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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.
Loved this recipe. I added a cinnamon stick for a half hour at the end and enjoyed the flavor it added.
Hi Kat! We’ve never thought of that, that’s a great tip!
In making the #ChileRoja, after using the bender, why don’t you run it through a sieve?
Lived in Chihuahua, México for 16 years & haven’t made #ChileRoja since my return!! Someone asked me for a couple dishes & Pozole has always been my favorite dish!! So this will be a treat not only for my Uncle, but myself as well 🙂
Only few things are different: sieve, only used 1 type of chile (California) and the hominy is a raw bean (cooked out of bag). I will follow your directions, the change’s are super minimal ~
Only a few things are a MUST, if I’m gonna call it Pozole: shredded cabbage, radishes, & onion!! And ofc, for those that need more, a side of algo picante!! 🔥
I appreciate the recipe’s! Been stateside again for 20+ years and the only recipes I remember w/out straining the old noggin, are Albóndigas & Caldillo 🙂
If I can only remember 2 recipes, these are 2 good ones to remember‼️
I’ll let you know how the sublime changes did, within a couple weeks
Ty, Lynne
Hi Lynne! Thank you for sharing! We hope you enjoyed this recipe. In regards to your question, that step it definitely optional! If you still have chunks in your chile roja then we suggest running it through a strainer, but if it blends smooth you don’t have to!
Isabel, I am from New Mexico. We do not use hominy, but what we call posole corn. It is not a mushy as canned hominy. It is similar, but has more chewy texture and holds its shape more. It comes either frozen or dried. It has gone through the nixtamalization process, but perhaps for not as long.
I have only had canned hominy, so the homemade version may be very different.
Traditionally NM posole is made with pork (I use pork neck bones that add a lovely gelanteous to the liquid) and New Mexico chile colorado, which is made using NM red chile (not the same as chile colorado in Mexican cuisine). I top with chopped onion and/or some grated cheese. We eat this with a flour tortilla, sopapilla (puffed fried dough), fry bread (made by most US Native American women- it is a fried flour dough) or warmed/toasted oven bread (this is bread that Pueblo Indian women make and cook in outdoor adobe ovens called hornos).
That sounds great! Thank you for sharing!
We had this tonight. Delicious. Thanks.
Thank you Don!
OMG….I’m Mexican and am very picky when it comes to posole. This by far is the best posole i have tried in a long time. Kudos to you Isabel. Now i want to try some of your other recipes. Keep up the good cooking.
Thank you Mickey!
I found your recipe the light my husband. He makes Chile Colorado with tour recipe! I made posole on Christmas and let me tell you it was a hit! Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing your recipes!
**I found your recipes through my husband.
I am not usually a huge reviewer, but I’ve made this recipe two years in a row and it’s been delicious both times. Thank you so much for sharing, definitely becoming a household staple around Christmas time 🙂
Who knew it was so easy to make at home? Delicious! I love your recipes!
Love! I have made it twice and will be making again for my son over Christmas. The thinly sliced radishes and cabbage give it a perfect crispness.
I have made this twice and love, love, love! I actually used all of the suggested toppings and was very surprised that I loved the thinly sliced radishes. Who knew I liked radishes. Lol It gave it a nice, added crispness. The recipe is delicious just as it is.