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This easy chicken pozole has all the rich, comforting flavors of traditional pozole rojo – savory red chile broth, tender shredded chicken, and hearty hominy – but with the convenience of a slow cooker. It’s the perfect cozy meal for family dinners, hosting, or even a potluck since it can stay warm and ready to serve.
If you love this traditional Mexican dish, then you’ve got to try these other versions – pozole rojo, pozole verde, pozole blanco, and Instant Pot pozole!
A Note from Isabel
Pozole has always been one of those dishes that instantly takes me back to family gatherings and holidays. My mom’s pozole rojo, usually made with pork, was rich, comforting, and always the star of the table.
For me, the real magic of pozole is in the sauce – the deep, flavorful broth made from dried chiles. That combination of earthy, smoky, and slightly sweet flavors gives the soup its heart and soul. In this slow cooker version, I use my homemade red enchilada sauce (packed with dried chiles and a touch of Mexican chocolate) to recreate that same authentic depth of flavor.
This dish is pure comfort and nostalgia for me. And the best part? It all comes together with almost no hands-on time, so I can enjoy a bowl of pozole even on busy weeknights.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken breast: Traditional red pozole is made with beef or pork, but I used chicken here for a lighter twist. You could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Red enchilada sauce: The key ingredient in this pozole is my authentic red enchilada sauce. It’s made from dried chiles, garlic, tomato, and Mexican chocolate that pack the broth with authentic flavors.
- Spices: Chili powder, cumin, garlic, and salt for warmth and savoriness.
- Hominy: You’ll need two large cans of white hominy for this recipe. Yellow hominy also works in a pinch. Make sure to rinse and drain the hominy before stirring it into the pozole.
- Oregano: Adds that signature pozole aroma and flavor. It’s used both in the stew and as a garnish. I always recommend Mexican oregano here, but regular oregano also works in a pinch.
- Toppings: Pozole wouldn’t be complete without all the delicious toppings like shredded cabbage, lime wedges, radishes, diced onions, and chopped cilantro.
(This is an overview of the key ingredients I used and why. See the recipe card below for the full recipe.)
How to Make Easy Chicken Pozole
Load the slow cooker. Add chicken, broth, enchilada sauce, shallot, chili powder, garlic, cumin, and salt. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 5 ½ hours or high for 3 ½ hours.
Shred. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with two forks.
Add hominy. Stir the chicken back in along with the hominy and oregano. Cook for another 30 minutes.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with cabbage, radishes, cilantro, lime juice, and your favorite garnishes.
Recipe Tips
- Shortcut. If you absolutely don’t have time to make my homemade authentic sauce, you can use your favorite store-bought enchilada sauce. But a word of caution – I don’t recommend it. It truly doesn’t have the same depth of flavor and just isn’t as tasty as the real stuff. If you’re hesitant to make enchilada sauce just for this recipe, I suggest making a double or even triple batch and storing it in the freezer so you can use it again in future recipes like my chicken enchiladas, chicken enchilada soup, or enchilada meatballs.
- Swap the protein. You can use beef chuck roast or pork shoulder for a heartier and more traditional taste.
- Use different hominy. White is classic, but yellow hominy works fine if that’s what you can find.
- Spice it up. Add an extra dried chile de árbol or two to the sauce for more heat.
Serving Suggestions
Serve your slow cooker posole with warm corn tortillas, bolillo bread, or tortilla chips for the full authentic experience. You can also pair it with warm traditional beverages like atole or champurrado during the colder months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Red pozole features a rich red chile broth made from dried chiles like guajillo, ancho, pasilla, or árbol, and usually features proteins like beef or pork. Green pozole features a more tangy broth made from ingredients like tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeños, and usually features chicken. Both are traditional Mexican stews that include hominy and are topped with shredded cabbage, lime juice, onions, radishes, and oregano.
You can adjust the spice level by adjusting the amount of árbol chiles used in the red enchilada sauce. For a milder pozole, you can omit them completely, or for a spicier version, you can add an extra 1-2.
I recommend using canned hominy for extra convenience; plus, hominy from scratch can be hard to make and find at most grocery stores.
More Easy Mexican Recipes
Easy Chicken Pozole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 batch authentic red enchilada sauce (about 2 cups)
- ½ small yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 (25-ounce) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
- For topping: thinly shredded cabbage, cilantro, diced onions, lime wedges, sliced radishes, Mexican oregano
Instructions
- Add the chicken, broth, enchilada sauce, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and salt to a large slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook for 5 ½ hours on LOW or 3 ½ hours on HIGH.
- Transfer the chicken onto a large plate or cutting board using a slotted spoon, and shred with two forks.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker along with the hominy and oregano. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Serve the posole in bowls with lime juice, radishes, cilantro, finely shredded cabbage and other toppings.
Notes
- Storing and reheating: Store any leftover pozole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To reheat, warm it on the stove over medium heat until hot, or microwave individual portions until warmed through. Pozole also freezes well. Just transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken thighs also work.
- Enchilada sauce: If you absolutely don’t have time to make my homemade authentic sauce, you can use your favorite store-bought enchilada sauce. But a word of caution – I don’t recommend it. It truly doesn’t have the same depth of flavor and just isn’t as tasty as the real stuff.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
This post was originally published in December 2016 and has been updated with new photos and more helpful tips.
Just made this recipe and it’s almost done cooking! I made with pork instead and my boyfriend and I are so excited to try it! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re so welcome! I hope you love it!
I made this for the first time last year. Even my picky mama liked it. I added avocado, which was a nice compliment. I wish I would have made it with the homemade sauce before my mom passed away in February, though. Gracias for sharing your recipe.
-Mike
Thank you, Mike. I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m so touched to hear that you mama liked it 🙂
I am so glad I found your website! We made this tonight and it was amazing. The depth of the flavors thanks to the homemade enchilada sauce was perfect! I only had chicken thighs on hand, so I browned those in a skillet and made the soup on the stovetop instead of slow cooker and it was delicious.
Thank you so much, Rachel! I’m so happy you liked it! A good enchilada sauce makes all the difference. 🙂
How did you adjust for stovetop? I realized my crockpot is only 4qt. I have all the stuff ready to go though. Thanks!
Hey Jeni, this might be a little too late but if you still have the stuff ready to go, take a look at this post for my classic red posole. It’s made with pork, so just substitute that for the chicken you have. The cooking method should be the same. Since the chicken may cook a little faster, I would check it after the first hour and see whether it’s fall apart tender.
I will be trying this recipe this weekend, I love pozole but not spicy, i will be taking out the seeds in the enchilada sauce preparation and adding 1tsp of chili powder is there anything you recommend as me and my husband do not like it too hot?
Hi! If you don’t want it spicy at all, I would also completely omit the arbol chile when making the enchilada sauce.
Omg- I threw this in the crock pot earlier and my home smells AH*MAZING. Can’t wait for dinner, Thanks for the recipe
I hope you like it!
Made this for my Mexican husband (he gives it a thousand thumbs up)! Authentic for sure!
Yay! I’m so happy he liked it! Thank you.
Found this receipe last night after craving pozole. It’s currently brewing in the crockpot, but from the little sample I’ve taken it’s delicious. I added some cayenne to it to give it more of a kick. I can’t wait to serve it to my boys tonight! Thank you!
You’re so welcome! I hope you like it! 🙂
I found this recipe just in time! I’m having a Mexican potluck to celebrate my 24th birthday and I decided to make this. It’s currently sitting in the crock pot cooking up but it smells so amazing and I can’t wait to try it!!
Thanks so much for this recipe. I am a paediatric urology social worker in Toronto and we started an annual “soup off” in the clinic’ last year in January. I searched for recipes for this year, and came across yours. I tried it out on with my family first two weeks ago (I doubled up on the enchilada sauce as you suggested, so took that step out of the final product:-) ) My son’s girlfriend is Mexican and lives in Mexico city, so he really enjoys when I try out Mexican recipes. It was a hit both with the family and in the clinic.There was a bit left and I took it to Ronald McDonald house to share with a patient from Africa. She loved it too!
I’ll now have to try it with pork. Thanks again
I cook a lot. And this has got to be one of the best recipes I’ve ever made! Thank you thank you thank you! You’ve changed my life! Lol 😉
Aww, thank you so much! You’re so very welcome 🙂
I’m making this again! It’s almost ready! Eeeeeeeeeeeee! 😋
Woo! So happy you’re loving it!
My husband is from Mexico. I made this Pozole last night exactly to the T.. I did not want to make changes because I know that could take away the authenticity of it. He said it was an A++. He loved it better than how his family makes it. It was spicy but he eats everything spicy or with hot sauce. I love spicy but have acid reflux. Honestly, it was so good , I decided to put up with my stomach issues and plan on eating more today. Thank You so much for sharing this recipe.
Thank you sooo much, Dianna! I’m so happy everyone loved it 🙂