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Pozole Verde

Pozole is one of my favorite dishes of all time. Pozole, literally meaning “hominy” is a traditional soup from Mexico. As a Texan, I’ve experienced many bowls of pozole. Some great, some not so great. There are many different types of pozole but I’ve grown up eating either Pozole Verde or Pozole Rojo (aka red or green pozole). 

Pozole is traditionally filled with hominy (made from dried corn kernels and treated through a special process involving lye), lots of meat (typically using pork), and can be seasoned and garnished using radishes, shredded lettuce, chiles, onion, lime, and avocado. 

Pozole is one of those dishes that I grew up eating but never knew how to really make it nor never tried. I was recently raving about one of my favorite bowls of Pozole served in town at the local restaurant Jose to my friend, Martha. Martha said while Jose’s pozole is very good, her mom’s recipe is better and she wanted to teach me how to really make pozole. Heck yes! Martha is an incredible cook, and I love learning from her in the kitchen. 

So, I sat down in the kitchen and watched her work away. A rare and quite enjoyable moment for me since I am usually the mad scientist in the kitchen myself. And a mad scientist she was, indeed. At one point, there was a giant pot on the stovetop boiling away, a small saucepan boiling away, a skillet sauteeing away, and she was chopping away at the counter. I thought, woah. This is quite a production to make pozole! 

The pozole that Martha made for me was the best I’ve ever had. The depth of flavor was unreal and we ate it all week long. It made enough to feed a small army, haha, but hey! I am not complaining. I would be happy to eat that pozole for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. yum. 

After Martha showed me the ropes in making Pozole, I knew I needed to attempt it for myself. I’ve taken elements from Martha’s Pozole and I have done a few things so that I can share it with you. First off, I’ve made the recipe much smaller; however, it still makes a ton and can feed a lot of mouths. As I said, Martha’s fed a small army! haha. There are also a lot of steps in making a good pozole, so I’ve merely made some changes to the recipe to ensure that the recipe is a bit more straightforward and everyone can follow the step-by-step instructions, no matter your level of expertise in the kitchen. That way, any level of cook can get a delicious bowl of pozole on the table. And lastly, I opted to use chicken instead of pork in this soup to help cut down the cook time a bit; however, if you want the real deal– here is Martha’s pork version! It’s so dang good. 

One more tidbit that I never knew about eating pozole. Martha told me that you never eat pozole without a tostada. We had a good laugh in my kitchen because she served up my pozole with a crispy tostada (just the packaged ones you buy in a store, nothing fancy) and I said… do I dip this? Martha said nope. Okay, do I scoop the soup contents over it? Martha said nope, you just eat it alongside the soup. I thought.. hmm, seems unnecessary but the corn flavor from the tostada alongside the pozole is quite a match made in heaven. It’s like saltine crackers with chicken noodle soup. They just go together.

Regardless, a big thank you goes to Martha for teaching me new, amazing techniques in my kitchen. I love learning from you. Thank you for sharing with me and allowing me to share it on my blog! *I have also added Martha’s Pork Pozole recipe, which you can find here*.

For more comforting soup recipes, check out my Soups + Stews Round Ups!

5 from 6 votes

Pozole Verde

Total: 2 hours
Servings: 12 people

Ingredients 

  • 4 large poblanos, seeds and cores removed & cut into 2 inch chunks or 5 cups
  • 1.5 lbs tomatillo, husks removed and rinsed
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 cups chicken broth, low sodium
  • 1 medium white onion, cut into 1/8ths
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 3 tsp kosher salt or more to taste
  • 4 cups (packed) green leaf lettuce, loosely chopped
  • 2 cups (packed) cilantro
  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 2 25 oz Mexican style hominy, drained and rinsed *omit for Whole30 and see notes.
  • 6 radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 head iceberg, shredded
  • 2 limes, cut into wedges
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced
  • 2 tbsp cilantro, for serving

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment. 
  • Add the poblanos and tomatillos. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast until the poblanos are tender and the tomatillos have softened, 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
  • Meanwhile, in a high-speed blender, add the white onion, garlic, kosher salt and 1-2 ladles of the broth (or approx. 1 cup). Blend until smooth then add into the soup pot. (don't put up the blender-- you'll need it a few times).
  • In the blender, add the green leaf lettuce, cilantro and 2-3 ladles of the broth mixture (about 2 cups). Blend to combine then add to the soup pot.
  • Once the cook time on the poblanos and tomatillos is complete, add to the blender with 1-2 ladles of the broth (you may need to do this in 2 batches depending on the size of your blender). Blend until smooth and add to the soup pot. 
  • At this point in the cooking process there may be some foam forming at the top of the soup. Using a spoon, skim the foam off the top of the soup and discard. 
  • Add the chicken breasts into the soup and cook, simmering over medium-low heat, until the chicken is cooked through and tender, about 1 hour. Once the chicken is cooked through, using tongs remove the chicken from the pot and onto a cutting board. Using two forks, shred the chicken or dice up the chicken (I prefer it diced).
  • Add hominy and stir to combine. Simmer until the hominy is just tender, 15 to 20 minutes. When the hominy is just tender, add the chicken back into the soup. Stir to combine. Keep over low heat until ready to serve.
  • When ready to serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sliced radishes, iceberg, lime, avocado and cilantro. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

*For Whole30-- omit the hominy. I dice 2 large russet potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and add it to the soup and cook at the end the same as the hominy, or until tender. 

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Servings: 12 people


Welcome! I’m Alex.

I’m a food lover sharing healthy, simple, delicious, recipes from my kitchen to yours. Here you’ll find lots of Whole30, lots of healthy, and a little indulgence here and there because…it’s all about balance y’all!


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Recipe Rating




14 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Outstanding, thank you for sharing Martha’s recipe and your instructions to make it easy to master even as a novice.

  2. 5 stars
    We really loved this! It’s very different from pozole I’ve made before, and it’s perfect. Thank you so much!!

  3. 5 stars
    This is better than our local fav taco place! I didn’t read through all the comments but wondering if this recipe can be frozen. If so, could it be added to the recipe?

  4. 5 stars
    Definitely a winner! Love how fresh and easy this recipe is. Every part makes it SO tasty. Cant wait to already make it again.

  5. 5 stars
    All of TheDefinedDish recipes are amazing but this is the best soup I’ve ever made. I have eaten the leftovers every day, twice a day and am already planning to make it again.

  6. I would love to make a pork version! Do you think roasting or smoking 2 lbs pork tenderloin that’s been marinated in tomatillo salsa (I usually buy frontera) would work. Then shred and add?

    I figured pork tenderloin is the lean equivalent of chicken breasts.

    Btw, I love your recipes (online and cookbook)! They’re amazing, use fresh ingredients, and are easy to prepare at home.

    1. Martha and I are making the Pork Pozole together this week so I can share that method, the method for cooking the pork is a little different and I want to ensure I share her recipe perfectly! 🙂

  7. I made this tonight and I cannot believe how good it is! I used a 7-qt Dutch oven, and it nearly filled it up. For anyone without a high powered blender, I used a food processor and it came out just fine. I was shocked how much salt I had to add, but once the level was right all the flavor came bursting through. If I make it again, I’ll leave some poblano seeds to add heat, but I just used crushed red pepper and it worked out well. Great option for those family members who can’t tolerate spice! I took some to my neighbors and they just raved. Thanks so much for this recipe! Can’t wait for the pork version.

    1. So glad you loved it!! Martha said that if you want to make it spicy, she adds a serrano pepper along with the poblanos and tomatillos! However, if you and your hubby love spice I strongly suggest you buy some Arbol Chiles. They pack the best punch when torn on top. Its much stronger than chile flakes and so yum!!