Chicken Pozole Verde is a comforting Mexican stew filled with shredded chicken and hominy in a warm green chile broth. It’s easy to make, filling and healthy! (gluten free, freezer friendly)
Making pozole verde has been on my to-do list since I started the blog back in 2015. That’s quite a long time for me to put something off, but no more – the day has finally come!
Today I’m excited to share a delicious and easy Chicken Pozole Verde recipe!
If you don’t know what pozole is, you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about.
What is pozole?
Pozole (also spelled posole) is a Mexican stew traditionally made with pork and hominy covered in a flavorful chile broth. While there are countless variations, there is one essential ingredient in every recipe:
Hominy – it’s a type of maize that’s been soaked and treated with lime. They look like big puffy corn kernels and can usually be found in the Hispanic foods section of your local grocery store. Simply put, without hominy, pozole isn’t pozole.
(Learn more about hominy here.)
Other than hominy, you can pretty much add or substitute whatever you’d like! In this recipe, I used chicken instead of pork and made a green chile broth with tomatillos, jalapenos, onions and cilantro.
Growing up, my parents only ever made red posole so I didn’t really ask them for tips on making pozole verde. I was completely on my own with this one. Luckily I’m very familiar with all of the flavors, so I just worked with what I knew and went from there.
How to make pozole verde
I treated the green chile broth almost like a Easy Salsa Verde, but not as concentrated. To make, I placed boneless skinless chicken thighs, tomatillos, an onion, jalapenos, chicken broth, oregano and salt in a large dutch oven. I covered it partially and brought it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
At this point, the chicken will be cooked through and tender. Remove it with a slotted spoon, place it on a plate or cutting board and shred with a fork. Then, remove the cooked tomatillos, onions and jalapenos with a slotted spoon and transfer to a blender. Then add a large handful of fresh cilantro, a cup of the broth and blend until completely smooth.
Add the shredded chicken, blended broth and canned hominy. Cook for another 15 minutes on medium-high heat and that’s it!
A big bowl of warm pozole verde is seriously the best this time of year. That, a bag of tortilla chips and I’m one happy camper.
I served my pozole verde with some fresh jalapenos (because I like it spicy), lime wedges, sliced radishes, cilantro and more oregano. I also like to mix in a handful of thinly sliced cabbage for a little crunch sometimes, but I completely forgot to do that when I took the photos. #oops If you’ve got cabbage in the house, I highly recommend it!
More authentic Mexican recipes you’ll love
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, skin removed
- 1 pound tomatillos, husked and washed
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped (or keep the seeds if you like it spicy)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 large handful fresh cilantro, stems and leaves
- 1 28-ounce can white hominy, drained and rinsed
- to serve: limes, radishes, jalapeños, cilantro, oregano
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, add chicken thighs, tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, chicken broth, oregano and sea salt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover partially. Cook for 40 minutes, until chicken is fall-apart tender.
- Transfer chicken to cutting board and shred with a fork. Set aside.
- Using a large slotted spoon, place the cooked tomatillos, onions and jalapenos in a large blender. Add a large handful of fresh cilantro, a cup or so of the cooking liquid and puree until completely smooth.
- Add the shredded chicken, pureed veggies and hominy into the large pot. Stir and cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes uncovered. Taste and season with salt as necessary.
- Serve with fresh lime juice, radishes, jalapenos, cilantro and oregano.
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
This is my first attempt to make pozole and it was fire 🔥. Love this recipe.
This has become my go-to posole recipe. I absolutely love it! It is a great result with minimal effort. I add extra onion and oregano and I add about 8 cloves of peeled garlic. I go light on the jalapeño so people can season according to their heat capacity. The flavor profile of this recipe is totally perfect for my taste. I freeze some servings separately packaged and enjoy these over time.
I’ve made chicken pozole verde several times. The recipe is easy to follow and taste so good. Chicken breasts also work.
Great recipe, thank you! I have used my instant pot to hurry the process along and it came out great that way too.
My husband and son really enjoyed this. I was cautious and did not leave the jalapeno seeds in. I didn’t want it to be too spicy. Both my husband and son thought it could be spicier. Next time, I will leave them in.
This is such a delightful recipe. The flavors are bright, citrus, mellow, and rich. I have made posole many times but always red, this is completely different and such a surprise… it could not be easier.. definitely going into rotation.
Can you use left over turkey?
Hi! You can use leftover turkey. Just note that you’ll have to change the cooking time and add your turkey a bit later.
Has anyone made this with canned tomatillos?
Yes and it’s as good as it looks here
AMAZING!! Fist time making it. I was too afraid to make it before for it wouldn’t come out right but I followed your recipe and wow! It was easy to make. My whole family loved it. Thank you for this recipe!!! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
It was fast an easy for me to make. Thank you so much.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE posole, but never thought about making it until I saw your recipe. I made it for dinner last night, and it was delicious! I just had a bowl for lunch today, and the flavor was richer and tastier, as is common with soups as stews when the ingredients further meld overnight. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes! I’m excited to try your other recipes!
This is now a go to recipe for my wife and I. Friends are always impressed by it. Quick and easy. We’ve made it 10 times I’m guessing.
Great recipe