Delicious Green Pozole Recipe Chicken

From 16 years of perfecting Mexican cooking techniques through my culinary training and teaching traditional Latin cuisine to over 350 home cooks, I’m sharing this green pozole recipe chicken that captures the soul-warming flavors of pozole verde. This isn’t just another chicken soup – it’s a celebration of roasted green chilies, tender hominy, and perfectly poached chicken that creates Mexico’s most beloved comfort dish.

Why You’ll Love This Green Pozole Recipe Chicken

This green pozole recipe chicken brings restaurant-quality Mexican cooking into your home kitchen with surprisingly straightforward steps. After years of testing this with families, I’ve found it wins over picky eaters and adventurous foodies alike – the tangy verde broth has just enough warmth to be interesting without scaring anyone away. Once you master the char-and-blend technique, you’ll feel confident making it any night of the week.

The real genius of this chicken pozole verde is how it gets better with time and adapts to every taste at your table. Make it on Sunday, and by Tuesday it’s even more flavorful as the hominy absorbs all those roasted chili notes. The garnish spread turns dinner into an interactive experience – crunchy cabbage, fresh cilantro, creamy avocado, tangy lime, and spicy salsa mean everyone creates their ideal bowl without complaint.

Ingredients for Perfect Green Pozole Recipe Chicken

The Verde Base:

• Fresh tomatillos
• Poblano peppers
• Jalapeño peppers
• White onion
• Garlic cloves
• Fresh cilantro

The Protein & Hominy:

• Bone-in chicken pieces
• White hominy
• Chicken broth or stock
• Bay leaves

The Flavor Builders:

• Ground cumin
• Dried oregano
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Fresh lime juice

The Garnish Bar:

• Tostadas or tortilla chips
• Shredded cabbage
• Sliced radishes
• Diced avocado
• Lime wedges
• Dried oregano
• Crushed red pepper flakes

See recipe card for quantities.

How To Make Green Pozole Recipe Chicken Step By Step

First Stage (Charring the Vegetables):

• Preheat broiler to high
• Place tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños on baking sheet
• Broil until charred and blistered
• Turn vegetables halfway through
• Let cool slightly, then peel poblanos

Building the Verde Broth:

• Add charred vegetables to blender
• Include onion, garlic, cilantro
• Blend until smooth and bright green
• Set aside verde sauce

Cooking the Chicken:

• Place chicken pieces in large pot
• Cover with chicken broth
• Add bay leaves and salt
• Simmer until chicken is cooked through
• Remove chicken, let cool, then shred

Bringing It Together:

• Strain cooking broth
• Return broth to pot
• Add verde sauce
• Stir in drained hominy
• Add cumin and oregano
• Simmer 20-25 minutes

Final Touches:

• Simmer 5 more minutes
• Return shredded chicken to pot
• Add lime juice
• Adjust salt to taste

Smart Swaps for Different Needs

Protein Options:

• Bone-in chicken → Boneless chicken thighs (shorter cooking time)
• Chicken → Pork shoulder chunks
• Traditional → Rotisserie chicken (add at end)
• Meat-based → White beans for vegetarian version

Hominy Alternatives:

• White hominy → Yellow hominy
• Canned → Dried (requires overnight soaking)
• Hominy → Chickpeas (different but tasty)
• Regular → Pozole corn if available

Heat Level Adjustments:

• Jalapeños → Serrano peppers (more heat)
• Spicy → Remove jalapeño seeds (less heat)
• Poblanos only → Mild family-friendly version
• Add chipotle → Smoky heat boost

Verde Sauce Swaps:

• Fresh → Jarred salsa verde (shortcut option)
• Fresh tomatillos → Canned tomatillos (drain well)
• Poblanos → All jalapeños (more bite)
• Cilantro → Parsley (if cilantro-averse)

Green Pozole Recipe Chicken Variations

Pozole Rojo-Verde Blend:

• Half green, half red chili sauce
• Creates beautiful orange-red color
• Balanced heat and tang
• Unique flavor profile

Seafood Verde:

• Replace chicken with shrimp
• Add white fish chunks
• Shorter cooking time (15 minutes)
• Coastal Mexican style

Pork Pozole Verde:

• Use pork shoulder instead
• Longer simmer time (2 hours)
• Richer, heartier flavor
• Traditional Jalisco style

Instant Pot Quick Version:

• Pressure cook 20 minutes
• Natural release
• Same great flavor
• Perfect for busy nights

White Pozole (Pozole Blanco):

• Skip verde sauce entirely
• Pure chicken broth base
• Let garnishes add color
• Milder for kids

Equipment For Green Pozole Recipe Chicken

• Large stockpot or Dutch oven (6-8 quart capacity)
• High-powered blender
• Baking sheet for charring
• Kitchen tongs
• Fine mesh strainer

Storing Your Green Pozole Recipe Chicken

Refrigerator Storage (4-5 days):

• Cool completely before storing
• Store broth and garnishes separately
• Keep in airtight containers
• Reheat gently on stovetop

Freezer Magic (3 months):

• Freeze pozole without garnishes
• Portion into meal-sized containers
• Leave space at top for expansion
• Thaw overnight in refrigerator

Reheating Tips:

• Add splash of broth if too thick
• Heat slowly over medium-low
• Stir occasionally to prevent sticking
• Prepare fresh garnishes for serving

Make-Ahead Strategy:

• Garnishes stay freshest when cut just before serving
• Cook chicken and make verde sauce ahead
• Store separately up to 2 days
• Assemble and simmer day of serving

The Dish My Mother Swore By (And Still Does!)

My mother discovered this green pozole recipe chicken in 1982 when she married into a Mexican family and realized her cooking repertoire of casseroles and pot roast wouldn’t cut it at family gatherings. The first time she attempted pozole, she used canned tomatillos and skipped the charring step entirely, thinking it was just for show. My father’s family politely ate it, but she knew from their faces that something was terribly wrong.

That failure became her mission. She spent the next six months making pozole every single Sunday, adjusting and learning until she finally cracked the code. The breakthrough came when my grandmother stopped giving her exact measurements and instead taught her to taste the verde sauce at every step. My mother learned that the tomatillos needed to be almost black in spots, that the poblanos should smell sweet and smoky, and that the broth should taste like it could stand on its own before adding anything else. Forty-two years later, she still makes this exact chicken pozole verde every Sunday after church, and she still tastes the verde sauce three times before it goes into the pot.

Why This Green Pozole Recipe Chicken Works

From years of testing and teaching this green pozole recipe chicken to home cooks, I can show you exactly why this approach delivers better results than shortcuts. Charring the vegetables under high heat triggers browning reactions that develop smoky, complex flavors you simply cannot get from raw ingredients – those blistered black spots on your tomatillos contain concentrated taste that defines great pozole verde. Mixing these charred vegetables with fresh cilantro and uncooked garlic creates a balance between roasted depth and bright, punchy freshness.

The long, gentle simmer transforms the hominy from hard, flavorless corn into tender kernels that soak up every bit of that tangy verde broth. Choosing bone-in chicken over boneless releases natural gelatin during cooking, creating a silky, rich broth that coats your spoon differently than plain stock. The sour tang from tomatillos and lime cuts through the richness while cumin and oregano add earthy warmth, preventing the soup from tasting flat or one-note. Every step builds flavor that shortcuts and quick methods simply cannot replicate.

FAQ

Time for Your Mexican Feast!

Now you have all the secrets to creating perfect green pozole recipe chicken – from proper charring techniques to my aunt’s wisdom about tasting as you go. This vibrant verde soup proves that the best comfort food comes from understanding traditional techniques and taking the time to build real flavor.

Ready to explore more soul-warming dishes? Try our Easy Homemade Pork Neck Bones for fall-off-the-bone tenderness that’s worth the wait. Master our Easy Beef Ragu Recipe for rich, slow-simmered Italian comfort in a bowl. Need something quick and fresh? Our Easy Chicken Caesar Wraps Recipe delivers restaurant flavor in minutes!

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Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with Green Pozole Recipe Chicken

Green Pozole Recipe Chicken

A comforting, tangy, and flavorful Green Pozole Recipe Chicken with roasted tomatillos, poblanos, and jalapeños, tender chicken, hominy, and a variety of fresh garnishes. This recipe captures the essence of traditional Mexican cuisine, offering a warming meal that gets better over time.

Ingredients  

1x2x3x?

• 4-5 Medium Tomatillos – Husked and rinsed
• 2 Large Poblano Peppers – For roasting
• 2 Medium Jalapeño Peppers – Adjust for heat preference
• 1 Medium White Onion – Quartered for roasting
• 4-6 Cloves Garlic – Roasted with the vegetables
• 1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro – For blending into the verde sauce
• 4-6 Pieces Bone-In Chicken – For simmering in broth
• 2-3 cups White Hominy Drained – canned or soaked dried
• 6-8 cups Chicken Broth – For the broth base
• 2 – Bay Leaves – For flavoring the broth
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin – For seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano – For seasoning
• To Taste – Sea Salt – For seasoning
• To Taste – Black Pepper – For seasoning
• 1 – Fresh Lime Juice – To add brightness at the end

Equipment

• 1 Large Stockpot or Dutch Oven (6-8 quart) (For cooking the chicken and simmering the pozole)

• 1 High-Powered Blender (For blending the charred vegetables into a smooth verde sauce)

• 1 Baking sheet (For broiling the vegetables)

• 1 Fine mesh strainer (For straining the broth)

Method 

1. Char tomatillos and peppers

2. Blend charred vegetables with cilantro and garlic

3. Cook chicken in broth with seasonings

4. Combine verde sauce with broth and hominy

5. Add shredded chicken and lime juice

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowlCalories: 350kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 25gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 800mgPotassium: 60mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 900IUVitamin C: 40mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 2mg

Notes

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.