Description
This Red Chicken Pozole Soup is a traditional Mexican stew featuring tender shredded chicken simmered in a rich, smoky red chile broth with hominy. Enhanced with aromatic spices and fresh garnishes like cabbage, radishes, and avocado, this hearty soup offers a perfect balance of heat, flavor, and texture for a comforting meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Base
- 2 lbs chicken thighs (bone-in, skin removed)
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups chicken stock (plus more for thinning if needed)
- 1 large can (25 oz) white hominy, drained and rinsed
Chile Sauce
- 6 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 lime, juiced
Garnishes
- Shredded cabbage
- Diced radishes
- Diced avocado
- Lime wedges
- Chopped cilantro
- Tortilla chips
Instructions
- Cook the chicken: In a large pot, combine chicken thighs, quartered onion, peeled garlic cloves, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Cover with water, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 25–30 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove the chicken from the pot, let cool slightly, and shred the meat. Strain and reserve the broth for later use.
- Prepare the chiles: Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Then soak them in hot water for 15 minutes to soften.
- Blend the chile sauce: Drain the softened chiles and blend them with 1 cup of chicken stock, cumin, oregano, and lime juice until smooth. Strain the blended mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids.
- Cook the chile sauce: Heat olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the strained chile sauce and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to develop flavor.
- Combine soup ingredients: Stir in the reserved chicken broth, the remaining chicken stock, and rinsed hominy into the pot with the chile sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add chicken back and simmer: Add the shredded chicken back into the pot and simmer for an additional 15–20 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Adjust seasoning with the remaining teaspoon of salt as needed.
- Serve and garnish: Ladle the hot pozole into bowls and serve with garnishes such as shredded cabbage, diced radishes, diced avocado, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and tortilla chips for added texture and freshness.
Notes
- Removing the chicken skin reduces fat content and creates a lighter broth.
- Adjust the amount of chiles to control the spice level to your preference.
- For a thinner soup, add more chicken stock or water as needed when simmering.
- Hominy can be found canned in most grocery stores; rinse well before adding to remove excess salt.
- Garnishes can be customized or omitted based on personal preference or dietary needs.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
