This shortcut Pozole Rojo Soup is a Mexican pork, red chili, and hominy stew recipe that is bursting with flavors and textures. Pozole, or Posole, is a traditional soup in Mexico served with a variety of toppings to enjoy. This recipe offers a few shortcuts that still provide the delicious flavors of authentic Pozole Rojo, in a little bit shorter timeframe.

This post is sponsored by National Pork Board.

Pozole Rojo makes the perfect soup to serve and enjoy all year long

Pozole Rojo or “red” pozole, is a combination of flavored broth, deliciously cooked pork (typically pork shoulder or marbled pork shanks), red chiles and hominy corn. You can use guajillo or ancho chiles or a combination of both.

This brothy soup is traditionally served with a large variety of toppings including avocado, diced onion, radishes, limes, fresh cilantro, purple or green cabbage, hot sauce, queso fresco crumbly cheese, and crispy tortilla strips or broken tostada shells.

Usually it is recommended to use bone-in Pork shoulder or marbled shanks for this recipe. Some also add a whole chicken. Bone-in cuts definitely add a lot of flavor to the soup, but I have found that using smaller cuts of meat and searing or just adding to a slow cooker saves me quite a bit of time.

Lately we have been enjoying pork tenderloin in this soup. You can decide what pork cut you like best of those options!

Ingredient list for Shortcut Pozole Rojo Soup

Guajillo or ancho chiles
White Hominy
Pork shoulder, Pork Shanks or Pork Tenderloin
Garlic
Chicken stock
Chicken Bouillon Paste
Bay leaves
Ground Cumin
Mexican Oregano (dried)
Cabbage (purple or green)
Cilantro
White onion
Avocados
Limes
Radishes
Tostada Shells or Corn Tortillas to make crispy strips
Salt
Queso Fresco Cheese
Avocado Oil
Cholula hot sauce

How to serve Shortcut Pozole Rojo Soup

It takes a little while to wash, chop and serve the toppings for this soup. I like to work on this while the pork is cooking. On a platter, arrange chopped onion, radishes, avocados, thinly sliced cabbage, lime slices, fresh chopped cilantro and a bowl of crumbly queso fresco cheese. You can even add fresh chopped tomato if you’d like!

We also love to make homemade tortilla crispy strips to enjoy as a garnish. These are so easy to make yourself (recipe below!) but you can also enjoy the soup with tostada shells.

Shortcut Pozole Rojo Soup

This shortcut Pozole Rojo Soup is a Mexican pork, red chili and hominy stew recipe that is bursting with flavors and textures.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Equipment

Blender
Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven Pot

Ingredients

2.5-3 Pounds Pork Tenderloin, Pork Shoulder or Pork Shanks Cut into pieces
2 32 Oz Chicken Stock cartons
Salt and Pepper

Soup Base

2 Quarts Water 8 cups
4 Oz Dried ancho or guajillo peppers
3 15.5 oz Cans White Hominy More if desired
2 Teaspoons Chopped Garlic
2 Dried Bay leaves
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon Dried Mexican Oregano
1 Tablespoon Chicken Bouillon paste

Garnishes for Soup

2-3 Avocados
1 Bunch Radishes Chopped
Cabbage Purple or green, thinly sliced
Queso Fresco crumbly cheese
Fresh limes
White Onion Chopped
Fresh Cilantro

Crispy Tortilla Strips

Corn Tortillas Yellow or white is fine!
Avocado or Olive oil
Sea Salt

Instructions

Cut pork of your choice into sections about 3". Add to a slow cooker set on high. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 cartons of chicken stock. Allow pork to cook on high for 4 hours until tender.
2. While pork is cooking, add red chiles to an empty pot and heat to slightly roast and soften. Add 3 cups of water and allow chiles to come to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow chiles to soften with the lid on for 15-20 minutes.
3. Allow the chiles and cooking liquid to slightly cool. Remove stems and add chiles to a blender with 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Blend to a puree.
4. When pork is tender, remove and slightly pull pieces apart so it is easier to eat in the soup. Some liquid will have evaporated. Add 2 quarts (8 cups) water to remaining chicken broth. Add one tablespoon chicken bouillon paste. Add the red chili puree. Add garlic, oregano, salt, cumin and bay leaves. *Pork tenderloin is safe to eat at 145 degrees F followed by a 3-minute rest, but for this recipe I recommend cooking until tender (around 180 F) so it's easy to cut or shred.
5. Rinse hominy and add to the soup.
6. Allow soup to heat up on high (slow cooker) or bring to a simmer in a dutch oven pot on the stovetop. You will need to season the soup with salt, usually a tablespoon or more to really flavor the broth.
7. Preheat oven to 375°
8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to slice 6" tortillas into strips. Drizzle with avocado oil and toss. Add to pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until lightly golden about 10-12 minutes.
9. The flavors of this soup marry and continue to get better with time! You can enjoy this soup once you're done making, or enjoy it hours later after it's been on warm in the slow cooker. It is a fantastic leftover, too!
10. Serve soup in bowls with the base broth and set out all of your toppings and garnishes for people to enjoy on the soup. Be sure to add hot sauce as an option, it is so delicious!