During my “off” week just after Thanksgiving, I picked up a pork loin and gave it the Chili Rubbed Pork treatment in my slow cooker. It made a TON of pulled pork, so I ended up popping a few portions of it in the freezer, one of which was destined to become this super easy 30 Minute Posole.
What is Posole?
Posole, or pozole, is a rich stew, typically made with slow-cooked pork, hominy, green chiles, and lots of delicious toppings. The “posole” I made is definitely not authentic, it’s more of a quickie stand-in for the good stuff. Kind of like ramen you buy in a 15 cent pack versus real ramen. If you want to make real posole/pozole, here is an authentic Mexian Pozole recipe so you can see what it’s really all about.
Using the leftover pork helped my “quickie posole” come together really fast, so this is a great way to take advantage of those leftovers on busy nights. Pork is the typical meat for posole, but if you have leftover chicken or beef I say why not go ahead and use that. I think it would be equally as delicious!
What is Hominy?
Hominy, one of the key ingredients in posole, are large maize grains that have been treated with lye, which softens their outer husk and gives them a wonderfully chewy texture. You can find hominy both dried and canned, like beans, but this quick 30 minute posole recipe below uses the canned version for convenience.
What to Serve with Posole
I would absolutely love this soup with cornbread on the side, so I could crumble the cornbread into the soup and soak up all that wonderful broth! A scoop of cooked rice would also be a great topper for the soup to round out the meal.
Sauce it Up!
I used my homemade red enchilada sauce as a base for this soup, which helped thicken the broth and provide a TON of instant flavor. I kept the toppings for my posole simple to keep costs low, but if you want to splurge I think this soup would be awesome with a little shredded cheddar, pepper jack, sour cream, or avocado. The creaminess of any of those toppings would be an excellent contrast to the spicy broth. There’s a lot of room for customization with this one, so have fun with it!
Love southwest flavored soups? Try my Chicken and Lime Soup, Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup, or Red Lentil Mexican Stew.
Easy 30 minute Posole
Servings 6 (1.33 cups each)Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.14)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 2 Tbsp flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp mild chili powder* ($0.30)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.33)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) ($0.03)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 2 cups water ( $0.00)
- 3 cups chicken broth** ($0.38)
- 1 4oz. can chopped green chiles ($0.87)
- 1 15oz. can hominy ($1.09)
- 1.5 cups shredded pork, chicken, or beef (pre-cooked) ($2.04)
- 1 fresh lime ($0.33)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.85)
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion, then add it to a large soup pot along with the cooking oil. Sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until it is tender and transparent. Add the flour and chili powder and continue to sauté for two minutes more. The mixture will be fairly dry, so stir continuously to prevent burning.
- Add 2 cups water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to the pot. Whisk the ingredients together until the tomato paste is dissolved. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, at which point it will thicken.
- Finally, add the chicken broth, shredded meat, diced chiles, and hominy (drained). Stir to combine and then heat through (about 10 minutes).
- Cut the lime into wedges and roughly chop the cilantro. Top each bowl with chopped cilantro and a wedge of lime to squeeze over top.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
**I use reconstituted Better Than Bouillon to make my broth.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Posole – Step by Step Photos
Begin by dicing one small yellow onion and adding it to a large soup pot along with 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil. Sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat until it is soft and transparent. Although 2 Tbsp oil seems like more than needed sauté one small onion, that amount of oil is needed to make the roux in the next step, which provides the thickening power for the soup.
Once the onion is soft, add 2 Tbsp flour and 2 Tbsp mild chili powder. Continue to sauté this mixture for two minutes to toast the flour and chili powder. It may be slightly dry, so stir continuously to prevent burning.
Whisk in 2 cups water, 3oz. tomato paste (1/2 of a 6oz. can), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and 3/4 tsp salt, until the tomato paste has completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, at which point it will thicken. This is basically my Easy Red Enchilada Sauce (plus an onion).
Drain one 15oz. can of hominy (golden or white, your choice) and add it to the pot.
Also add a 4oz. can of diced green chiles.
And about 1.5 cups of pre-cooked, shredded meat (I used pork, but chicken or beef would also work).
Finally, stir in 3 cups chicken broth and heat through. And that’s about it! Really fast, really delicious 30 Minute Posole!
Toppings are one of the most fun parts of posole, so I chopped up about 1/2 bunch cilantro and cut one fresh lime into wedges. The lime juice adds a really nice tart/fresh flavor to the broth.
Top each bowl of the 30 Minute Posole with the chopped cilantro and a wedge of lime. Other fun toppings include: shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, thinly sliced radishes, tortilla chips, or fresh salsa.
And I’ll openly admit, this is my first time eating hominy. It’s DELICIOUS! It has that really nice corn flavor, but the big kernels have a an awesomely chewy texture. They are, without a doubt, my favorite part of this stew.
Easy and really good. I also used the recipe to make the pulled pork.
The 30 Minute Posole is on point! We used carnitas from a previous recipe and added shredded cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, lime and tortilla chips. I’m looking forward to having leftovers for dinner for the next few days. Thanks, Beth!!!! 😋😋
I hate to cook, but love Mexican food. I made this and it is absolutely DELICIOUS. I used 32 ounces of chicken broth and the large can 30/32oz hominy instead of what recipe says. Turned out perfect. Side dish, shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, and cilantro to go on it, also slice of lime.A perfect quick meal, Thank you.
I make a modified vegan version of this juuuuuust about every week. It’s super easy and absolutely delicious!
I sub in veggie stock and swap out the meat for garbanzo beans. Because I like a bit more spice, I mince a jalapeno instead of the canned chilis and throw in some fresh gray squash for a little extra bulk. So good!
This is delicious. I’ve never had hominy before. I had no idea it tastes so different from regular corn. It was well worth the extra time it took me to find it in the grocery store.
I made a variation on this recipe last night for dinner last night. I would have rather done the recipe as written first, but we’re all sick with the flu and couldn’t handle the spiciness. Anyway, I used regular canned corn instead of hominy, and I defrosted some of my chipotles in adobo to get about a teaspoon and a half of the sauce to substitute for the spices. I figured that would give it some spiciness, without scorching our sore throats. Anyway, with these alterations, this was an amazing meal for some people who are sick and tired of chicken noodle soup! LOL Anyway, sometime after we’re all feeling better, I will be sure to make this as intended. I’m sure it will be equally delicious!
I just made this with leftover pulled pork from a taco bar party–it was delicious! I love this and it’s definitely in my rotation! Thank you!
This tasted fine but I know what posole tastes like and this is most definitely nothing like it. It tastes just like chili powder to me.
Authentic posole takes a long time to cook. This recipe is called “30 minute posole,” so it seems obvious to me that it would not taste like the real deal, but still similar. Looking forward to trying this out tonight!!
Just made this & it was delicious! I was so surprised at how much the lime juice made a difference! I used your chili seasoned pork & it was spicy enough so I didn’t add any extra cumi & adied a dollop of sour cream on top! . Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Made this in the Instant Pot using a couple pounds of pork shoulder and an extra can of hominy. I browned the cubes of meat then cooked the onions in the fat. It was easy and delicious. Definitely will make again!! Thank you!
My posole is currently simmering on the stove! I chose to cut/cube up fresh pork shoulder and saute it in oil with garlic powder, salt, pepper then added it as directed in recipe. I will let mine simmer for about 3 hours on the stove so the pork is completely tender. I tasted it though and OMG what a fantastic recipe! I am excited to have a huge bowl for dinner! I bought sour cream, cilantro, cabbage, avocado and lime for my toppings! Thank you for a wonderful easy recipe that cuts out the extra work but has all the flavor expected and then some! One of my faves when I go out to eat at Mexican restaurants and recreating it at home with even better flavor is A+++
I didn’t have any leftover pork, but I did have some cubed pork butt in my freezer! I made the recipe until just before you add the hominy, then put in the pork and pressure cooked it for 30 minutes. When it was through, I mashed the pork up a bit with a potato masher and finished the recipe. Delicious! It took about an hour this way – still much better than the three hours or so that traditional posole would take!
If I wanted to leave out the meat to make this vegetarian, what could I replace the meat with?
I just googled for some ideas and it looks like a lot of people like to add kidney beans and poblano peppers. I think black beans would also be delish in this and even though it already has hominy, I might try some fire roasted corn kernels too.
I’ve had jackfruit “pulled pork” that was really delicious! You could use canned green jackfruit (not ripe) instead of the shredded meat; any asian market should have it, and possibly groceries with a good ethnic aisle. I’d add some additional seasoning, like smoked paprika and maybe powdered mushrooms for extra umami.
Amazing recipe. Thanks!
Love your recipe . I have made the original which takes a lot of time .
This is just as good and easy to make.