Pozole - Tastes Better from Scratch (2024)

This Mexican POZOLE recipe is a brothy, hearty soup built on a base of hominy and tender pork or chicken, flavored with a homemade red chile sauce and garnished with shredded cabbage and thinly sliced radishes. It’s also known as Pozole Rojo.

Check out more Mexican recipes like Pozole Verde, Chile Colorado, Mole Enchiladas, and Carne Asada Tacos.

Talk about Mexican soul food; you can’t get more quintessential than Pozole! This is a Mesoamerican dish and was an Aztec favorite long before Columbus ever sailed the ocean blue. There are even restaurants specializing in it, called pozolerías! It was one of the first real Mexican dishes I fell in love with while living in Puebla, Mexico. Various cooks in Mexico shared their methods with me, and this is my version, created using the ingredients I’m able to find at my local grocery store. Everyone makes it their own by sprinkling on their favorite crunchy, fresh and aromatic toppings before digging into this steamy bowl of yumminess.

About the Ingredients:

• Pork shoulder or butt roast. I usually buy a couple pounds extra to compensate for the all the fat I trim off. Traditional pozole also includes pork bones (neck bones, ham hocks, or foot bones). These are very inexpensive and add great flavor to the broth!
• Aromatics: Garlic cloves divided and a yellow onion quartered (these will be used to flavor the broth then removed).
• Spices: Bay leaves, oregano, ground cumin.
• Chiles: Gaujillo, ancho and, for extra heat, chile de árbol. Dried chiles can be found in the Mexican aisle or online. OR cheat by subbing one 28-ounce can of Las Palmas Red Chile Sauce in place of the chilies and tomato sauce. Prepping the chiles: To keep from accidentally setting your face on fire, put on gloves! For dried chilies, rehydrate by soaking in boiling water for 15 minutes. For fresh or re-hydrated chilies, chop off the head, slit up one side and remove the seeds. If skin is separating (especially with dried) scrape out the pulp with a spoon and discard the skin.
• The Broth Base: Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor, or chicken bouillon granules and tomato sauce.
• Canned white hominy.

Pozole Toppings:

• Thinly shredded cabbage
• Diced yellow or white onion
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges
• Avocado (optional)
• A few thinly sliced radishes (optional)
• Warm corn or flour tortillas, for serving

How to make Pozole:

Trim and cube the pork.

Make Broth: In a stockpot, bring pork and water to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the top and then add onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt and chicken bouillon. Simmer for 1 ½ hours.

Meanwhile, boil chilies (deseeded and deveined) in a saucepan with water for 15 minutes and set aside.

Blend the chilies and a few cloves of garlic in a little of the chilie’s cooking water.

Empty the chili saucepan, add a little oil and strain chili mixture back into pan. Simmer for 10 minutes.

From stockpot, strain out aromatics (bay leaves, onion, garlic cloves, and neck bones if used).

Add remaining ingredients to stockpot and simmer for 30 minutes. (Chili sauce mixture, tomato sauce, oregano, cumin, white vinegar, hominy, plus salt and pepper to taste)

Ladle soup into bowls, apply toppings: Shredded cabbage, chopped onion, fresh cilantro, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, plus, optionally, avocado and thinly sliced radishes. Serve with warm tortillas. Also make sure to try my Pozole Verde!

Variations:

• Spice level: This pozole is pretty mild (my young kids eat it!) as the guajillo and ancho chilies are not very spicy. If you like more spice, add árbol chilies, or simply season your portion with crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce at the end.
• Pork substitutes: You can make pozole with beef chuck roast and beef bouillon instead of pork and chicken bouillon. Or use bone-in chicken thighs, but only cook the chicken for about 30 minutes to an hour, until tender. (Chicken is typically used in Pozole Verde, and Pork is traditional for this pozole, Pozole Rojo).
• Instant Pot Pozole: Add pork, water, onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt and buollion to the instant pot and pressure cook for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the chile sauce according to instructions. Once timer is up on instant pot, strain the broth (discarding onion, bay leaf, etc) and return broth to the pot. Add chile sauce, remaining seasonings and hominy. Pressure cook for 10 more minutes.
• Slow Cooker Pozole: Cook broth in slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours. Strain the broth (discarding onion, bay leaf, etc) and return broth to the pot. Make and add red chile sauce, hominy and remaining ingredients and cook on low for 1-2 more hours.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: Pozole can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for about a week. The toppings are best prepared fresh but the sliced radishes can be stored wrapped in moist paper towels or in water. Shredded cabbage can be kept from browning by tossing it thoroughly in lime juice.

To Freeze: Once cooled, pozole can be stored in freezer-friendly containers or freezer bags for several months. Remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and warm over low heat.

If you love Latin-inspired recipes, be sure to try:

• Pozole Verde
• Argentine Empanadas
• Salvadorian Pupusas,
• Peruvian Arroz Chaufa
• Mexican Tamales

I originally shared this recipe January 2021. Updated April 2023.

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