An easy chicken pozole recipe that’s a healthy Mexican soup with hominy. Make either stovetop or instant pot posole when you want a filling yet light soup you can enjoy year-round.
Mexican chicken posole is gluten-free and dairy-free, yet it’s so hearty and filling.
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If you’ve never had Mexican chicken pozole, you serve the flavorful and slightly spicy stew with lots of fresh cold garnishes like shredded cabbage, radishes, fresh cilantro, avocado, and green onions. A dairy garnish using either Mexican cotija cheese or Monterey Jack, or a dollop of sour cream is also delicious, yet you can skip it to keep in dairy-free.
Be sure to check out our other Mexican food recipes including instant pot Mexican shredded chicken, Mexican street corn salad, bacon and cream cheese stuffed jalapeno poppers, or sugar-free skinny margaritas!
MEXICAN CHICKEN POZOLE
If you’re been wondering how do I make pozole? This chicken pozole recipe will teach you how easy it can be, whether you’d prefer to make instant pot posole or make it on the stovetop. Either way, pozole with chicken is a fabulous and healthy alternative to much of the Americanized cheese-laden Mexican recipes many are used to.
I first tasted chicken posole at my parent’s house many many years ago, (they’ve always called it posole and not pozole). I was intrigued with the very first bite! Such a light and refreshing soup yet it was so hearty, filling, and delicious.
IS IT CALLED POZOLE OR POSOLE?
Pozole is a hearty Mexican soup made with hominy and often with pork. Substituting chicken for the pork is a popular pozole variation. Pozole is the Hispanic word for hominy, which is also the traditional spelling, yet many people in the US also refer to it as posole soup.
We use the terms pozole and posole interchangeably in the recipe since people refer to it in different ways.
If you’ve never used or even heard of hominy, it’s basically dried corn that gets soaked in a lime or lye solution that softens helps to soften the corn.
INGREDIENTS FOR POZOLE
Other than the canned hominy, all of the ingredients for this chicken pozole recipe are simple and easy to find. If you aren’t sure where to find hominy at your grocery store, look in the Mexican foods section or it could be in the canned vegetable aisle near canned corn.
- 4 c chicken broth
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 lb chicken, breasts or thighs cut into 5-6 oz pieces
- 1- 25 oz can hominy, drained
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 Tbsp lime juice, fresh
- dash of hot pepper sauce
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)
Traditionally, pozole soup is made with pork. Substituting pork in the chicken posole recipe would also work, be sure to cut the pork meat into small pieces or cubes to keep the cooking time the same.
Garnishes
- Fresh cilantro
- Shredded cabbage
- Sliced radishes
- Cotija cheese or shredded Monterey Jack
- Lime wedges
This is a list of garnishes for Mexican chicken posole my family always served with this dish. Other great additions would be tortilla chips, sour cream, or avocado.
INSTANT POT POSOLE
Instant pot posole is our favorite way to cook chicken pozole soup! There’s no need to pre-cook the chicken, you simply add everything in the pot and let it pressure cook for 10 minutes.
With pressure cooker posole I’d still allow 45-60 minutes to make the dish from start to finish. Although it’s just a 10 minute cook time under pressure, add the cold chicken broth, hominy, and canned tomatoes will make it take a bit of time to come to pressure.
Turn a pressure cooker to Saute High, once the pot is hot, add the olive oil. Cook the diced onion until soft, and then add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and jalapeno (if you’re using one). Stir for one minute.
Add a little chicken broth to the bottom of the pot to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pot. Press the Cancel button on the pot to stop the pot from cooking the ingredients. Turn the pot to Manual (some models call this Pressure Cook).
Add the chicken broth, hominy, tomatoes, lime juice and chicken pieces.
Pressure cook the chicken posole ingredients for 10 minutes and then do a natural release 5 minutes. When the pin drops, open the pot, give the pozole soup a stir and add salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle the chicken pozole into soup bowls and then add the shredded cabbage, radishes, cheese, and green onion. Other garnishes you can add include sour cream, tortilla chips, or guacamole.
Enjoy!
HOW TO MAKE POZOLE ON THE STOVE
Bring water to boil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot. Add the chicken, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer the chicken until it’s cooked through. This will take about 12-13 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the broth and set it aside.
Add the hominy, tomatoes, oregano, cumin, jalapeno, lime juice, and dash of hot pepper sauce to the chicken broth in the pot.
Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the soup mixture stirring often until it’s slightly thickened.
In the meantime, after the chicken cools, shred it.
Stir the shredded chicken into the pot, along with the fresh cilantro, and additional salt and pepper, if desired. Heat until the chicken is warm again.
Ladle the chicken pozole into soup bowls and then add the shredded cabbage, radishes, cheese, and green onion. Other garnishes you can add include sour cream, tortilla chips, or guacamole.
More Mexican Recipes
- Fish taco bowls
- Instant pot taco chicken
- Homemade taco seasoning
- Instant pot Mexican corn (elote recipe)
- Slow cooker taco soup
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Chicken Pozole Recipe (Instant Pot Pasole + Stovetop)
An easy chicken pozole recipe that's a healthy Mexican soup with hominy. Make either stovetop or instant pot posole when you want a filling yet light soup you can enjoy year-round.
Mexican chicken posole is gluten-free and dairy-free (if you skip the optional cheese garnish).
Ingredients
- 4 c chicken broth
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 lb chicken, breasts or thighs cut into 5-6 oz pieces
- 1- 25 oz can hominy, drained
- 2- 15 oz cans Mexican tomatoes (Ro-tel)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 Tbsp lime juice, fresh
- dash of hot pepper sauce
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)
- salt and pepper
- OPTIONAL GARNISHES- cilantro, shredded cheese, sliced radishes, shredded cabbage
Instructions
INSTANT POT POSOLE
Turn a pressure cooker to Saute High, once the pot is hot, add the olive oil. Cook the diced onion until soft, and then add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and jalapeno (if you're using one). Stir for one minute.
Add a little chicken broth to the bottom of the pot to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pot. Press the Cancel button on the pot to stop the pot from cooking the ingredients. Turn the pot to Manual (some models call this Pressure Cook).
Add the chicken broth, hominy, tomatoes, lime juice and chicken pieces.
Pressure cook the chicken posole ingredients for 10 minutes and then do a natural release 5 minutes. When the pin drops, open the pot, give the pozole soup a stir and add salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle the chicken pozole into soup bowls and then add the shredded cabbage, radishes, cheese, and green onion. Other garnishes you can add include sour cream, tortilla chips, or guacamole.
STOVETOP
Bring water to boil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot. Add the chicken, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer the chicken until it's cooked through. This will take about 12-13 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the broth and set it aside.
Add the hominy, tomatoes, oregano, cumin, jalapeno, lime juice, and dash of hot pepper sauce to the chicken broth in the pot.
Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the soup mixture stirring often until it's slightly thickened.
In the meantime, after the chicken cools, shred it.
Stir the shredded chicken into the pot, along with the fresh cilantro, and additional salt and pepper, if desired. Heat until the chicken is warm again.
Ladle the chicken pozole into soup bowls and then add the shredded cabbage, radishes, cheese, and green onion. Other garnishes you can add include sour cream, tortilla chips, or guacamole.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 335Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 123mgSodium 944mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 42g
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