Pozole Verde is a comforting Mexican stew filled with shredded chicken and hominy in a delicious green chile broth made from tomatillos, jalapeños, and cilantro. It’s easy to make, hearty, and ready in only one hour!
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Pozole verde is one of my favorite traditional Mexican dishes to make when I’m craving something comforting yet light and bright.
Unlike pozole rojo which is made from succulent shredded pork in a rich red chile broth, this green pozole is filled with tender shredded chicken in a tangy tomatillo green chile broth.
It’s also ready in half the time, making it perfect for busy weeknight meals. If you have an Instant Pot, take a look at my Instant Pot Pozole!
What is Pozole?
Pozole (or posole) is a traditional Mexican stew made with pork and hominy cooked in a flavorful chile broth. There are three main variations of the dish:
- pozole verde – made with a green chile broth
- pozole rojo – made with a red chile broth
- pozole blanco – made without any chiles at all
Pozole is served year-round, but is popular during the fall and winter months, as well as celebrations like birthdays, Christmas, New Years, and other holidays.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Hominy: It’s a type of maize that’s been soaked and treated with lime. Hominy looks like big puffy corn kernels and can usually be found in the Hispanic foods section of your local grocery store, or in the canned vegetables section near the yellow corn. Learn more about hominy.
- Chicken: I used boneless skinless chicken thighs for lots of flavor without too much fat, but you can use chicken breasts or any other chicken cut that you prefer.
- Tomatillos: These green tomato look-alikes add a great tanginess and brightness that really makes the chile sauce pop. Make sure to remove the papery husks and rinse off the sticky residue before cooking with them. Learn more about tomatillos.
- Chiles: I used jalapeños for a medium heat level, but you can use poblanos for milder spice or serranos for hotter spice. Or a combination of all three!
- Onions, garlic, oregano, and cilantro: For added flavor in the green chile sauce.
- Broth: Chicken or vegetable are best. If you’re in a pinch and don’t have any, you could use water instead.
- Toppings: I recommend lime wedges, sliced radishes, Mexican oregano, thinly shredded cabbage, diced onions, cilantro
How to Make Pozole Verde
1. Cook: Add chicken thighs, tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeños, broth, oregano, and salt in a large dutch oven. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover partially, and cook for 40 minutes.
2. Blend: Remove the cooked tomatillos, onions, jalapenos, and garlic with a slotted spoon and transfer to a blender. Then add a large handful of fresh cilantro, a cup of the cooking liquid, and blend until completely smooth.
3. Shred: Remove the cooked chicken from the pot, transfer it to a cutting board or plate, and shred.
4. Combine: Add back the shredded chicken, blended green chile sauce, and hominy to the pot.
5. Simmer: Simmer for 15 minutes, give it a taste, and season with more salt as desired.
How to Serve Pozole Verde
Toppings are a huge part of serving pozole. Here are some ideas of what to add to your bowl:
- chopped onions
- lime wedges
- sliced radishes
- fresh cilantro
- Mexican oregano
- thinly sliced cabbage
Storing and Freezing
Storing: Pozole verde can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing: To freeze, cool pozole in the refrigerator. Once cooled, transfer to a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Mexican Recipes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 jalapeño peppers, halved (seeds removed if you don't want it spicy)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
- 1 handful cilantro, stems and leaves
- 2 (15-ounce) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
- Toppings: lime wedges, sliced radishes, Mexican oregano, thinly shredded cabbage, diced onions, cilantro
Instructions
- Cook: In a large pot or dutch oven, add chicken thighs, tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, garlic, oregano, salt, and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for 40 minutes until chicken is fall-apart tender.
- Shred: Transfer chicken to cutting board and shred with a fork. Set aside.
- Blend: Using a large slotted spoon, carefully transfer the cooked tomatillos, onions, jalapenos, and garlic to a large blender. Add in a cup of the cooking liquid and the cilantro, and blend until completely smooth.
- Simmer: Pour the blended mixture back into the pot and stir in the shredded chicken and hominy. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Taste and season with more salt, if necessary.
- Serve: Serve with toppings such as fresh lime juice, thinly shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, cilantro, diced onions, and Mexican oregano.
Video
Isabel’s Tips:
- Storing: Pozole verde can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: To freeze, cool pozole in the refrigerator. Once cooled, transfer to a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
So so good and easy to make. Everyone loved it. Will make again and again.
Delicious and very easy to make. I used chicken breast and serranos! I guarantee everyone will LOVE it!
I am disappointed that the slow cooker method has been deleted off of this recipe. That’s the only way I make it.
LOVE IT! ALL MY FAMILY LOVE WHEN I MAKE IT THANKS!!!!
Made this last year with leftover turkey and turkey stock. It was so delicious that I had a request to make it again.
This is my go-to recipe! So much flavor! It’s absolutely perfect 😍
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! So does my husband. We do leave the jalapeño seeds and actually add a few extras, since we love spicy! Do you think the chicken would dry out if I reheat it on warm in a crockpot?
Hi Becky Ann! Thank you for sharing, we’re glad you enjoyed this recipe. I think it should be okay in the crockpot!
It was perfect!
Yay! I’m glad to hear it 🙂
I’ve been using this recipe for four or five years. It was inspiration for a “fall pozole party” I host where guests enjoy the process of building their own bowl and culinary diversity.
Hi Ernesto! That sounds so cool! Thanks for sharing!
I love these recipes
Is there anything we can use for the salsa instead of cilantro?
Hi Jessica! You can use Thai basil or dill.
A new family favorite.
Can I make this in the instant pot?
Hi Karina! Yes, you can!
Any guidance on using an instapot?
Hi Casey! We have a new instant pot red posole recipe scheduled to post soon, so I would be on the lookout for that since it follows more or less the same steps.
Really easy to make and the sauce came out fantastic. Thank you for the delicious recipe
Loved this dish! So easy to make and a total crowd-pleaser. Had to add a little spice because our jalapenos here in CO are pretty wimpy, but other than that, no problemo. Thank you Isabel for all these recipes!
Made this today and wow! So delicious and I will never use canned sauce again. Like another reviewer I added 4 cloves of garlic and I also added extra chicken and hominy. My husband and son loved it. Thank you Isabel!
Made this today and wow! So delicious and I will never use canned sauce again. Like another reviewer I added 4 cloves of garlic and I also added extra chicken and hominy. My husband and son lived it. Thank you Isabel!
I love this recipe, however I never know where/when to add the cumin. Is it when I add oregano?
Thank you
Hi Laura! Yes that’s when we would add it!
It was so delicious and very easy to make.
Thank you for sharing
Thank you, Diane!
I have wanting to make this. I have plenty of homemade chicken stock. However, I’d really like to use up some frozen pork tenderloin. I was thinking of making the veggies with my stock. Brown cubes of pork and add later so as to not over cook it. Rest I would prepare as written. Sound like a plan?
Thanks!
Hi Sandi! Yes, that sounds great! Let us know how it turns out.