This Pozole Verde de pollo recipe is my favorite winter soup. This bright, flavorful and easy soup is a lot like a Mexican stew using tomatillos, pepitas, chicken and hominy! Top it with fried tortilla chips or tostadas, slices of avocado, thinly sliced radishes and cilantro for some added freshness and texture.
What is Pozole?
Now for some history on pozole. If you’ve never had pozole, it’s almost like a cross between a stew and a soup (this iteration is a bit more brothy because I love broth). It has a rich history and is actually pre-Columbian. It was a dish the Aztecs served on special occasions. The main ingredient is hominy (pozole).
What is Hominy?
Hominy derives from corn. It’s a food produced from dried corn kernels that have been treated with lye and/or water and lime juice. You can buy it fresh or in canned form. I usually buy it in the can and just drain it and rinse it before I use it in any dish.
Red Pozole Versus Green Pozole
There are different varieties and different states and cities have their own twists and special additions. The three main varieties are green, white and red (just like the Mexican flag!). It’s that type of dish that warms you right up on a cold day.
- Green Pozole is bright and tart thanks to the tomatillos. If you’ve never cooked with tomatillos, you’re in for a treat because they couldn’t be more simple. This pozole, while comforting, is actually quite light and doesn’t feel too rich or heavy.
- Red Pozole (pozole rojo) is made using dried red chiles. This gives it its red color.
- White Pozole (pozole blanco) is made using a clear broth (water or chicken broth) and often times has shredded pork.
How to Make Pozole Verde con Pollo
Below I have instructions on how to make pozole (como hacer pozole) in an Instant Pot OR a regular pot on the stove.
- Toast the pepitas! Add a pinch of salt and toast them; immediately transfer them to a blender and blend! Leave them in the blender because we’re going to add more to the mixture in a bit.
- Add the chicken, onion, garlic, poblano pepper, jalapeño, Mexican oregano and chicken broth to a pot OR an Instant Pot. The cooking time will vary but we want to cook the chicken and tomatillos until they’re fully cooked and softened.
- Remove the cooked chicken. And transfer it to a cutting board. Shred it up!
- Strain the broth from the solids. We want to separate the two because we’re going to blend up the solids.
- Add the separated broth back to the pot or Instant Pot. Bring to a simmer and add the hominy. This will soften the hominy.
- And then, add the solids to the blender with the pepitas and then top it with the cilantro. Pulse and blend until completely smooth.
- Pour the green sauce into the pot with the broth and hominy. Add the shredded chicken. Adjust the salt.
- And then serve with the garnishes. I like to fry up some tortillas, slice up avocado, diced onion and a few limes.
If you make this chicken Pozole Verde, let me know on Instagram! Looking for more Latin-inspired recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Alfajores
- Peruvian Arroz con Pollo
- Chilaquiles
- Papa a la Huancaina
- Lomo Saltado
- Pupusas w/ Curtido and Salsa Roja
- Cuban Picadillo
- Arroz con Pollo
Pozole Verde Recipe
This Pozole Verde de pollo is my favorite winter soup. This bright and flavorful soup is a lot like a Mexican stew using tomatillos, pepitas, chicken and hominy! Top it with fried tortilla chips or tostadas, slices of avocado, thinly sliced radishes and cilantro for some added freshness and texture.
Serving Size:
Pozole Verde:
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds/pepitas
- 1 1/2 pound bone-less (skin-less chicken thighs)
- 1 yellow or white onion (peeled, ends trimmed and discarded, and quartered)
- 1 pound tomatillos (husks removed and roughly chopped)
- 5 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 poblano pepper (trimmed and roughly chopped)
- 1 jalapeño (stems removed)
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano (Italian will work in a pinch)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 (24-ounce) can hominy (drained)
Garnishes:
- 2 tortillas (sliced into triangles and fried (or just buy tortilla chips)
- 1 avocado (sliced)
- 2 radishes (ends trimmed)
- 1/4 yellow or white onion (peeled and diced)
To Make it in an Instant Pot:
- To a small skillet, set over medium-low heat, add the pumpkin seeds and a pinch of salt. Toast for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then. When they start to brown, pour them right into the jar of your blender (we’ll be adding more stuff to the blender later!). Cover the blender and pulse until ground, about 30 seconds to a minute.
- To the Instant Pot, add the chicken, onion, tomatillos, garlic, poblano pepper, jalapeño, Mexican oregano, chicken broth and 2 teaspoons of salt. Close the “vent” and set the pressure cooker to high and timer to 15 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot goes off, do a quick release. I like to cover the valve with a clean kitchen towel and flip it open using a wooden spoon’s handle. When there is no more pressure, remove the lid, opening it away from you.
- Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Place a strainer atop a big bowl, and pour the liquid through. Transfer all of the solids (the pepper, onion, tomatillos, etc.) to the blender, along with a cup of liquid (you can eyeball this measurement). Add the cilantro to the blender uncovered. It'll cool off a bit while we do the next step.
- Pour the strained broth back into the Instant Pot; and then add the hominy. Set the machine to the “saute” function and place the timer on 5 minutes. This will cook the hominy a bit while we blend up the green sauce and shred the chicken.
- Back to the blender! Allowing some steam to escape from the blender, process until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Shred the chicken using two forks. By this time, the broth and hominy should be very warm. Add the chicken back to the Instant Pot, along with the remaining blender green sauce. Give it a big stir and adjust the salt to your liking. I added an additional 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
- Divide amongst bowls and garnish with crispy chips, slices of avocado, radishes, jalapeño, sliced cabbage and/or diced onion.
To Make on the Stove in a Large Pot:
- To a small skillet, set over medium-low heat, add the pumpkin seeds and a pinch of salt. Toast for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then. When they start to brown, pour them right into the jar of your blender (we’ll be adding more stuff to the blender later!). Cover the blender and pulse until ground, about 30 seconds to a minute.
- To a medium to large pot, set over medium-high heat, add the chicken, onion, tomatillos, garlic, poblano pepper, jalapeño, Mexican oregano, chicken broth and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the tomatillos have softened.
- Remove the chicken and transfer to a cutting board. Place a strainer atop a big bowl, and pour the liquid through.
- Transfer all of the solids (the pepper, onion, tomatillos, etc.) to the blender, along with a cup of broth (you can eyeball this measurement). Add the cilantro to the blender.
- Pour the chicken broth back to the pot, along with the hominy and turn the flame to medium-heat. This will warm up the broth and cook the hominy a bit while we blend up the sauce and shred the chicken.
- Back to the blender, allowing some steam to escape from the blender, process until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Shred the chicken using two forks. By this time, the broth and hominy should be very warm. Add the chicken back to the pot, along with the remaining blender green sauce. Give it a big stir and adjust the salt to your liking. I added an additional 2 teaspoons.
- Divide amongst bowls and garnish with crispy chips, slices of avocado, radishes, jalapeño, sliced cabbage and/or diced onion.
To Store:
This recipe freezes REALLY well. To freeze, allow to come to room temperature. Store in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then warm when thawed.
Substitutions for Poblano Pepper:
If you can’t find a poblano pepper, you should be able to use a pasilla pepper. Anaheim peppers/hatch chiles can tend to be spicy so if using those instead of a poblano, I would eliminate or halve the jalapeño.
Equipment Tools:
Instant Pot | OXO Strainer | Tongs | Chef’s Knife |
Serving: 6g | Calories: 278kcal (14%) | Carbohydrates: 15g (5%) | Protein: 29g (58%) | Fat: 12g (18%) | Saturated Fat: 2g (13%) | Cholesterol: 71mg (24%) | Sodium: 991mg (43%) | Potassium: 1051mg (30%) | Fiber: 4g (17%) | Sugar: 4g (4%) | Vitamin A: 388IU (8%) | Vitamin C: 46mg (56%) | Calcium: 48mg (5%) | Iron: 2mg (11%)
Incredibly delicious, quick and easy! Can’t wait to have leftovers tomorrow.
Made this last night and as I sat here eating left overs, I just HAD to come here to say how absolutely amazing this recipe is and how much I appreciate you putting this out there for people like me to experience! definitely my favorite soup I’ve cooked in a while and I’ll definitely be making again
love hearing this!
Honestly delicious and so easy. I did a bit more chicken (about 2.5 lbs) so I did about 7 cups of chicken stock and one cup of water. Did a bit more garlic as well, and extra hominy. I served it with diced red onion, tomato, avocado, and a small dollop of sour cream. Thanks so much for a great recipe!!
This was a great recipe to follow along. I used the pressure cooker, and adjusted things to personal taste. Overall, everyone loved it.
amazing so glad you loved it!
This was so good. The broth in it is so delicious. I didn’t find poblano peppers so I used a pepper called pasilla that looks a lot like it. Another reader used marjoram so I used that too since I couldn’t find Mexican oregano either. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi, I was wondering if this could be made with pork instead of chicken? And do you think the cooking time would need to altered? Thanks!
Yes I’m sure you can just not sure what the cooking times would be because I’ve never done it–sorry!
Amazing recipe! I’ve made it several times now, and it’s always perfect. I’ve had to sub an Anaheim for the Pablano and 1 tsp marjoram for the Mexican oregano because I couldn’t find them–still excellent and actually rivals the green pozole at our go-to pozole restaurant!
Love this! YAY!
Really, really, really good. Thank you!
this recipe is delicious!
Made this tonight and it is so awesome~ thanks for a great recipe!
I would definitely take rain over the foot of snow I’m currently working with. Cleaning off my car almost daily is getting old. And then I can’t reach the top of my car, so I always leave a trail of snow as I’m driving and it’s flying off the roof, which is also annoying. #firstworldproblemsiknow
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