Instant Pot Pork with Tomatillos and Green Chile

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With just a few fresh ingredients and spices, Instant Pot Pork with Tomatillos and Green Chile comes together in under an hour, it's great for healthy meal prep, freezer meals, and full of flavor! Try it over rice or wrapped in a tortilla burrito style!

Jump to:

• 👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks - Recipe Inspiration
• 🍅 About Tomatillos
• 📋 Ingredients You'll Need
• 🔪 Instructions
• 💭 Tips
• 🍷 Pairing Suggestions

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks - Recipe Inspiration

Creating new Instant Pot freezer meals provides a great deal of satisfaction. When my day runs amok, and there isn't enough day left to cook, I love to pull a healthy, flavorful meal from the freezer!

My favorite protein to cook in the Instant Pot is (hands down) pork loin. Nothing beats the falling-apart-tender pork, and while you can get this in a Dutch oven or in a slow cooker, the Instant Pot gets the job done in less time. You may remember the Instant Pot Pulled Pork, Pork and Hatch Chile, and Pork and Apples?

As I began working on this tender pork dish, I knew I wanted it to require only a few fresh ingredients, require little active time, and freeze well for another meal or two. My favorite salsa - Tomatillo and Hatch Green Chile Salsa - provided the inspiration.

Two of my favorite ingredients - Hatch green chile and tomatillos - take center stage in this healthy main dish recipe. This is one of my favorite Hatch green chile recipes!

The usual "suspects" round out the dish - onion, ground cumin, chicken broth. As mentioned in the intro, you can serve it with rice or wrapped in a tortilla.

🍅 About Tomatillos

Tomatillos (aka husk tomatoes) in Spanish means "little tomatoes." They are native to Mexico, and they were first cultivated by the Aztecs as a staple crop. While they are related to tomatoes (both are in the nightshade/solanaceae family), tomatillos are in the genus physalis, a group of flowering plants that produce a large husk from the calyx that partly or mostly covers the fruit.

While tomatillos look similar to green tomatoes, they are covered with a sticky substance and a papery husk. I don't worry about the stickiness as it disappears during cooking.

What do tomatillos taste like?

Tomatillos have a slightly more acidic, slightly less sweet flavor than ripe and unripe tomatoes. Overall, the flavor is more vegetal and bright, and the interior texture is denser and less watery. 

~~ Bon Appetit magazine.

I love the bright, slightly acidic flavor they add to a dish. While tomatillos can be eaten raw, I must confess, I haven't tried that! Hmmm... Future recipe perhaps?

Are tomatillos healthy?

The short answer? YES. The longer answer? They are high in fiber, low in calories, contain vitamins A, C, and E, antioxidants like beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, and the minerals potassium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, etc. For more about the nutrient profile of tomatillos, see Tomatillo Nutrition Facts.

📋 Ingredients You'll Need

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

• coconut or vegetable oil
• boneless pork
• onion
• garlic
• flour
• ground cumin
• roasted green chile
• tomatillos
• chicken broth
• salt
• cilantro and lime wedges (to garnish)

🔪 Instructions

Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, and set for 30 minutes under high pressure. When the cycle is complete, you can allow it to de-pressurize naturally, or you can do a quick release. 30 minutes is adequate to get tender pork chunks!

💭 Tips

If you're using an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker, they are prone to "burn" warnings if there's anything like flour on the bottom. Use a wood spatula or similar to scrape up any browned bits when you add in the broth/stock.

How can I use leftovers? As I mention at the start of the post, this is a great freezer meal. Typically, we have 2 servings the night I make it, I package 2 servings for lunch later in the week, and I freeze 2 servings for later in the week.

How can I make the pork thicker? Mix a slurry of flour or cornstarch with broth or water. Whisk it into the pork mixture with the Instant Pot on sauté. Bring it to a boil to thicken completely.

I use lean pork loin for this pork recipe. You can use boneless pork chops or your favorite boneless cut.

What kind of green chile can I use? On photo day, I used 4 poblano chiles, and 2 jalapeños. It was just right for our taste buds. I did lay them on a baking sheet, blacken them under the broiler, peel and chop them. Hatch green chile is my preferred green chile. I can usually get Bueno green chile at my local market. Anaheims are fine too, but you'll likely want a jalapeño or serrano to add some heat. You'll want 1 ½ cups+/- of chopped roasted green chile.

🍷 Pairing Suggestions

As shown in the photo, I serve Instant Pot Pork with Tomatillos and Green Chile with rice, and garnished with cilantro and lime wedges. It is delicious wrapped in a burrito size tortilla as well. I would not hesitate to serve it with quinoa, farro, even polenta.

Beverage-wise? I guess an obvious choice is a Mexican lager, but I don't love them. If I'm spending calories on beer, I want a beer that I love. I often refer to How to Pair Beer with Mexican Food if I'm at a loss. I agree with their suggestion with bright, spicy dishes:

Brighter spicy dishes like these chilaquiles verdes tend to work best with paler beers like helles, witbier, and less-hoppy American blonde ales. These are beers that will ease the spicy pain with soft malty flavor without overpowering your dish, offering a refreshing respite from the heat.

~~ Serious Eats