Colorado
    and Braised Beef Chile Colorado

    A collage showing how to remove the seeds and veins from dried guajillo chile.

    How to Make It

    • Remove the stems.
    • Cut lengthwise and remove the seeds.
    • Also remove any veins.

    This is dried guajillo chile and the key ingredient to guajillo sauce and many authentic Mexican recipes.

    This method above is how to clean any dried chile. You might not be able to remove all the seeds and veins.

    Don’t worry about that. The sauce will be strained, and any bits that remain will be removed then.

    Pro Tip: Rehydrated chiles can last up to 3-5 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container.

    A collage showing how to rehydrate chiles and convert them into the chile colorado sauce.

    • Rehydrate all the chiles by placing them in hot water.
    • Discard the water.
    • Add the rehydrated chiles and other sauce ingredients to a blender.
    • Blend until smooth.

    Many abuelitas (mine included) use the water from the rehydration to blend the sauce.

    Dried chiles store dust that ends up in the sauce. Eww! Use fresh water to avoid this.

    Great News! You can also make this ahead of time. Chile Colorado freezes extremely well. It lasts up to 7 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer.

    Using frozen or pre-made sauce would make cooking the Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales faster.

    A collage showing how to dice and cook cactus paddles.

    • Remove any thorns on the cactus paddle.
    • Slice into strips, then dice across.
    • Cook in water on the stove with salt and baking soda.
    • Drain and rinse well.

    Removing thorns from cactus paddles can be a prickly pain.

    Word to the Wise: Look for nopales that already have the thorns removed. Better yet, there are stores that sell them pre-diced.

    FYI: Pre-diced nopales are slimy. Rinse them well before and after cooking.

    You can skip this step altogether if you are using cooked nopales in a jar.

    More Cactus Recipes:
    Ensalada de Nopales, Nopales con Huevo, Licuado de Nopal

    A collage showing how to cook pork in a stock pot.

    • Season the pork with salt, pepper, and cumin.
    • Brown the pork.
    • Add diced onion. Cook for 1 minute.
    • Add the pork broth.

    Browning the pork will help lock in flavors. Layers of flavors is what makes this dish a WINNER!

    If you don’t have homemade pork broth, you can substitute with:

    • chicken broth
    • 1 cup water + ½ tbsp chicken bouillon
    • beef broth
    • vegetable broth

    A picture showing how to strain chile colorado sauce over a stock pot.

    • Using a strainer, pour the chile colorado into the stock pot with the pork.
    • Use the back of your cooking spoon to strain the sauce completely.

    Stir everything to combine and let this cook for 25 minutes on medium heat.

    Discard any bits of dried chile that did not filter through the strainer.

    By straining the sauce, you get a finer texture.

    Cooked nopales in a blue bowl.

    • Add the cooked nopales.
    • Stir to combine.
    • Bring to a simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

    The pork should be soft and tender. If you want the meat to be softer, cook for an additional 10 minutes.

    For a saucier Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales, add more pork broth.

    Other Names for This Dish

    • Nopales con chile colorado
    • Chile colorado pork
    • Carne de puerco con nopales en chile colorado
    • Cactus chile colorado

    Pork chile colorado with nopales served next to refried beans on a white plate.

    What to serve it with?


    Refried Beans
    Mexican Rice
    Corn Tortillas

    Queso Fresco

    There’s no greater comfort food than this Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales.

    That yummy chile sauce is deep with flavor, and the pork is fall-apart tender… This dish is SO hard to resist!

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    Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!

    Pork and nopales in chile colorado served on a white plate with fried beans.

    Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales

    This Pork Chile Colorado with Nopales recipe is to die for. Tender pork in a RICH, red chile sauce with incredible depth of flavor. This dish is seriously OMG delish!
    5 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 peopld
    Calories: 475kcal
    Author: Maggie Unzueta

    Ingredients

    For the Chile Colorado Sauce:

    • 10 Chile Guajillo stems removed, seeded and deveined
    • 2 Ancho Chile stems removed, seeded and deveined
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 tspn salt
    • 1/2 tspn cumin
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 1/4 onion
    • 2 cups pork broth (or chicken broth)

    For the Cactus Paddles:

    • 2 cactus paddles (thorns removed)
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 tspn salt
    • 1 tspn baking soda

    For the Pork:

    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 3 lbs diced pork 1-inch pieces
    • 1 tbsp salt (or chicken bouillon)
    • 1/2 tspn ground pepper
    • 1 tspn ground cumin
    • 1/4 onion diced
    • 2 cups pork broth (or chicken broth)

    Instructions

    For the Chile Colorado Suace:

    • Cut the stems off, and remove the seeds and veins of all the chiles.
    • Add the chiles to a large stock pot.
    • Cover with water.
    • Bring to a boil.
    • Turn heat off.
    • Let sit in the pot for 5-10 minutes, or until pliable.
    • Discard the water.
    • Add the rehydrated chiles to a blender.
    • Add salt, cumin, garlic, onion, and pork broth to the blender.
    • Blend until smooth.
    • Set aside until ready to use.

    For the Cactus Paddles:

    • Carefully remove the thorns (if necessary) with a sharp knife.
    • Rinse the cactus paddles.
    • Dice into 1-inch pieces.
    • Place them in a stock pot and cover with water.
    • Add salt and baking soda to the pot.
    • Boil for 10 minutes.
    • Discard water and rinse the cooked nopales.
    • Set aside until ready to use.

    For the Pork:

    • Heat the olive oil.
    • Season the pork with salt, pepper, and cumin.
    • Add the pork to the pot.
    • Brown the meat.
    • Stir occasionally.
    • This will take about 5 minutes.
    • Add the diced onion and cook for 1 minutes, or until translucent.
    • Add the pork broth and chile colorado sauce.
    • Mix to combine.
    • Cook for 25 minutes on medium heat.
    • Add the nopales.
    • Cook for 5 additional minutes.
    • Serve and enjoy!

    Notes

    Chile Colorado freezes extremely well. It lasts up to 7 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer.
    • Look for nopales that already have the thorns removed. Or, buy the pre-diced nopales. Best option for the newbies: Use cooked cactus in a jar. Drain the liquid, and it's ready to use. 
    If you don’t have homemade pork broth, you can substitute with:
    • chicken broth
    • 1 cup water + ½ tbsp chicken bouillon
    • beef broth
    • vegetable broth

    Nutrition

    Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 3073mg | Potassium: 1407mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 6953IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 5mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @MamaMaggiesKitchen or tag #MamaMaggiesKitchen!

    Filed Under: Pork

    About Maggie Unzueta

    Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cindy

      May 22, 2021 at 12:46 pm

      5 stars
      Very easy to make and good

      Reply
      • Maggie Unzueta

        October 11, 2021 at 4:26 pm

        That’s great. Glad you enjoyed this recipe.

        Reply
    2. Elisabeth

      May 28, 2021 at 5:24 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious & Pretty simple. I made it with eggs and a lil potatoes, my grandmother made it like that. Thank you after she passed I hadn’t eaten this anyplace that had the red Chile like my grandmas and this is perfect!

      Reply
      • Maggie Unzueta

        April 1, 2023 at 9:10 am

        Beautiful food memories! Thank you.

        Reply
    3. ALICIA

      July 22, 2021 at 2:03 pm

      5 stars
      This was an easy meal to fix and it was yummy! My husband loved it, thank you!

      Reply
      • Maggie Unzueta

        July 23, 2021 at 3:11 pm

        So glad that you hubby loved it. It’s one of my hubby’s favorites too.

        Reply
    4. Fran

      September 23, 2022 at 5:03 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for dinner tonight and it was off the hook!!
      The only I did different was I made the chili the night before so everything could marry! OMG!!!😋😋😋

      Reply
      • Maggie Unzueta

        September 27, 2022 at 8:21 am

        Yes, if you leave it overnight, the flavors will develop. That’s a great tip! Glad you enjoyed!

        Reply
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