This is our quick (30-minute) take on Chicken Pozole, complete with hominy, shredded chicken, a delicious seasoned broth and loads of tasty toppings! While an authentic Mexican Chicken Pozole recipe can take hours to make, this recipe can be on the table in 20-30 minutes!
Try out this Chicken Pozole Soup recipe, which is part of our collection of favorite soup recipes. Click here to see all the recipes in the collection.
An Easy Chicken Pozole Recipe
If you aren’t familiar, pozole (or posole) is a traditional Mexican soup or stew. There are 3 common types of Pozole: Rojo (red), Blanco (white), and Verde (green). We’re taking the verde route today and adding chicken for an irresistible Chicken Pozole Verde!
While this isn’t an authentic Chicken Pozole recipe, it’s inspired by it and intended to be a hearty, nutritious, and quick weeknight meal.
Step aside, chicken noodle soup, this recipe is the way to go when you’re feeling under the weather! Bonus–it’s a great nutritious recipe with a balanced amount of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals. You’ll be amazed how ridiculously flavorful this soup is for how nutritious it is!
Quick Tip
If you’d prefer a Rojo (Red chicken pozole recipe), you’ve got to give our original 30-minute Pozole recipe a try. That specific recipe is made with pork, but you can certainly use chicken instead!
What Is Pozole Soup Made Of?
Hominy is one of the main ingredients in a Chicken Pozole recipe and can be purchased at the grocery store, near other canned vegetables. Hominy is corn, just not straight off the cob. It is whole kernels of dried field corn (maize) that have been through a process where the kernels are soaked in lye or lime solutions and then rinsed several times. This process removes the hulls and turns the inner kernels tender and plump. This not only improves the corn’s nutritional content, but also keeps the corn from sprouting during long storage (which was a big deal when corn harvests needed to last through winter).
The texture, smell, and flavor are different from corn — hominy kernels are chewy and puffy, with a flavor similar to what you get when eating grits.
You can almost compare the process of making hominy to the process of cooking dried beans from scratch. The dried beans are soaked and then rehydrated through a cooking process. That’s pretty much what happens to the dried corn when making hominy.
Another ingredient worth calling out is diced green chiles. We love fire-roasted diced green chiles which adds layers of flavor (fire-roasting) without any additional work on your end! Regular diced green chiles are also delicious. Whatever you use, be sure to check the heat rating if you’re sensitive to heat. (I stick to mild when serving this green Chicken Pozole to my kids!)
Variations
If you can’t find hominy or don’t love it, feel free to use 1-1/2 cups frozen corn instead!
Chicken Pozole Recipe Toppings
Pozole is all about the toppings — add your favorites and don’t skimp here!
Below is a list of common pozole toppings. Our “must-haves”: tortilla chips, lime, cilantro, raw diced yellow onion, cotija, and lots of ripe avocados!
- Tortilla chips: Good corn tortilla chips are great to dunk in the soup and scoop up some of the other tasty toppings!
- Fresh lime: This adds brightness and helps cut through the richness of the broth.
- Avocado: They add a nice creaminess.
- Cilantro: Cilantro adds a bright and fresh citrusy flavor that (again) helps to cut through the richness.
- Shredded green cabbage or shredded romaine lettuce: Slice it nice and thin!
- Thinly sliced radishes: Radishes add a nice crunch!
- Diced white, yellow, or red onions: Use raw onions, either diced or minced.
- Crema: Go with crema for a nice creaminess! Crema is similar to sour cream.
- Cheese: Crumbled Cotija cheese is our favorite on Chicken Pozole Verde!
How To Make Chicken Pozole
In order for this recipe to be ready in about 20-30 minutes, we rely on a big shortcut: pre-cooked, seasoned, and shredded chicken. Prep it earlier in the week or use a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
If you want to cook the chicken in the same pot as this soup, here’s how to do that:
- Season the chicken: Use 1 pound (2 medium-sized) of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Cut chicken breasts in half widthwise to make four thinner filets. Use a meat mallet/frying pan/your fist to give each piece a quick pound (Don’t flatten the chicken; we just want all the pieces fairly even in thickness). Season both sides. (I add 1/4 teaspoon of salt & pepper per side.)
- Cook the chicken: Add 2 tbsp oil to a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot. As soon as the oil is hot, add the seasoned chicken pieces in one layer. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through (registers 160 degrees/juices run clear); remove to a plate and tent with foil and rest for about 5 minutes before thinly slicing or dicing or shredding with 2 forks. Don’t wipe/wash out the pan, but continue on with step one of the recipe.
Chicken Pozole Recipe Tips
- Be sure to use chili powder — not to be confused with chilli powder which is very hot. We’re using American chili powder (I use McCormick® which is very mild).
- Use high-quality chicken stock for the best flavor and richness — Swanson® is our favorite (not sponsored).
- As written, this Chicken Pozole is fairly mild (my kids ate and loved it). To keep it mild be sure to use McCormick chili powder and mild diced green chiles! For more heat, add in some cayenne pepper with the other spices (start with 1/8 up to 1/4 teaspoon).
Storage
Storing: Pozole Chicken
- How to reheat: This soup (without any toppings) stores nicely in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, add the soup to a small pot and heat over low heat until warmed to desired preference. Or reheat in the microwave. (Make sure to cover it so it doesn’t splatter!)
- Freezing: Pozole (without any toppings) will freeze well for up to 3 months. Here are some best methods for thawing frozen soup.
More Easy Soup Recipes:
- The absolute BEST Cheeseburger Soup
- Chicken Corn Chowder made in the slow cooker
- Black Bean Soup with a Mexican-inspired spice blend
- Corn Soup with fresh basil
- Salsa Verde Chicken Soup made in the slow cooker
Chicken Pozole
Ingredients
- 2 (4 oz. EACH) cans mild diced green chiles (Note 1)
- 4 cups good chicken stock (like Swanson), separated use
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (olive oil works too)
- 2 tablespoons white all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon each: garlic powder and dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- Fine sea salt & pepper
- 1 can (15.5 oz.) golden hominy, (or 1-1/2 cup frozen corn)
- 1 can (15 oz.) black beans
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1-1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken (Note 2)
- Optional: 1/4 cup finely diced cilantro
- Toppings of choice: good corn tortilla chips, fresh lime, ripe diced avocado, fresh cilantro, shredded cabbage or lettuce, thinly sliced radishes, diced (raw) white, yellow or red onion, crema, cotija cheese (Note 3)
Instructions
- BLEND: Add both cans of green chiles (along with any liquid in cans) and 1 cup chicken stock to a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- SPICES: Add 2 tbsp oil to a large pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in 2 tbsp flour and spices (1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder and dried oregano, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 3/4 tsp chili powder, plus salt & pepper to taste--I add 3/4 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper). Whisk until mixture beings to simmer and bubble up. Continue cooking and whisking constantly for about 1-2 minutes to toast spices.
- SOUP BASE: Gradually pour in the blended mixture, whisking constantly, until completely integrated. Allow sauce to come back to a simmer and stir until nicely thickened. Add in drained and rinsed hominy, drained and rinsed black beans, remaining 3 cups chicken stock and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- FINISH SOUP: After 10 minutes, stir in the shredded chicken to briefly warm through. Remove from heat and stir through the optional cilantro. Remove bay leaf and discard. Taste and adjust seasonings to preference.
- TOPPINGS: While the soup is simmering, prepare any toppings you'd like. Remove soup from heat and ladle into bowls. Add desired toppings to individual bowls and enjoy immediately. Store any leftover soup and toppings separately!
Video
Recipe Notes
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Season chicken: Use 1 pound (2 medium-sized) of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Cut chicken breasts in half widthwise to make four thinner filets. Use a meat mallet/frying pan/your fist to give each piece a quick pound (Don't flatten chicken; we just want all the pieces fairly even in thickness). Season both sides. (I add 1/4 teaspoon of salt & pepper per side).
-
Cook chicken: Add 2 tbsp oil to a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot (same one you'll use for soup). As soon as the oil is hot, add the seasoned chicken pieces in one layer. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through (registers 160 degrees/juices run clear); remove to a plate and tent with foil and rest for about 5 minutes before thinly slicing or dicing or shredding with 2 forks. Don't wipe/wash out the pan, but continue on with step one of the recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yum!!!! Family loved it as always.
So thrilled to hear this! Thanks Aaron! 🙂
A great soup for a cold night. This will be in the rotation for any night though – lol!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks so much Cherie! 🙂
This was delicious! I added fresh onion and garlic to the spice base. Rotisserie chicken worked really well in this. The whole family loved it!
So happy the family enjoyed it! Thanks Susan! 🙂