Our easy chicken pozole recipe is a healthy Mexican-inspired soup that your family is going to love! With chicken, hominy, tomatoes, and seasoned with garlic, cumin, and jalapeno, this light soup is perfect to enjoy year-round. We are including both stovetop instructions and our instant pot posole recipe so you can make your dinner a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
MEXICAN CHICKEN POZOLE
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.
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.
We love to enjoy this quick and easy instant pot chicken pozole recipe all year long, but especially in the summer when we can grab all of our vegetable and produce garnishes right from a farmer's market.
Additionally, you can serve your Instant Pot chicken pozole with sides such as chips and salsa, side salads, or this roasted corn esquites recipe.
Why You'll Love This!
- Our chicken pozole recipe will teach you just how easy it can be to make this Mexican-inspired soup at home!
- One receipe, but two different cooking options! Whether you prefer to use your pressure cooker to make and Instant Pot posole or grab a soup pot and make your chicken pozole recipe on the stovetop, our recipe will show you how to do both!
- A light yet hearty soup, Mexican chicken pozole is gluten-free and dairy-free.
- Customize your bowl of this fabulous chicken pozole recipe when you add your favorite toppings including cabbage, radishes, and more.
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!
On Keto? Grab our FREE keto foods list here OR Snag our Keto Binder HERE
Ingredient Notes
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.
- chicken broth
- onion
- garlic cloves
- chicken - breasts or thighs cut into pieces
- hominy - drained
- olive oil
- dried oregano
- cumin
- lime juice - fresh
- hot pepper sauce
- cilantro - chopped
- jalapeno - chopped (optional)
- optional garnishes -fresh cilantro, shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, cotija cheese or shredded Monterey Jack, lime wedges, tortilla chips, sour cream, or avocado.
Variations
- Chicken - Rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked chicken can be used instead, rotisserie chicken is saltier so but sure to cut back on the salt in the recipe or use low sodium chicken broth.
- Pork - Pork can be used instead of chicken.
Equipment
A Pressure Cooker - This is the Instant Pot model that we used.
Step by Step Instructions
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 into the pot and let it pressure cook for 10 minutes.
Instant Pot Directions
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 for 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 Directions
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 a 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.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Scraping the bottom of the instant pot will help you to deglaze the pan and add flavor to your chicken pozole instant pot recipe. It was all help you avoid the dreaded burn notice.
- If you do get the burn notice, simply release pressure in your instant pot, open it, and scrape the bottom of the pot. Resume cooking following the recipe steps above.
- If you are using the stove top recipe, be sure to fully cook your chicken in the ismmering water. Or, if you prefer, you can use a variety of precooked chicken options including rotiserie chicken or our 20-second shredded chicken.
Common Questions
You can serve your chicken pozole recipe with sides such as chips and salsa, side salads, or this roasted corn esquites recipe.
Posole is not considered keto as it is made with hominy corn. It can be considered low-carb with just 13 net-carbs per serving, but it is not a keto-friendly recipe.
You can store leftover chicken posole in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days.
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.
More Mexican Recipes
Looking for more Mexican-inspired recipes?
- Fish taco bowls
- Instant pot taco chicken
- Homemade taco seasoning
- Instant pot Mexican corn (elote recipe)
- Slow cooker taco soup
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
📖 Recipe
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 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoon lime juice, fresh
- dash of hot pepper sauce
- ¼ 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 for 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 a 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.
Notes
Pork can be used instead of chicken
Serve the soup immediately with fresh garnishes for the crispy crunch of the cabbage and radishes. You don't want the veggies to get soggy.
Rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked chicken can be used instead, rotisserie chicken is saltier so but sure to cut back on the salt in the recipe or use low sodium chicken broth.
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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 16gNet Carbohydrates 13gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 42g
Corina says
Very delicious! I just happen to have everything on hand except chicken broth so I used chicken stock. I used the HOT Rotel tomatoes and added a lot of diced jalapeños and it was the perfect amount of spicy. Garnished with radish, cilantro, sour cream, green onion, unsalted tortilla chips, Mexican 4 cheese, more lime, Tabasco and serranos. I like things spicy lol. Excited to eat leftovers. I added more hominy too cause I didn’t have that much chicken.