Meatless Mexican Pozole Verde
For the Love of Soup
I really love soup. Any time of the year, I will have soup on my mind. When it is cold, it is warming and nourishing. When it is hot, if you pick the right soup, it is light but filling and so tasty. You get so many nutrients and fiber, which are easy to digest.
Some of my favorite Austin restaurants seasonally serve a red pozole, which I love. But I’ve never made it before.
So when I was looking for free online cooking classes during the lockdown, I came across a class for making green pozole or pozole verde. And I had never tried the green version but the ingredients looked awesome so I thought it would be fun. It was!
One of my all time favorites is chicken tortilla soup. I just never get tired of it. And classic beef stew is another absolute favorite. YUM! Especially when it is cold outside. But it isn’t right now.
So I was very excited to try out a new light summer soup recipe to add to the rotation!
Pozole
Typically, a Mexican pozole can be red or green depending on the peppers that are used. And they are typically made with chicken or pork.
This recipe for Mexican Pozole Verde came from a free online cooking class from Homemade.
I decided to try it out again after the class without any meat and it worked out great. Sometimes I just feel better when I eat less meat, especially during the summer. And this soup is so hearty that I really didn’t miss the chicken.
They used a rotisserie chicken. If you are avoiding gluten in your diet, and want to add a rotisserie chicken, just make sure it is safely gluten-free. Or you can roast chicken at home.
But I prefer to do a meatless dish and it is still fulfilling and delicious! And what wonderful flavors go into this Mexican pozole verde!
And when I have a recipe that takes a little more work, I like to make a really large batch. Then I can freeze small portions that we can use for dinners later or a quick lunch when reheated. That is what I did with this recipe. And it freezes really well.
You do need fresh garnish (limes, lettuce, herbs, shallots), but the soup is already done.
What’s in Green Pozole?
So for this soup, we are using:
- gluten-free, organic vegetable broth
- filtered water
- tomatillos
- poblano peppers
- jalapeños
- garlic
- organic cilantro
- oregano
- avocado oil
- white hominy
- salt & pepper
- red onions or shallots (sometimes milder than red onions)
- shredded lettuce
- lime wedges
The soup is really easy to cook after all the vegetables are prepared. It kind of reminds me of Ghormeh Sabzi (pictured below), which is a Persian stew with lots of greens and kidney beans and stewed beef. One of my absolute favorites growing up. And very popular on the blog, too!
But instead of red beans, in this recipe we use hominy. And instead of stew meat this recipe would usually call for pork or chicken. The sour dried limes used in ghormeh sabzi give it a similar tang to the tomatillos in pozole verde.
Isn’t that how food works? The same basic stuff and ideas enhanced with regional spices.
Prep is Easy
The first thing that we do is wash all the vegetables and herbs. Then we cut and prep them. It is mostly pulling the leaves off of the tomatillos and then cutting them into quarters. Then washing all the herbs and peppers.
The peppers can be cut coarsely, but I highly recommend de-seeding them as well so it isn’t too hot in the end. If you aren’t used to peppers, I would recommend wearing gloves so that the juices don’t burn your hands (then your eyes when you itch them because the peppers made you 😫).
Then peel off the outer layers of garlic and onions and cut them up as well.
Place all the prepared vegetables in a large food processor (or blender) with the 1 cup of water. Blend on high until the vegetables are roughly chopped.
I usually use a 3.5 quart Dutch oven to make soups and stews. But recently, I purchased a much larger one for making Gumbo and large batches of soup to freeze. They have great deals on Le Creuset Dutch ovens at the outlet malls and online.
Cooking the Pozole Verde
You place the blended stuff into the Dutch oven and then stir until it browns. Then add the vegetable stock and hominy and simmer over medium heat.
When it is heated through, you place into a bowl and treat it like pho. Add your extras (lettuce, lime, cilantro, shallots, and whatever else you’d like – tortilla chips, avocado, sour cream…). So tasty and full of flavor and texture. MMMMM!
Meatless Mexican Pozole Verde with Hominy
Typically, a Mexican pozole can be red or green depending on the peppers that are used. And they are typically made with chicken or pork. I decided to try it out without any meat and it worked out great.
Ingredients
- 8 cups gluten-free organic vegetable broth
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1 pound tomatillos
- 2 poblano peppers
- 2 jalapeños
- 1 small onion
- 4 large garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup chopped organic cilantro
- 1 tbsp chopped oregano
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 3 – 15 ounce cans white hominy, drained
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup red onions or shallots (shallots are sometimes milder than red onions)
- 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
- lime wedges
Instructions
Wash all the vegetables and herbs. Then cut and prep them. It is mostly pulling the leaves off of the tomatillos and then cutting them into quarters. Then washing all the herbs and peppers.
The peppers can be cut coarsely, but I highly recommend de-seeding them as well. Then peel off the outer layers of garlic and onions and cut them up as well.
Place all the veggies and herbs into a large food processor (or blender) and coarsley chop. Add the 1 cup of water and continue to blend.
Heat avocado oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot. Add the puree from the blender to the oil and cook for about 12-15 minutes. The puree should turn from a bright green to a deep green/slightly brownish color.
Add salt and pepper and 8 cups of vegetable broth.
Rinse the hominy. Then add to the soup stock. Cook over medium heat until the soup is heated through.
When ready to serve, ladel into a large bowl. Then add in the extra fixings you prefer (lettuce, shallots, lime wedges).
Want More Soup & Stew Recipes?
- Bison Enchilada Soup
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Healthy Turkey Veggie Chili
- Cauliflower Leek Potato Soup
- Chicken Stew with Mashies
- Classic Beef Stew
