Name: Mexican Pork Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 lb pork shoulder (fat trimmed and cut into small cubes); 8 oz kielbasa sausage (cut into small pieces *); 1 medium onion (chopped); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 1 jalapeno pepper (finely chopped); 1 tbsp smoked paprika; 1 tbsp chili powder (mild); 1 tsp cumin (ground); 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper; 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste); 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste); 28 oz diced tomatoes ((1 can) **); 28 oz white kidney beans (or pinto beans, drained and rinsed (1 can)); 2 cups beef broth (or chicken broth, low sodium); 4 green onions (chopped); 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped); lime wedges (for serving)

This One Pot spicy Mexican Pork Stew brimming with pork, sausage and beans is a classic hearty dish full of deep Mexican flavor and makes for a delicious and easy weeknight meal.

a green put filled with pork stew with corn, tomatoes, and parsley

Mexican Pork Stew

You can’t go wrong with pork and beans, at least not at my house. This is one of those few dishes where leftovers don’t last long here. Pork and beans was one of those dishes that was pretty common in our household growing up, and I’m sure it was and still is pretty common in a lot of homes primarily because it’s a fairly inexpensive dish.

We also tend to classify it as a comforting dish and this is quite true. There’s just something really comforting about sitting down and enjoying a bowl of hot pork and beans stew, it’s soul food. This stew is packed full of spices, tender melt in your mouth meat, and a nice kick of heat courtesy of fresh jalapeños.

What Is Mexican Pork Stew?

Mexican pork stew is considered a Pozole, a classic and authentic Mexican stew or soup that features slow cooked protein and a bounty of spices. This stew usually is a bit of a labor of love, but my spin on the classic will come together relatively quickly and with little fuss. I hope you’re ready to be completely blown away by this mouth watering bowl of home made comfort.

What Cut Of Pork Is Best For Stew?

Pork shoulder is perfect for this recipe as it works best when cooked down well. You’ll want to cook that meat first, especially since pork shoulder is a fattier meat, so you want to render some of that fat and turn it a bit crispy. If you want to make this a tad bit healthier you might want to drain the fat from the meat before adding the rest of the ingredients, but I didn’t since I wanted to keep that yummy flavor.

a bowl of pork stew garnished with green onions and 2 lemon wedges

Ingredients In Mexican Pork Stew

Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Olive oil – To brown our meat, we want a nice neutral tasting oil.
Pork – We’re using pork shoulder today, with the fat trimmed and cubed into bite sized pieces.
Sausage – I used kielbasa cut up into small pieces. It’ll add so much flavor to this dish so don’t skip this ingredient, if you have trouble finding some feel free to substitute chorizo or andouille.
Onion – We want something that cooks down well like white or yellow onion.
Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
Jalapeno – Chopped up fine with the seeds and ribs removed.
Spices – Cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, and cayenne.
Tomatoes – 1 entire large can of diced tomatoes.
Beans – Feel free to either use an entire can of pinto or kidney beans.
Broth – I recommend using beef broth, low sodium as we want to control the amount of salt in our dish.
Herbs – Fresh green onion and cilantro to be sprinkled over top at the end of cooking our dish.
Lime – Wedges to squeeze some fresh juice right over top.

How To Make Mexican Pork Stew

Brown the meat: In a large Dutch oven heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork and sausage and brown to render some of the fat from the meat, for about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain the fat, if preferred.
Form the stew: Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper to the pot. Stir in the spices then add the diced tomatoes, beans and broth. Stir then cover and cook on medium-low for about 25 minutes.
Finish the dish: Garnish with green onions and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

overhead of a large pot filled with mexican pork stew and garnished with parsley and green onion

How Else Can I Make Mexican Pork Stew Stew?

Crock pot

To make this in a crockpot, follow step 1 to brown the meat then transfer the meat and the rest of the ingredients (with the exception of the green onions, cilantro and lime) to the crockpot and stir. Cook covered on low for about 6 to 8 hours or until the meat is tender.

Pressure cooker

You’ll want to follow the directions outlined above, including browning and sautéing right in the pressure cooker on the saute setting. Assemble the ingredients in the pot, make sure to scrape the brown bits from the inner pot once the broth is added! Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes and allow the pressure to release naturally before serving!

What Else Can I Use In My Pork Stew?

There’s lot’s you can incorporate into this stew! It’s a blank canvas for whatever you’d like to use up in your pantry or fridge, so feel free to have some fun with it.

Veggies

Cauliflower
Peas
Broccoli
Zucchini
Celery

Meat

Lamb
Beef
Chicken
Turkey

Using other proteins may effect the cooking time so just keep that in mind when incorporating other meats into your stew.

What’s Best To Serve With Mexican Pork Stew?

This meal is totally rich, satisfying, and filling all on it’s own. My favorite thing to pair it with is some nice crusty bread to soak up all that delicious flavor! Here’s some of my favorites from the blog:

spoon scooping mexican pork stew out of a bowl garnished with green onion and 2 lemon wedges

Storing Leftover Mexican Pork Stew

Allow the stew to come to room temperature but don’t leave it out, unrefrigerated for more than two hours. Store it in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Can I Freeze Pork Stew?

You can freeze this stew for 4 – 6 months. Simply transfer it to airtight containers or resealable freezer bags and pop them in the freezer. Just allow to thaw overnight in the fridge and warm back up to temperature over the stove when ready to eat.

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allie says

September 19, 2020 at 7:35 pm

made this on a whim and it was so tasty! i feel like this is really versatile too and i’m looking forward to adding a bunch of different veggies and peppers to it.