Pozole Verde Recipe (Green Pozole)
Pozole Verde is a comforting and delicious Mexican stew filled with tender pork (or chicken) and hominy in a flavorful green chile broth made from tomatillo, poblano, serrano, and jalapeño peppers. Serve with toppings like crushed tortilla chips, shredded cabbage, sour cream, and shredded cheese, this amazing stew is easy to make, gluten-free, and freezer-friendly!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Broth
- 6 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or pork butt (see notes)
- 2 small yellow onions peeled and quartered
- 1 head garlic
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro
- 1½ tablespoons sea salt
- 1 quart (4 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
- water to cover
- 2 (28 ounce) cans hominy drained and rinsed
For the Salsa Verde
- 1½ pounds tomatillos husked and halved
- 2 poblano chiles cored, seeded, and cut into quarters
- ½ large white onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeño seeded and roughly chopped (see notes)
- 1 serrano pepper seeded and halved
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup pepitas
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1-2 cups water or chicken stock (start with 1 cup)
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice plus more to taste
Toppings (Optional)
- shredded cabbage or lettuce
- sliced radish
- Mexican oregano (see notes)
- diced white or red onion
- chopped cilantro
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- tortilla chips or tostada shells
- limes
Instructions
Cook the Meat to Make the Broth
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven add the chicken or pork (or both), the onion, whole garlic, 1/2 a bunch of cilantro, salt, and chicken broth. Add additional cold water to cover the chicken and remaining ingredients (do not over-fill as it will dilute the flavor of the broth).
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer until the chicken (and/or pork) are fully cooked - about 30 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Use kitchen tongs to remove the onion and cilantro from the pot (it's ok if some of it is left behind). Discard or use in another recipe. Remove the garlic and set it aside. Carefully remove the chicken (and/or pork) from the pot and set it aside in a clean bowl to cool. Very carefully strain the remaining broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a separate pot.
- If the second pot is large enough to hold the broth, meat, hominy, and additional liquid feel free to keep the strained broth in the pot. Otherwise, wash out the original pot and transfer the broth back to the large pot.
For the Salsa Verde
- To the bowl of a large blender add the tomatillos, poblanos, white onion, jalapeño, serrano pepper, garlic cloves (the garlic that was used to flavor the broth is ok to use in the salsa), cilantro, pepitas, salt, lime juice, and 1 cup of water (add more only if needed). Blend until smooth.
Assemble
- Return the broth to a simmer. Shred the chicken and return it to the broth (add the chunks of pork butt back to the pot if using pork or a mixture of pork and chicken). Add the strained and rinsed hominy and mix well to combine.
- Add the salsa to the simmering soup. Allow everything to simmer all together for 20 minutes, or until the soup goes from a bright green to a deeper yellowish green.
- Season with additional salt and fresh lime juice, to taste.
- Serve in individual bowls garnished with all of your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Meat: Pozole verde can be made with either chicken or pork. For the healthiest and lowest calorie stew, use chicken breast meat. For the best tasting and most flavorful pozole verde, use 2 pounds of bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and 4 pounds of pork butt (cut into large cubes with the fat!) The nutritional information above reflects what is shown in the images - pozole verde with chicken and pork.
- Japapeño and serrano peppers: If you enjoy spicy foods, then you will likely need to add 1-2 additional jalapeño and/or serrano peppers. As written, however, the stew should turn out quite mild, especially with toppings.
- Dried Mexican oregano: Mexican oregano is brighter with floral and citrus notes - less bitter or peppery- and a hint of anise. It's found at many major grocery stores.
Nutrition
Calories: 861kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 55g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 283mg | Sodium: 3129mg | Potassium: 1093mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 567IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 4mg
