Inside: Pozole is a traditional Mexican soup that is full of different flavors, loved by many, and is consumed year-round.
One of my all-time favorite meals is Pozole. It is especially great on cold winter days when my body is asking for something warm. What better way to do that than with this delicious, and popular Mexican soup.
I have to say though, in Mexico people consume pozole in large quantities during every season of the year. It is especially popular, however, at holiday celebrations in Mexico. It is easy to make and you will love it!
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What Is Pozole And How Do You Make It?
Pozole is a pork-based soup, although there are other versions – such as Pozole Verde, that are made with shredded chicken. The version I am making today is Pozole Rojo, and it is popular in the whole country, while Pozole Verde is more popular in central Mexico.
In order to make it, you will need guajillo chiles like the ones that we used in our Barbacoa Tacos recipe, and the method for preparing them is the same as in that recipe.
One of the main ingredients that you need to make an authentic Pozole is hominy. In Mexico, it is sold raw, so it takes a little bit extra effort to peel and soak them so that they are soft enough to use.
Fortunately, cooking is a bit easier in today’s day and age and you can buy it ready-to-use at the store. Then, all you have to do is add it to the recipe!
A few years ago my sister-in-law was planning her wedding reception. For the food, she decided to have a soup buffet. She asked me to make pozole because she had tried it before and really liked it. Of course, I agreed, and I thought it was great to be able to include pozole in her reception.
This recipe was a hit at the reception and was gone even before the other popular soups!
The freshness of this recipe is complemented by the crunchy texture from the freshly made tortilla chips and freshly cut radish.
One of the memories that this recipe brings to my mind is how my grandma always ended up giving me tea to calm my stomach because I couldn’t stop eating it. I still have that problem today. Whenever I make Pozole, I keep eating it until it is gone.
I guess you could say that for me, Pozole is irresistible!
Try out this recipe and let me know in the comments below how it turns out. Don’t forget to leave a review!
Other Authentic Mexican Recipes That You Should Try
- Horchata
- Tacos Al Pastor
- Chilaquiles
- Barbacoa Tacos
- Pork Carnitas Tacos
- Shrimp Ceviche
- Flan
- Carne Asada
- Charro Beans
Products You May Need For This Recipe
- Large Stockpot. Usually, when you make this recipe, you make it for a crowd. If that is the case, you will want a large stockpot like this one.
- Hominy. You can usually find this in the Mexican section of the grocery store, but if not, you can buy it online here as well.
- 2 pounds of pork cut into medium sized cubes
- 6 guajillo chiles cleaned and strained like in the Barbacoa tacos recipe.
- 1 Can of hominy
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 tomato
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/2 onion
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups Chopped radish
- 8 lime
- 4 cups chopped lettuce
- 40 homemade tortilla chips
- chopped cilantro
- 1 chopped onion
- Cook the pork meat in sufficient water (ensuring that the pork is completely covered with an inch or two to spare) with 1 clove of garlic, 1/4 piece of an onion (not diced), the bay leaves, salt and pepper. Set aside 1/2 cup of the broth from cooking the pork.
Once the meat is cooked through, remove the bay leave, onion, and garlic clove, and add the hominy and bring to a boil for 15 minutes.
Blend the remaining 5 cloves of garlic, the guajillo chilies, the tomato, another 1/4 piece of the onion, the cumin, the salt, the pepper, the 1/2 cup of broth that was set aside in step 1 above, and 1/2 cup of hominy (to thicken the sauce) in a blender until completely blended.
Once the above mixture is blended, strain the mixture and add the strained liquid to the boiling pot with the pork and water. Season with oregano and add salt to taste.
- Let boil 15 minutes longer.
- Serve hot, topped with chopped lettuce, onions, radishes, and a few drops of lime and finally the homemade tortilla chips
what exaclty is a sufficient amount of water? Do you cover the meat with w/ water adding an additional 2 inches?
Hi Carol – sorry for the confusion. I just updated the instructions to read “ensuring that the pork is completely covered with 1-2 inches to spare.” As long as you cover the pork and add an inch or 2, you should be fine. Thanks!
Is it ok to make the chili mixture and strain it the night before? I’m trying to turn this into a crock pot dinner that I can finish quickly in the evening.
Hi Michelle – I have never done that, but I don’t think it would be a problem at all. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks!
Follow up: I tried it and everyone loved it. I’m not sure if it changed the flavor but there were no complaints.
Yes you can I do it all the time
hi thank you for the recipe. I am anxious to try cooking this. What size can of Hominy do you recommend ?
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca – I usually use a 29 or 30 ounce can. You can do one of the smaller ones though if you want to use less hominy. Hope that helps!
Sounds really good going try make Pozole soon
Sounds good. One question tho. What kind of pork? Something lean like loin, or something fattier like picnic?
Hi Dennis – I usually use pork loin, so I would recommend that or something similar. Good luck!
What exactly do you mean by blend and once blended what part am I adding?
Hi Nicole – you are supposed to blend all of the ingredients from that step in a blender. Once blended completely, put the mixture into a strainer and strain out the liquid. Take the liquid that you strain and add it to the pork and water in the pot. I can see how the instruction can be clarified, so I will go ahead and adjust how it reads.
Thanks!
So I notice that near the end of the recipe, a blended mixture of various ingredients is prepared, the drained, and only the liquid is used in the soup.
So the rest of the blending is just thrown away?
Seems like such a waste of good ingredients, but if that’s the way it is made traditionally, then I guess that is where we start…
Hi Larry – yes, the correct way to make this is to strain the liquid after blending the chiles, tomatoes, onions, and hominy (along with the spices), and then adding that liquid to the pot. This is crucial to getting the right flavor and color. I think you will see when you blend it, that all that is really left after straining out the liquid will be a somewhat thick paste. Hope this helps, and good luck!
You don’t mention when to add the bay leaves. While cooking the pork I would assume?
Hi Leia – thank you for pointing that out. Yes, you add it when you are cooking the pork. I will update the instructions. Thanks!
In the first part, “with the garlic, a piece of onion,” does this mean it needs to be diced or anything? just put it in there whole?? thank you!
Hi Mallory – this is referring to the 1/4 onion in the instructions, and it should just be added without dicing. I can see how that might be confusing, so I will update the instructions. Thanks!
Okay, so then do you take the onion and the garlic out of the pot with the cooking meat to blend with the ingredients in step 3? or is that different onion and garlic that is put into the blender in step three? if so, how much onion does that step need? and do I need to take the piece of onion and garlic out of the pot with the meat at any point?
thank you! lol.
Hi Mallory! I’m so sorry for the confusion. I just updated the ingredients and instructions so hopefully, it is more clear. You should only add 1 clove of garlic when you are cooking the meat and 1/4 piece of onion. After the meat is done cooking, you should remove the garlic clove, the 1/4 onion, and the bay leaves. You won’t reuse those.
For the next step, you include the remaining 5 cloves of garlic and another 1/4 piece of onion with the other ingredients in the blender. The ingredients should have said 1/2 onion instead of 1/4, so I apologize for that.
Hopefully, this clarifies. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks!
About how long does it take pork to cook in water?
Hi Vanessa – it takes about 30-40 minutes to cook in the water. Good luck!
I love pozole soup. Imma try making it . Thank you
Hi, I would like to try this! Do we add any liquid to the blender part? If so, what and how much of it? All I read are the dry ingredient portion. TIA!!
Hi Leanne – thanks for pointing this out. You should set aside 1/2 cup of the broth from cooking the pork and then use that in this step. I just updated the instructions. good luck!
Do you drain the can of hominy or not?
Hi Sue, yes, you should drain the can of hominy. I will update the instructions. Thanks!
What do you do with 8 limes… I only see that a few drops are used I am guessing in each serving.
Yes, that is correct. They are listed in the accompaniments sections along with other ingredients that you can choose to add to the soup once it has been served. The limes are usually cut into halves or quarters, and then each person can squeeze on the amount that they desire. Hope that helps. Thanks!
Hi. Quick question. You mention cleaning the guajillo chilies like for the barbacoa recipe. In that recipe you cook the chilies with onion, garlic, water etc. then blend and strain. Do you do that entire step for this recipe? Or just clean the stem and seeds of the guajillo?
Hi Teri, thanks for asking the question. For this recipe, you need to first remove the stem and the seeds, and then just boil the chiles alone without anything else. Once they are softened, drain the water and then follow the rest of the steps in this recipe (i.e. blend with the other ingredients indicated in the instructions section). Hope that helps. Thanks!
Thank you so much!