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
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.
I really enjoyed this recipe, and I did tweak it by finding some ancho and guajillo spices at the store. I omitted the chile, tomato paste, and meat by adding more ancho and guajillo and more hominy. It was so good! Topped it off with some white onion and freeze-dried cilantro (out of fresh cilantro).
Made this today because as we were organizing the “COVID Freezer” and my husband found a Tri Tip that he wanted to throw away. Apparently I hadn’t frozen it correctly. Whatever. I decided better to try this soup that I know I love and hope, than just throw away a nice chunk of meat! So I started by defrosting the tri tip – then browning is on HIGH heat on two sides. Then I took it out, diced it into bite sized pieces. I pretty much followed the directions from there, except I put all the liquids in the pot before the hominy, then added the meat and let it simmer in the broth for about an hour. Last I did the 30 min with the hominy. SO GOOD. The meat was even tender! Love this site – Love the recipes. Love that I can doctor them just a touch for my family and my freezer!! THANK YOU!!!
Just FYI. The traditional mexican pozole is made with mexican dried chiles (chile guallijo, cascabel, pasilla). You also use the broth from the pork that cooks almost all day and it does not use green chiles or flour or tomato paste or enchilada sauce. We also don’t eat it with cilantro, rice, and definitely NOT cornbread. We eat it with tostadas, lettuce, and sliced radish. I’m sure your recipe tastes okay but this is not pozole (a mexican dish). You should do research on the mexican recipe and try it. You will love it!
This is somehow more complicated than an actual pozole recipe yet looks so much worse. I’ve gotten good recipes from this website but this is just disrespectful. Imagine someone coming on here and thinking they’re actually making pozole when they’re just making chili gravy soup. Please consider experimenting with dried chiles because that’s why makes pozole. We do not use tomato paste or cheddar cheese or flour or literally have of what is in this recipe.
I love the sound of this recipe and the ingredients. While you DID STATE it was not the TRADITIONAL MEXICAN POSOLE I appreciate that you gave a traditional recipe before posting yours.
The reason why I like yours is because I’m not good with all the Mexican Chilies and preferred just a simple soup with Homony and Pork and I have all of the ingredients. I will most likely substitute 2 cups of water with the Mexican Tomalito Sause. (Tomato Sauce) and use Paste to thicken. Thank you for sharing YOUR Version. Much Appreciated!
I am sorry, but this is not a poZole. Eating it with corn bread? Rice? Enchilada sauce? Cumin? Cayenne pepper. So far from the authentic recipe.
I make this recipe all the time, but instead of using pork I use shredded purple cabbage and double the hominy. I also use gluten free flour out of necessity. It doubles and freezes really well.
Made this last nite for dinner it was very delicious.Did not think my granddaughter would like it she loved it.I used diced pork for it very good. Its a keeper.
I made this the other day but with polenta instead of hominy, we don’t really get that in the UK, was very tasty and spicy, will definately be making again at my next dinner party.
I did add a bit more broth and spice to it but let me tell you this was delicious!!!!!!!!!! It’s going in my recipe box just in case my Pinterest account implodes 😂 I used shredded chicken but definitely going to try it next with either pork or steak.
Would this recipe double well? Secondly, would it freeze well?
Thanks!
Yes, I think this recipe would both double well and freeze well. :)
I made this at the fire station for dinner and the guys inhaled it. I substituted chicken for pork, I threw in enchilada sauce, vegetable broth, and Nashville hot chicken powder as we were out of chili powder. The guys in my station trust me to make great dinners and they were not disappointed with this meal. FWIW, I use a recipe like most drivers use speed limits, as a guideline.
I made this today using leftover pulled pork and it is amazing! Such good flavor and texture. I didn’t have green chilies so I used a can of seasoned black beans that had chilies in them. I also added a little leftover rice I had in the fridge. Didn’t use the cayenne and the spice was just right for me without it. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for posting.
I Know every one has their own take in recipes, but this is traditionally made with dried Chile guajillo. It’s found In Mexican markets. You soak in hot water, blend and strain then added to boiling water where you cook your meat and add some chicken bouillon to your own liking (Chicken or pork shoulder work great) Just mentioning if someone wants to try a more traditional version of it 😊
I made this and it was great but not spicy in any way at all! Can anyone tell me why or what I couldn’t added to make it spicy ?
Add some sliced jalapeño peppers for more heat, add a bit of oregano for bit more spice.
This was so delicious and easy to make. I had 2 pork chops wondering what to do with them and found your recipe. I used a new chipotle chili powder I bought and wow was it spicy! So I omitted the chili’s. I will definitely be keeping this in my recipe book!