Pozole Rojo (or Red Pork Pozole) is one of the most traditional Mexican recipes. It stands proudly next to red pork tamales, tortillas, Menudo Recipe.
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It’s usually made with pork, but you might also find it with chicken. The chile sauce is fiery red that’s deep and robust.
Don’t let the chile sauce deter you. This dish is not spicy but flavorful. Add hominy and top with all your favorite toppings. Such a hearty and easy stew to enjoy!
Vegan Pozole, Shrimp Pozole, Pozole Blanco
To make the chile sauce:
- Remove the stems from all the chiles.
- Cut lengthwise. Remove all the seeds.
- Place in hot water until pliable.
These two types of chiles are very popular in Mexican cuisine. They are used to make other traditional Mexican recipes like Birria de Res, Huevos Ahogados, Caldo de Camaron.
- Guajillo chile is used to make guajillo sauce.
- Ancho chiles are used to make Adobo Sauce.
Both these sauces are great to have on hand when in a pinch and don’t know what to make for dinner.
- Rehydrate the chiles.
- Add all the sauce ingredients into a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Strain the sauce to remove any remaining dried chile bits.
This is your basic Chile Colorado sauce. You can even make it ahead of time. It’ll make cooking this dish faster.
It stores well for 5 days in the fridge and up to 4 months in the freezer.
Table of Contents
What cut of meat to use?
This is pork loin cut into 1-inch pieces. It is a leaner cut.
You can also use pork shoulder with or without the bone. If using the bone, you will need to remove the bone at the end.
Pork butt is very fatty, but it can also be used. Simply skim as much of the fat as possible once it is cooked.
- Cook the pork until tender.
- Add the red chile sauce.
- Add the hominy.
- Simmer on medium-low heat.
This recipe is the traditional method. Made on the stove. However, Pozole Rojo can also be done in the Instant Pot and Slow Cooker for easier cooking.
For Instant Pot Pozole Rojo:
- Press the STEW/MEAT button. 45 minutes.
- Release the pressure – Full natural release.
- Skim the grease from the top of the pot.
- Add the chile sauce and hominy.
- Stir, cook for 5 minutes, and serve.
For Slow Cooker Pozole Rojo:
- Cook the pork on low for 8 hours, or high for 6 hours.
- Skim the grease from the top of the pot.
- Add the chile sauce and hominy. Stir.
- Cook for 1 hour. Serve.
You might also see the word “posole” with an S. Both spellings with a Z or S refer to this dish.
Is pozole healthy?
Yes! It’s high in protein and fiber. Low in fat and provides good nutrients especially if vegetables are added as toppings.
How Long Does It Last?
- Pozole lasts up to 5 days in the fridge.
- For the freezer, remove as much as possible in a sealable. The pozole will last up to 4 months.
Ideas for Toppings:
- Shredded iceberg Lettuce
- Shredded cabbage
- Radishes
- Raw diced onion
- Lemon or lime
- Crush chile de arbol
- Cilantro
- Crushed oregano
Add all of these toppings, or whatever you like, to your bowl. This dish is perfect for entertaining.
Pozole Rojo is a hearty and satisfying pork stew that simply can’t be beat. Full of flavor with bites of hominy that will make you beg for more.
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Pozole Rojo
Ingredients
To Make the Pork:
- 10 cups water
- 3 lbs pork shoulder cut 1-inch pieces
- 1 white onion chopped
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 bay leaf
For the Red Chile Sauce:
- 4 guajillo peppers cleaned, seeded, and deveined
- 4 ancho chile cleaned, seeded, and deveined
- 6 cups water
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 small white onion rough chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt to taste
For the Pozole:
- 3 15-ounce cans white hominy drained and rinsed
For the Toppings:
- shredded iceberg lettuce or shredded cabbage
- onion finely diced
- radishes sliced
- dried oregano
- lime
- avocado
Instructions
To Make the Pork:
- Add water in a large stock pot.
- To the stock pot, add the pork meat, onion, garlic, bouillon, bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Let simmer for 2/12 to 3 hours, until meat is tender.
- Once it's cooked, discard onion, garlic, and bay leaf from the broth.
- Be sure to skim the fat from the top of the pot.
For the Red Chile Sauce:
- While the meat is cooking, soak the ancho and guajillo chiles in hot water for 30 minutes or until they are soft.
- Blend the chiles, garlic cloves, onion, oregano, salt, and 1 cup of the water used to soak the chiles.
- Puree mixture until smooth.
For the Pozole:
- Place a stainer over the pot with the pork.
- Strain the sauce into the pot.
- Bring it to a boil.
- Add white hominy.
- Taste for salt.
- Simmer for 10 minutes, or until hominy is heated.
- Serve along with toppings.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Press the STEW/MEAT button. 45 minutes.
- Release the pressure – Full natural release.
- Skim the grease from the top of the pot.
- Add the chile sauce and hominy.
- Stir, cook for 5 minutes, and serve.
- Cook the pork on low for 8 hours, or high for 6 hours.
- Skim the grease from the top of the pot.
- Add the chile sauce and hominy. Stir.
- Cook for 1 hour. Serve.
- Pozole lasts up to 5 days in the fridge.
- For the freezer, remove as much as possible in a sealable. The pozole will last up to 4 months.
Nutrition
Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.
Hi Maggie! Thanks for this easy to follow recipe. When I’m boiling the pork, is it normal for so much of the water to evaporate? I think I left the heat up too high so the water level has gone down. Can I just add more water? Thanks in advance!
Yes, add more water, but taste for salt. You might need to add salt.
I married a first generation Mexican American and he loves when I make this pozole recipe. It’s super easy to follow (as all your recipes are) and so delicious.
That’s great to hear. Glad you enjoyed this recipe for pozole rojo.
This soup looks delicious and looks so easy to make.
I will def add this recipe to my collections.
You’re going to love it!
We don’t eat pork, so we made it with chicken and the heat from the chile peppers was perfect for us! Absolutely delicious!
That’s wonderful to hear!
Dumb question, if made in the crockpot, do you still cook it in the 10 cups of water
Not a dumb question at all. It depends on the size of your crockpot. Cover halfway to 3/4 of the pork with water. What happens is the juices of the pork will be released when cooked. You don’t want to overflow your crockpot. Hope that makes sense.
I’ve read so many different ways of making pozole. I’ve had it where the meat is so, so tasty, great flavor. Is it best to fry n’ season the meat before adding it in the soup? I’ve made it once and my meat had NO FLAVOR n’ I was so bummed. What am I doing wrong? I love this soup…
You can season and sear the meat first. That will add flavor to the meat. My first thought, though, was that maybe you didn’t add enough onion, garlic, and salt to the water when the pork was cooking. The red sauce will give the meat a lot of good flavor too. Hope this helps!
i have never had pozole Rojo before but it sure looks delicious! will have to try out the recipe!
So good! Hope you try it