I especially love the green variety, with its mix of pork and bright, zippy ingredients. Cilantro, pumpkin seeds, jalapeños, and tomatillos add layers of flavor and a beautiful green color, too. Hominy adds heartiness (and I love its chewy texture), and each bowl has a generous amount of bite-sized, tender pieces of pork. I like to make pozole in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot because it’s a lot faster than on the stovetop. Also, the beauty of the pressure cooker is that the pozole tastes like it simmered all day, but takes about an hour to make, from start to finish.
New to the Instant Pot? Check out our post How To Use an Instant Pot: A First-Timer’s Guide.
The Most Important Ingredient for Pozole
This most important ingredient in green pozole is the tangy tomatillo, pictured above. They look like green tomatoes, except they come in a papery husk. To prep them for slicing, peel off the husks, then give them a quick rinse to wash off the slightly sticky residue that clings to the fruit.
How to Make Pozole
Making pozole is a little different from other soups because rather than sautéing the vegetables first, you start by blending them up with the herbs and spices, then cooking them in a little oil before adding the broth and meat. You’ll see the color of the vegetables change from bright green to a richer, Army green color as they cook, which is exactly what you want. This tells you that you’re developing some deep, savory flavor, and it’ll start to smell really good, too.
What to Serve With Pozole
My favorite part about serving pozole is the big pile of fresh vegetables that go on top. Pick and choose from traditional diced onions, shredded lettuce or cabbage, radishes, and avocados. You can also add crispy toppings such as tostadas, tortilla chips, or chicharrón. Oh, and definitely serve some lime wedges and red pepper flakes on the side so everyone can season their own bowl. For another traditional touch, you can serve a little bowl of dried oregano flakes, to be sprinkled over the hot pozole. The mix of long-cooked and crunchy textures is unique and wonderful. I hope you give it a try!
More Mexican Soups to Try
Chicken Pozole Mexican Chicken and Lime Soup (Sopa de Lima) Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup) Easy Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup Tortilla Soup
Do step 1 as written, then do step 2 on the stovetop, over medium heat.Secure the lid on the pressure cooker, bring up to high pressure, then turn down the heat and let the pozole cook for 25 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure release naturally completely, or allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 15 minutes before performing a quick pressure release.Serve the pozole with toppings.
(It will take about 15 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure before the cooking program begins.) Open the pot. If there is a lot of fat on top of the pozole, use a ladle to skim it off. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.
