This flavourful Mexican pozole verde is made simple with shredded rotisserie chicken, canned salsa verde, beans, and hominy. The intense flavours brought out by the simple ingredients make this an easy weeknight recipe to whip up on short notice. Of course, if you have the time, I HIGHLY recommend going the full mile and making pozole from scratch.

Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew made with hominy, meat, spices, and cooks in either a verde (green), rojo (red), or blanco (white) sauce.

Pozole Verde is made with green chiles and/or tomatillos. Pozole verde commonly is made with either pork or chicken.

Pozole Rojo is made with dried red chiles and sometimes tomatoes. Pozole rojo is more commonly served with pork.

Pozole Blanco is made without chiles and has a clearer, more mild broth. The flavour of pozole blanco is more intensely flavoured by the meat and hominy.

What is Hominy?

Hominy is one of the middle products in the production of corn masa or tortillas. Dried corn is soaked in an alkaline solution (lime or lye) which “cooks” and makes the corn more digestible, as well as increasing nutrients available for digestion and absorption. The corn/hominy is then rinsed well to remove the alkaline solution and reduce bitterness. This entire process is called nixtamalization and is considered an ancient cooking process traced back to Mesoamerica.

When corn is nixtamalized, the hull is loosened from the kernel and the corn is softened and puffs up (the hominy). The goal of nixtamalization is not only for increasing digestibility and absorption, but also to increase storage time.

With the hominy remaining inside the kernel, it can be ground up and served as corn grits. Without the kernel, the inner puffed up corn can be used as hominy or can be ground into masa (dough) to make tortillas, tamales, empanadas, etc. or dried and stored as corn masa flour – which can then be rehydrated at a later date to make the same foods, only with much less flavour.

Using Rotisserie Chicken

This recipe could easily use fresh bone-in, skinless chicken (about 1 lb) with water, simmered for 40-60 minutes until cooked and the meat is falling off the bone. Not only will you have chicken for the recipe, but you now have the broth!

I like to buy rotisserie chickens whenever I go to Costco since they’re sold at a loss and much cheaper than buying a raw chicken. I break it down and separate the meat and carcass, then use the meat throughout the following days in meals or freeze the extra. The carcass I place in a freezer bag and save it for when I have 3 or more to make a large batch of chicken bone broth for canning. Making homemade bone broth is so rewarding and has so much more flavour, nutrition, and protein than anything you’d get at the store! Bone broth can be purchased at the store, but the price is about $20-30 per liter (quart) for real bone broth.

Canned Tomatillo Salsa

In 2023 I was determined to grow enough tomatillos to eat and can for a year. I was a bit overzealous and planted 4 tomatillo plants, which took off that year and I ended up picking a pound of tomatillos per day!

I made probably 30-40 jars of tomatillo salsa, and I am still trying to get through them all. Hence the creation of this recipe. My goal in 2025 is to utilize food I can in cooking more frequently.

The salsa I used in this recipe was roasted tomatillo salsa, which was a blend of tomatillos, tomatoes, and dried chili peppers. This almost makes it a salsa rojo as well, but for simplicity (and since the dominant flavour is the tart tomatillo), I would consider this a salsa verde.

To Make Chicken Pozole Verde

Heat a medium pot over medium-low, adding the oil once the pot preheats. Add the onion and garlic and gently fry for 2-3 minutes until it begins to soften and turn translucent.

Add the chicken, salsa, hominy, beans, broth, and salt. Stir well and adjust for salt. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Prep your toppings and have them ready. Add desired toppings and enjoy!