Vegetarian Red Pozole
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
30 mins
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Cook Time
30 mins
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Servings
8
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Calories
145 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Soup
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Cuisine
Vegetarian
Vegetarian Red Pozole
Description
This Vegetarian Red Pozole recipe starts with roasting and rehydrating dried ancho and guajillo chiles to create a deep, red chili flavor. Onion and garlic are briefly cooked before splitting half to blend with the chiles, forming a rich chile puree that is added back to a pot with vegetable stock and hominy. Optional ingredients such as rice, cooked carrot, beans, and other vegetables can be added to enhance heartiness and texture.
The resulting soup has a robust, mildly spiced flavor profile highlighted by earthy chiles and warm spices including cumin, Mexican oregano, ground clove, and cinnamon. Freshly cracked black pepper and salt season the broth. The hominy provides a chewy texture, contrasting with the smooth and subtly thickened chili broth.
The pozole is typically served with garnishes like thinly sliced cabbage tossed in lime and salt, radish slices, avocado, serrano or jalapeno chiles, fresh cilantro, crispy tortilla strips, and lime wedges. These toppings add brightness, texture, and tang that complement the rich soup base.
Using a vegetable stock with nutritional yeast can add umami depth. The combination of chiles can vary, and adding a final squeeze of lime before serving enhances the flavors. The cabbage can be pre-tossed with lime juice and salt to soften and add flavor, contributing to the overall complexity of the dish.
Ingredients
- 5-6 ancho chile dried
- 5-6 guajillo chile or New Mexican chile, dried
- 1 onion small
- 6 garlic cloves
- 10 cups stock 2.5 quarts
- 1-2 cans hominy approx. 30 oz. cans
- 1/2 cup rice optional
- carrot cooked, optional
- beans
- vegetables
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- pinch of ground clove optional
- pinch of cinnamon ground, optional
- black pepper freshly cracked
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
For the garnish (choose your favorites):
- cabbage thinly sliced, tossed with lime and salt
- radish thinly sliced
- avocado slices
- serrano chile or jalapeno chile, thinly sliced
- cilantro freshly chopped
- tortilla strips crispy
- lime squeeze
Instructions
- Start by wiping off the dried chiles, then de-stemming and de-seeding them. Give the chile pieces a quick roast in a 400F oven for 1-2 minutes. Add the roasted chile pieces to a bowl, cover them with hot tap water, and let them reconstitute for 20-30 minutes or until you need them.
- Finely chop an onion and add it to a large soup pot along with a glug of oil. Cook the onion over medium heat until softened and then add 6 minced garlic cloves. Briefly cook the garlic. Scoop about half of this onion-garlic mixture into a blender where it will become part of the chile puree, and leave the other half in the soup pot.
- Add 8 cups of stock to the pot along with the drained and rinsed hominy. I used two 30 oz. cans of hominy for this batch and that will make your Pozole a bit more chunky. For a brothier Pozole use just a single can of hominy.
- Before draining the chiles be sure to take a taste of the soaking liquid. If you like the taste then you can use it to make the chile puree. If it tastes bitter to you then discard it and use stock to blend the chiles (that's what I did for this batch). Note: if you like the flavor of the chiles' soaking liquid you are also welcome to use more of it for the Pozole broth in place of stock.
- Drain the chiles and add them to the blender. Half of the onion-garlic mixture should already be in the blender. Add 2 cups of stock and combine well. Add the chile puree to the soup pot. You can optionally strain the chile puree to remove any seeds or bits of skin, but lately I skip this step.
- Add the remaining spices to the soup pot: 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, a pinch of ground clove (optional), a pinch of ground cinnamon (optional), some freshly cracked black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. I also added 1/2 cup uncooked white rice and some diced carrots, but this is optional. Stir well and bring to a boil. Lower heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Be sure to take a final taste for seasoning! I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch, but keep in mind that salt level will depend on which stock you're using. I used a low sodium homemade stock and had to add 2 heaping teaspoons of salt to this batch, but if using store-bought stock you won't need to add as much salt as I did.
- Serve immediately with your choice of garnish. I topped with thinly sliced cabbage that was tossed with lime juice and salt, avocado slices, serrano chile slices, and freshly chopped cilantro.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge where it will keep for a few days. To reheat simply add Pozole to a saucepan over medium heat and cook until simmering. If it seems thick when re-heating I will typically add a splash of stock (or water) to thin it out.
Notes
- Use a vegetable stock containing nutritional yeast to add umami flavor to the soup.
- Combining ancho and guajillo or New Mexican chiles offers a balanced chile flavor; using only ancho chiles still produces a good result.
- Add a squeeze of lime juice before serving to brighten the flavors.
- Toss thinly sliced cabbage with lime juice and salt beforehand to soften it and enhance taste.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 8Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 145 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 145kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 32g | 11% |
| Protein | 4g | 8% |
| Fat | 2g | 3% |
| Saturated Fat | 0.2g | 1% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 0.2g | 1% |
| Sodium | 1489mg | 62% |
| Potassium | 494mg | 11% |
| Fiber | 7g | 28% |
| Sugar | 13g | 26% |
| Vitamin A | 6896IU | 138% |
| Vitamin C | 9mg | 10% |
| Calcium | 32mg | 3% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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