Pozole Blanco is one of those dishes that brings a big smile to my face. Just the thought of coming home to the nostalgic aroma of this traditional Mexican soup takes me back to memories of Durango, Mexico.
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It’s comfort food, often served for special occasions, that I love to make for my family. I don’t think this recipe is hard at all. It just takes time, and you can very easily make it in the slow cooker.
This recipe is different from Pozole Rojo which uses a red chile sauce or Pozole Verde which uses a green sauce.
- Start by cutting up the main ingredient – a whole chicken.
- Add all the chicken pieces to a large stockpot.
Nowadays, you can find a whole chicken cut up at most grocery stores. Or ask your friendly neighborhood butcher to do it for you. Reserve the bones to make chicken broth.
- Add half a white onion and two cloves of garlic to the pot.
More fabulous flavor to savor. So, do yourself a favor and add these ingredients.
Pozole Blanco translated into English means “white pozole.”
You might also see people misspell the word as “posole” or call this dish “posole blanco” or “white posole.” They all mean the exact same thing.
- Add plenty of water (4 quarts of water or more) to the stock pot.
- Enough to cover the entire chicken.
You don’t need to use an entire chicken. If you are partial to only white meat, then use only chicken breast.
If you prefer dark meat, use legs, thighs, or both.
Note: The water will create a delicious chicken broth. You can very well use store-bought broth or water + bouillon. Not a fan of store bought chicken bouillon? Here’s a How to Make Chicken Bouillon,
- Put a lid on the pot
- Cook for 1 hour at medium-high heat.
Don’t flip your lid. The “P” in pozole stands for “Patience.” You can’t rush the magic of this soup.
This is the base for our soup. It is the Chicken Soup for your Mexican soul. Comforting. Nourishing.
Your skills are flourishing when you master this traditional dish. It’s an essential step.
Table of Contents
Pro Tips:
- Use leftover chicken.
- Use either store-bought chicken broth or homemade chicken broth.
- Skip to step 8.
- Once it is thoroughly cooked, remove the chicken from the pot.
Place in a glass Pyrex plate or a heat-resistant container. Let it cool slightly.
- Remove the onion and garlic from the stock pot.
- Reserve all of the liquid from the cooking process. Taste it for salt.
That stuff is liquid gold. You have a pot of gold, and you’re not even a leprechaun. No rainbow required.
Get totally forked! You’re going to need TWO forks to shred the chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
Word to the Wise: Be sure the chicken is cool enough to the touch. No one wants to get burned. Once you’re done, return it to the pot.
- Drain the can of hominy.
- Then add it to the pot.
Rinse my hominy before adding. It might be an unnecessary step, but I don’t want any of that yucky can flavor. You want harmony from your hominy.
If you didn’t make enough chicken broth, add water or chicken broth.
This is a soup. It’s soup-er! lol.
See recipe card for slow cooker instructions.
- Add a cube of chicken bouillon.
- Add more water.
If you made plenty of that delicious homemade chicken broth when you were cooking the chicken, you can skip this step.
You can always use salt instead of bouillon.
- Cover the stock pot and bring to a boil.
- Let it simmer for 45 minutes.
Your house will smell amazing! Your neighbors will envy you, and your family will love you. Love is all you need, or so the Beatles have told me.
How Long Does It Last?
- In the fridge, this white pozole recipe will lasts up to 5 days.
- In the freezer, it lasts up to 3 months.
More Mexican Soups:
Toppings:
- Mexican oregano
- shredded cabbage
- cilantro
- lime wedges
- chile de árbol
- radishes
- white onion
What are the Different Kinds of Pozoles?
- Red Pozole: Made with a guajillo chiles and ancho chiles red sauce.
- Green Pozole: Made with a green chile sauce of pepitas, poblano peppers, cilantro, or serranos.
- Pozole Blanco: A basic soup with no chile sauce added. However, chile can be added as a topping. (See my recipe below)
- Pozole Negro: Made with huitlacoche, or a black mushroom fungus. Sometimes served with black beans.
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
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Pozole Blanco (Chicken Pozole)
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken chopped into pieces.
- ½ onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 10-12 cups of water divided
- 4 cups canned hominy drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 cube of chicken bouillon or substitute for chicken broth
- Optional Toppings:
- Diced Onions
- Dried Oregano
- Shredded Cabbage or Lettuce
- Chile de Arbol
- Lime
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Add all the chicken pieces to a large stock pot.
- Add ½ onion, 2 garlic cloves, salt and pepper.
- Add water. About 5-6 cups. Enough to cover the entire chicken.
- Put a lid on the pot and cook for 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool slightly.
- Reserve all the liquid.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
- Add the hominy and oregano.
- Pour remaining water into the pot.
- Add chicken bouillon.
- (You can omit the chicken bouillon and use chicken broth instead).
- Cover and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and cook for 45 minutes.
- Serve and add desired toppings.
Video
Notes
- In the fridge, pozole lasts up to 5 days.
- In the freezer, pozole lasts up to 3 months.
Love your recipes, I’ve followed some.
In my experience, If you rinse the hominy, part of the flavor is gone down the drain and maybe some vitamins too.
Buena suerte y bendiciones.
Thank you for pointing that out! I prefer to rinse the hominy especially if it’s canned to get rid of the canned flavor.
I LOVE pozole. I’ve been missing pozole because I’ve been trying to eat less pork. I had never heard of this version! Made last night – and it’s a keeper!!! Hit the spot! Thank you- love your posts and recipes 🙂
Thank you very much! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
Great recipe!!! Thanks! My husband who is from Mexico has been asking me to make this (he can not cook at all). I had seen other recipes, some red, and some green, but he was very adamant that it had to be white. This is a great recipe, authentic as to where my husband is from.
Hope you try it! I think your husband will love it!
Made this today and it was so good! reminded me of my mom’s pozole! it was my first time making pozole and definitely will be making this again! Also, love eating my pozole with a side of tostadas and lots of lime!
So good right? We love this one too
I’ve never made Pozole before and I used this recipe and it came out amazing! I paired it with a homemade salsa and I had to force myself to stop eating. So delicious!
Sounds amazing! So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
This sounds like the perfect reason to finally try hominy!
It is! This recipe is so yummy!
Love this chicken recipe, so heartwarming
It’s delicious. Hope you try it!