Today I have a recipe for pozole verde de pollo or a green Mexican hominy and chicken soup using an ingredient that is new to me, hominy. Hominy is a dried corn has been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization and it makes for an excellent alternative for potatoes, beans, etc., especially in soups like this! I have come across dried hominy and hominy in a can and you can use it much like beans where you soak the dried hominy overnight and then cook it until tender or you can use it straight from the can. Pozole is another name for hominy and it’s also the name of the soup/stew that it is commonly served in. There are a lot of different kinds of pozole with the more common ones being white, green or red, based on the colour. This is a green pozole and the green comes form the broth, which is a chicken broth base, with pureed tomatillos and green chilies like jalapenos and poblanos along with plenty of cilantro. Other than the long cooking time for the hominy, this soup is super easy to make and it’s just packed with flavour! The fun part of this soup is of course the topping/garnishes that you serve it with and I like extra cilantro, lime wedges, avocado, queso fresco, radish and onions!
Pozole Verde de Pollo (Green Mexican Hominy and Chicken Soup)
A green Mexican style chicken soup with hominy (a large corn kernel) in a tasty tomatillo and chili chicken broth!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons cumin, toasted and ground
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups hominy, soaked in cold water overnight
- 3 pounds chicken (whole or legs, thighs, etc.)
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 pound tomatillos
- 2 jalapenos, cut in half
- 2 poblano chilies, cut in half
- 1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (~1 lime)
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, add the onion and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes, before adding the garlic and cumin and cooking until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the broth, chicken and hominy, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the hominy is tender but still has that al-dente chewiness, about 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, roast the tomatillos, jalapenos and poblanos in under the broiler, in a cast iron pan over high heat or in the direct flames of a gas stove until they are lightly charred black before pureeing them along with the cilantro in a blender with some of the broth from the soup and mixing it back into the soup.
- Remove the chicken from the soup, let cool until you can handle it, shred the meat and mix it back into the soup.
- Mix in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper before enjoying!
Option: Use bacon grease instead of oil!
Option: Add 2-4 tablespoons masa harina and simmer to thicken.
Option: Serve garnished with avocado, radish, onion, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, etc.!
Option: Add a hit of fish sauce (or soy sauce)!
Option: Instead of using dried hominy use a drained 28oz can of hominy!
Avgolemono Soup (aka Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Soup
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup
Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup
Tom Yum Gai (Thai Hot and Sour Chicken Soup)
Spicy Roasted Corn and Jalapeno Avocado Soup
Colombian Chicken and Corn Soup (Ajiaco)
Salsa Verde Carnitas
Salsa Verde
Chili Verde
Creamy Salsa Verde Skillet Chicken
Skillet Chicken Verde
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
Heather Christo says
March 8, 2017 at 5:03 pmPozole is one of my very favorites and I love this green version!
Maria Lichty says
March 8, 2017 at 5:29 pmI love adding hominy in soup!
Rocky Mountain Woman says
March 8, 2017 at 9:22 pmThis looks so good!!! Can't wait to try it.
We Are Not Martha says
March 9, 2017 at 4:29 amWhat a beautiful looking and flavorful sounding soup!!
Sues
Anonymous says
March 9, 2017 at 6:06 amKevin, I love hominy and I use the canned version all the time. It comes in white and yellow. So much easier then starting with dry hominy and no real difference in flavor or texture. Will try this recipe. Thanks, Suzanne
Unknown says
March 10, 2017 at 11:04 pmThis might be a dumb question, BUT lol can I use shredded rotisserie chicken instead at the end instead of adding chicken thighs or drums to the soup?
Angil says
March 10, 2017 at 11:06 pmThis might be a dumb question, BUT lol can I use shredded rotisserie chicken instead at the end instead of adding chicken thighs or drums to the soup?
kevin says
March 14, 2017 at 7:46 pmAngil: Yes you can! Enjoy!
Jess Larson says
April 24, 2017 at 9:50 pmwe are trying this for dinner tonight! can't wait!
Jackelin says
September 21, 2017 at 7:44 pmLove that you use dried hominy for this recipe. Adding this to my soup rotation this winter.
Kayla Sandell says
September 23, 2017 at 4:15 pmThanks so much for this recipe. I made this for the first time for my sisters and everone loved it! I used a couple of your suggestions and added masa flour as well as some fish sauce. I made a really big pot and I know I definitely won't get bored with the leftovers 🙂
Anonymous says
October 1, 2017 at 11:02 pmMade this for the first time today. I made a couple tweaks here and there but overall this soup was a HUGE hit at out house. So flavorful and satisfying.
http://kitchentuts.com/ says
October 9, 2017 at 7:29 ammy son love chicken but i always try to use chicken use those recipie which is healthy for child.He loved it and really tasty.awesome.
Samantha O says
November 13, 2017 at 10:34 pmHi! Should the chicken supposed be raw or cooked?
kevin says
November 14, 2017 at 4:51 pmSamantha O: The chicken is raw and cooks as the soup simmers. Enjoy!
Morgan O says
November 19, 2017 at 6:35 pmIf I used canned hominy would I add it at the same time as the chicken or would I put it in later?
Thanks,
Morgan
kevin says
November 21, 2017 at 5:48 pmMorgan O: You can put it in later. Since it is ready to serve from the can you really just need enough time for it to warm in the soup.
Anonymous says
January 8, 2018 at 10:16 pmWhen do I use the oregano, is that for garnish?
Maggie Unzueta says
November 15, 2018 at 6:00 pmYou’re making me hungry… I think I just heard my tummy growl. lol!
Stacy Green says
December 6, 2018 at 7:23 pmI kept it simple using canned hominy and rotisserie chicken. I’m only disappointed that it took 36 years for me to discover this soup. SO good. Thank you!
Esme says
January 3, 2019 at 11:14 pmMade this New Year’s Eve. I double batched it. Cooked chicken in separate pot, let chicken cool, shredded chicken to remove bones, and dumped chicken shreds into main pot 20-30 minutes toward the end. I removed some of the char from my vegetables before pureeing. GREAT RECIPE! The traditional pozole is pork with red sauce but I dislike eating pork. I am a sucker for green Mexican sauces =) Got so many compliments. Oh, do let the hominy cook for about 2 hours if you want it on softer side. My hominy was al dente but everyone has their preferences. I forgot to add/char the jalapeno. I’m so glad I did because the poblano peppers had a kick of their own. Thank you for sharing!
Elena says
February 20, 2019 at 12:05 amThis is absolutely delicious! Ive made it in the past and I am currently making it as I type this. Full of flavor and easy to add extra heat to if you’re into that. Me….I’m into that lol. Highly recommend this recipe 🤤
Kristin says
February 21, 2019 at 3:46 pmI’m curious to know why you prefer using dried hominy over canned? Does it taste better? I’m obsessing about this soup, and I’d love to make it next week, but I’d have to order dried hominy online. IF I used hominy from a can, and used already-cooked shredded chicken, how long would the soup need to simmer? I didn’t know if it needed time to simmer so flavors could meld. I’m guessing the 2 hour simmer time was to soften the dried hominy. This soup looks absolutely DELISH and I’m eager to try it! Thanks!
kevin says
February 22, 2019 at 12:32 pmFor some reason canned hominy is really expensive here so I tend to go with dried. If you are using canned hominy and already cooked chicken, this soup is really quick and 5 minutes of simmering will do the trick! (Though you could let it simmer longer to let the flavours meld.) Any leftovers taste even better the next day! Enjoy!
Kristin says
February 28, 2019 at 9:40 pmI wanted to report back on the recipe now that I’ve made it today. This soup has amazing flavor! It’s the first thing out of my and my husband’s mouths after the first bite. I loved the addition of the thinly sliced radishes. It added great crunch. I did use a rotisserie chicken to make it easier. I also used the dried hominy. I soaked it in water for more than 24 hours (should it have sat in the fridge or on the countertop? I had mine in the fridge.) I allowed my soup to simmer for more than 2 hours, probably more like 2 hours and 45 minutes, and the hominy still had an unpleasant texture (NOT like what you can get from the can). That was the one disappointing thing about it. When I make this again, I will stick with using canned hominy. There were no instructions on the packaging, except for making tamales, so the hominy packaging was not helpful. I did put my poblanos, jalapenos, and tomatillios under the broiler. I did this earlier in the afternoon. I used 1 cup of chicken broth to puree it altogether, and then I just stuck it in the fridge. When it was time to make the soup, I dumped that mixture in with the chicken broth. This soup is delicious, and worth making again… I just don’t recommend the dried hominy! 😀
kevin says
March 1, 2019 at 12:48 pmI’m glad you like it! Was the issue with the dried hominy that it was hard? Did it get a little better after simmering it for the extra 45 minutes? (I usually soak it at room temperature.)
Kristin says
March 1, 2019 at 6:25 pmYeah, the hominy was still too hard, IMO. It didn’t seem like the right texture… based off of what I’ve eaten from canned hominy. Some of it seemed softer (after a longer simmer), and other pieces were still quite firm. So strange! Anyway, good to know that you soak at room temp. Maybe I shouldn’t have put it in the fridge. It’s delicious, though, and I’m looking forward to eating leftovers for dinner tonight. Thank you! 🙂
Shelly Thaxton says
March 28, 2019 at 10:29 amHello, I can’t wait to try this Pazole. Recipe is printed and I plan to make this for a dinner party. Question: Can I make this a day ahead? Of course leaving out the toppings.
kevin says
March 28, 2019 at 1:32 pmYes you can! Enjoy!