Chicken Pozole Soup
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Chicken Pozole – This is one of my all time favorite soup recipes! It’s a simple, flavorful Mexican inspired soup that’s loaded with fresh ingredients. It’s also hearty, healthy and incredibly easy to make. Try it once and you’ll be hooked!
What is Pozole (or Posole)?
Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew that’s made with hominy and meat (either pork or chicken) and its commonly garnished with cabbage, chile peppers, radishes, avocado, cilantro or limes.
Pozole (posole) is a Spanish word, pronounced Po-SO-leh.
This soup isn’t your traditional Pozole Rojo, that is much different. That is made with pork and is cooked in a dried chile pepper based broth and it is more of a stew. This version is actually very similar to chicken tortilla soup but with added cabbage and hominy (and it’s brothier than the rojo).
You can adjust the spices of this soup to suit your taste. If you like a strong chile powder flavor you can double or even triple the amount. If you want it spicy add lots of jalapeños, that’s my favorite way but my kids don’t care for it.
I’ve even used to make this soup with fresh tomatoes. If doing so just add 4 – 5 roma tomatoes (diced) in place of the canned.
This might not be the first thing you’d think to make but I’m telling you everyone I’ve served this soup to loves it! It’s one of the most satisfying soups and it’s perfect for chilly days, or even summer days to use up fresh veggies.
What Ingredients do I Need for Pozole Soup?
- Olive oil
- Produce – yellow onion, jalapeños, garlic, green cabbage, avocado, cilantro, lime
- Spices – chili powder, cumin, S&P
- Low-sodium chicken broth
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Rotisserie chicken (or leftover cooked chicken)
- Hominy
- Toppings – cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream
What is Hominy?
Hominy is a food produced from dried maize kernels that have been treated with an alkali. It’s basically dried corn that has been soaked in a mineral lime bath, and it’s actually what is used to make masa – which makes corn tortillas.
Here it is added whole. I love it’s chewy, unique texture and simple flavor.
Where Can I Find Hominy?
You can usually find hominy in the latin food section at the grocery store, sometimes I’ll even find it by the canned vegetables.
How do You Make Chicken Pozole?
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes then add jalapeños, garlic, chili powder, and cumin and saute 1 minute longer.
- Pour in chicken broth, tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer until onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in chicken and hominy and heat through, about 1 minute. Stir in cilantro and lime juice.
To serve: place a handful of chopped cabbage in serving bowl laddle soup over cabbage, top with grated cheese, diced avocados, sour cream and serve warm with tortilla chips.
Can I Cook Raw Chicken in the Soup?
This soup can also be made with raw chicken breasts vs. using cooked rotisserie chicken. If doing so add raw chicken breasts in along with the broth.
Note that you may need to cook them a little longer than 10 minutes once it reaches a simmer, it will be about 8 – 12 minutes of simmering. As always test temperature to 165 degrees and let rest about 5 minutes before shredding.
Can I Use Grilled Chicken?
In the summer I almost always use grilled chicken breasts in this recipe. I love the light charred flavor it adds. If doing so you’ll want to use about 1 lb chicken.
So You Add the Cabbage in Raw?
It may seem strange not to cook the cabbage but you’ll love it this way! What you’ll do is add the cabbage to the bottom of each bowl then add the hot soup. That way it barely cooks it and you still get a delicious satisfying crunch.
Don’t Omit the Toppings!
The soup wouldn’t be the same without all the added toppings. The cilantro, avocado, cheese, lime and sour cream make this soup sing. And the tortilla chip are perfect for dunking or crushing into the soup.
More Delicious Mexican Soup Recipes to Try!
- Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup (or the Slow Cooker version)
- Mexican Vegetable Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Quinoa Soup
- Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup
- Creamy Mexican Corn Chowder
Follow Cooking Classy
Chicken Pozole Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 1/4 cups)
- 1-5 jalapeños (to taste*), seeded and minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (1 Tbsp)
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, or more to taste
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked rotisserie chicken (or left over chicken)
- 1 (29 oz) can Mexican Style hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Serve with
- 1/2 small cabbage, chopped (cut into pieces about 3/4-inch)
- 3/4 cup shredded monterey jack or cheddar cheese
- 6 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 avocado, diced
- 4 oz tortilla chips
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes then add jalapeños, garlic, chili powder, and cumin and saute 1 minute longer.
- Pour in chicken broth, tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer until onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in chicken and hominy and heat through, about 1 - 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro and lime juice.
- To serve: place a handful of chopped cabbage in serving bowl laddle soup over cabbage, top with grated cheese, diced avocados, sour cream and serve warm with tortilla chips.