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This pozole rojo (red pozole) is the one I grew up eating all the time, and my family still makes a big pot as soon as the weather turns cold. Tender pork and hominy simmer in a red chile broth made from guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles.
A Note from Isabel
There are a handful of recipes that bring me instant nostalgia, and pozole rojo is one of them. It was on the table year-round when I was growing up, and my mom always blended a small piece of Mexican chocolate into the red chile sauce. It doesn’t make it sweet, it just gives the broth a deeper flavor, which is why I still make it that way today.
It’s hearty, filling, and so comforting when the weather gets cold, and it’s great for a crowd since most of the work is just letting it simmer. If you want a version without dried chiles, try my easy chicken pozole that goes in the slow cooker. And if you’re ready to try a different broth flavor altogether, there’s also pozole verde made with a green chile and tomatillo broth and pozole blanco made with no chiles at all.
What Is Pozole?
Pozole is a traditional Mexican soup or stew made with hominy and meat, usually pork, in a seasoned broth. It’s been around since before the Spanish arrived in Mexico, and the name comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs.
You’ll see it at birthdays, weddings, and Christmas, but in my family it was never just a holiday thing. We ate it all the time, and lots of people eat it year round.
You’ll also see it spelled “posole,” especially in New Mexico and other parts of the U.S.
Ingredients in Pozole Rojo
Here’s what goes into it, plus a few notes on what to buy. Full amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Dried chiles: You’ll need a mix of guajillo chiles, ancho chiles, and árbol chiles. Guajillos give the broth most of its red color, anchos make it rich and a little sweet, and the árbol chiles bring the heat. Most big grocery stores carry them in the Hispanic foods aisle, and you can also find them online.
- Pork shoulder: Also called pork butt. It stays juicy through the long simmer and shreds really easily. I cut it into big chunks, about 4 inches, before searing.
- Hominy: Hominy is dried corn that’s been soaked in an alkaline solution (cal, or slaked lime), which is why the kernels are so big and chewy. I use canned white hominy, drained and rinsed, but yellow works too. If you’ve never cooked with it, I have a whole post on hominy and how to use it.
- Broth: I like using broth instead of water for more flavor. Chicken, vegetable, or beef all work. If you don’t have any, water is fine in a pinch.
- Seasonings: Cumin, chili powder, Mexican oregano, salt, black pepper, and garlic. The oregano goes in the pot and on top of every bowl as a mix-in.
- Mexican chocolate (optional): This ingredient is optional, but I find that Mexican chocolate adds a little extra depth of flavor that complements the chiles. It doesn’t make the chile sauce sweet at all. I used Abuelita Mexican chocolate, but you can use any Mexican chocolate you prefer. If you can’t find anything near you, you can find some online.
How to Make Pozole Rojo
1. Make the chile broth: Bring the dried chiles to a boil in water, then cover and let them soak off the heat for 15 minutes. Blend them with the soaking water, garlic, spices, and chocolate until totally smooth.
2. Sear the meat: Season the pork with salt and pepper, then brown it on all sides in a big pot or Dutch oven.
3. Combine and cook: Pour in the chile sauce and scrape up the browned bits, then add the broth, hominy, and oregano. Cover and simmer on low for about 2 1/2 hours.
4. Shred: Shred the pork right in the pot. Taste for salt, and add more broth if you like it soupier.
5. Serve: Top with thinly shredded cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, sliced radishes, diced onions, and dried Mexican oregano.
Recipe Tips
- Clean the chiles first. Give the dried chiles a quick rinse and pull out the stems and seeds before they go in the pot. The seeds add heat, so leave a few in the árbol chiles if you like it spicy.
- Blend longer than you think. I blend the chile sauce for a full 2 to 3 minutes. You want it completely smooth, with no bits of chile skin floating around in the broth.
- Don’t skip the sear. Browning the pork leaves bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, and scraping those up when the chile sauce goes in adds a lot of flavor to the broth.
- Make it as brothy as you want. Some people like their pozole thick and some like it really soupy. If yours isn’t brothy enough, stir in more broth at the end.
How to Serve Pozole
Pozole is all about the toppings, and everybody builds their own bowl. These are the classics:
- Thinly shredded cabbage
- Chopped cilantro
- Dried Mexican oregano
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Thinly sliced radishes
- Diced white onions
On the side, it’s great with crunchy tostada shells, warm corn tortillas, or bolillo bread for dipping. Add a spoonful of chile de árbol salsa if you want more heat. And if it’s cold out, a mug of atole or champurrado goes great with it.
Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Methods
- To make pozole in the Instant Pot, use the ‘Saute’ function to sear the meat, then add in the blended chile sauce, broth, hominy, and Mexican oregano. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 60 minutes using the manual setting. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before manually releasing any remaining pressure. My Instant Pot pozole has the full step-by-step if you want it.
- To make pozole in the slow cooker, sear the meat in a large skillet, then transfer to the slow cooker. Add the blended chile sauce, broth, hominy, and Mexican oregano, and slow cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours until the pork is tender and easily shreddable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not very. Guajillo and ancho chiles are on the mild side. The heat comes from the árbol chiles, so leave them out for a mild red pozole, or add one or two more if you like it hot.
Yes. For beef, use chuck roast and cook it exactly like the pork. For chicken, use boneless skinless chicken thighs. Sear them the same way, then simmer them for just 40 minutes.
Pozole Rojo (Red Pozole)
Ingredients
For the chile sauce
- 4 cups water, divided
- 6 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 4 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 árbol chiles, stemmed (seeds removed if you prefer a mild spice level)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic
- 8 grams Mexican chocolate, optional (about ⅛ disc)
For the stew
- 2 ½ pounds pork shoulder, cut into large 4-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 6 cups broth (chicken, vegetable, or beef)
- 3 (15-ounce) cans white hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
For serving
- thinly shredded cabbage, cilantro, diced onions, lime wedges, sliced radishes, Mexican oregano
Instructions
- Make the chile sauce. Add 3 cups of water and the guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles to a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, remove from heat, and let soak for 15 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the softened chiles and the hot water to a large blender. Add the remaining fresh water, the chili powder, ground cumin, salt, garlic, and Mexican chocolate. Blend for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Prepare the meat. Season all sides of the pork with the salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork, and sear the meat on all sides until nicely browned.
- Combine and cook. Pour in the red chile sauce and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen all the brown bits. Stir in the broth, hominy, and dried oregano.
- Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 ½ hours until the pork is fall-apart tender.
- Shred the pork with a fork or tongs (it should fall apart very easily). Taste and season with more salt, if necessary.
- Serve with toppings such as thinly shredded cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, sliced radishes, diced onions, and dried Mexican oregano.
Video
Notes
- Storing and reheating. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, with the toppings stored separately. Reheat on the stove over medium heat with a splash of broth. It also freezes for up to 3 months.
- Mexican chocolate. This ingredient is optional, but I find that it adds a little extra depth of flavor that complements the chiles. It doesn’t make the chile sauce sweet at all.
- Swap the protein. Beef chuck roast works the same way as pork shoulder and simmers for the same amount of time. For chicken, use boneless skinless chicken thighs, sear them, and simmer for about 40 minutes.
- Not enough broth? Some people love their pozole extra brothy. If you find that the pozole isn’t soupy enough for you, stir in some more broth until it’s to your desired consistency.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Mexican Recipes
The recipe was originally published in December 2018 and has been updated with more helpful tips and new photos.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
Delicious pozole. I made it for dìa de los muertos, and it was phenomenal. I didn’t plan well. I live in Vermont, and waited too late to order chiles online. I could only find California and New Mexico chiles.l at local grocery stores. Although I have some in my pantry, I omitted the chiles de árbol because my mom can’t handle the heat. I grew and dried guajillo chiles when I lived in Colorado. They are a good choice where the growing season is short, like here in Vermont. I grew up in Central California, and now the only I can get good Mexican food is if I make it myself. This recipe is so easy to prepare and a definite keeper.
What a perfect dish for Día de los Muertos! California and New Mexico chiles are a great swap when you can’t find guajillos, and leaving out the árbol keeps it nice and mild. I’m impressed you grew your own guajillos, Darcy. Thanks for sharing all this!
I used this recipe and it was SO good. Fairly easy to make. We had a full house for Halloween and everyone raved about the pozole! Every recipe of Isabel’s I’ve tried is so good and well written. I appreciate all the extra notes as well.
A full house on Halloween and pozole? Sounds perfect. Thank you so much, Katie!
I left a comment earlier but wanted to add. I thought it was really spicy BUT it needs time to blend all the flavors. The next day much more mellow in heat I think you should make it a day ahead to get the blending of flavors.
Amazing recipe! I love this dish. Thank you for sharing!
My family and I loved this recipe. It is authentic and delicious…so much flavor. I will definitely be making this again and again.
My spouse said this was his top 5 meal I have made him. So high five, will make it again.
Omg. This was the best pozole I’ve ever had. So rich in flavor. The more I ate, the more I craved that flavor. Insane . I didn’t add the chocolate. Next time I will. I made with pork , and chicken broth. Have to have the toppings. Cabbage, onion, cilantro , radish and lime. Thanks so much. Brad
Hi Isabel, hope you’re doing fine.
I’ve been making pozole rojo using your recipe and it turned out so good. I’m from opposite of the world, traveled a thousand miles to married a Hispanic man but I don’t have MIL, so everything is new to me. when it comes to learn Mexican dishes, I went straight to your blog because they’re easy to understand.
I’ve been wanting to surprise him by making pozole rojo and it turned out really well for first try and he’s been loving it so much, he said it reminds him of his nana (which is a huge compliment for me of course), so he’s been requesting pozole a lot and I’ve been relying on your recipe often, sometimes I’ll add additional spices like bay leaves and onion to add more flavor but never used Mexican chocolate cause I can’t find it.
I’m grateful for the recipe, it was delicious and the instructions are clear and easy to understand. I’m looking forward to see your upcoming recipes. I wish you and your family the best. muchas gracias!
Hi! This message absolutely made my day. I’m so glad the pozole turned out delicious. Thank you for the sweet note and for trusting my recipes while you’re learning Mexican cooking. Wishing you and your family the very best. Muchas gracias! 💛
This was absolutely DELICIOUS! Great flavor, wonderful spices, perfect balance. I added some black beans at the end just because I had them – they were good too. Thanks so much for such a fantastic recipe! Definitely will make again, next time I may double recipe for a big crowd.
This is a delicious dish. I’ve made it several times and everyone raves. We’ve noticed that the chocolate does add a depth of favor to the dish. I’ve made it with and without the chocolate. It’s a go-to dish in our house.
Omg was all different level never did it with chocolate love it💖 Done pozole many time but this one was different thank you