Instant Pot Pozole Mexican Soup with Hominy
This pozole Mexican soup with hominy (a type of dried corn) and pork is a tried and true original from Nana herself!
In fact, this is almost the exact recipe that a friend’s grandmother gave us, except the cooking process is super speedy!
Even if you’ve never had pozole, Mexican soup with hominy before, you’ll love it – it’s a simple Mexican stew that’s hearty and filling, and you can get all the ingredients right at the grocery store.
Of course, without an Instant Pot, you’ll have to be patient and make it in a Dutch oven like I did with my original pozole recipe…which can take 3-4 hours.
Here at The Foodie Affair I really prefer to share quicker recipes, and, I must say, an Instant Pot can cut down the prep time by hours!
I love mine.
It’s an easy-to-use pressure cooker that uses less energy than most other ones out there, AND it preserves more nutrients when it cooks.
Healthy Mexican soup…what a dream. So grab your Instant Pot and let’s make pozole soup with it!
Pozole Soup Recipe – Ingredients & Utensils
Ingredients
- 5-6 pounds of pork shoulder, cut in large chunks
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can Las Palmas red chile sauce – NOT enchilada sauce! It won’t be the same!
- 1 tablespoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 (29 ounce) white hominy, drained
Toppings:
- diced onions
- Mexican oregano
- sliced radishes
- shredded cabbage
- lemon or lime wedges
Utensils/Other Items
- A 6 or 8-quart Instant Pot, of course – it’s the star of the show!
Dietary Notes
Pozole soup isn’t vegetarian or vegan obviously, and sadly I have no idea what meat alternatives would taste like in this recipe, or if they’d even work. I apologize! However…this is a perfectly gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free recipe.
I’m sure, also, this could be a decent keto recipe with a few changes. Let me know in the comments if you make a keto pozole soup variety!
Mexican Soup with Hominy Recipe – Instructions (See recipe card for full details)
- Add meat to an 8-quart Instant Pot and fill with water leaving a couple of inches from the top.
- Add bay leaf, salt, and garlic, red chili sauce, chili powder and cumin.
- Cover (place vent on seal) and cook on high pressure until the meat is tender and shreds easily. (This is usually about 40-45 minutes!)
- Break up meat into bite size pieces (your preference).
- Add hominy and stir to warm.
- Taste and add additional salt if needed.
- Serve. Top each bowl with a combination of garnishes like onion, radish, and shredded cabbage, and dig in!
Pozole Soup Recipe – FAQs
Just some answers to comments I’ve gotten before…
Do I rinse the hominy before putting it in?
I would! Not complete necessary, but I would.
Could this be made the same way with chicken?
I don’t think it’ll take as long to cook, but it should work fine. I’ve never tried it! I’ve heard beef does really well, too.
Oof, mine turned out sooo spicy! What do I do?
Serving with sour cream will help, or diluting the broth! But before you whip this up, choosing a chili powder brand that’s suitable for your palate is really important, too.
If I cut the recipe in half, will it still taste the same?
Yes! Doubling it will work as well.
Can you freeze this recipe?
Yes. Use freezer-tight containers! It should last up to three months.
Is there another brand of chili sauce I can use if I can’t find Las Palmas?
Any other brand should do, or you could make your own (though I’ve never tried doing it for this recipe).
How did you like this pozole soup recipe?
Did you make any changes to it, or fix it up as-is? Did you use an Instant Pot (which I very much recommend)? Did your family like it?
And do you have any questions? Please feel free to leave comments down below! Happy cooking!
Instant Pot Pozole Mexican Soup with Hominy
Ingredients
- 5-6 pounds of pork shoulder cut into large chunks
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 3-4 cups water
- 1 28 oz can red chile sauce (Las Palmas) NOT Enchilada Sauce
- 1 tablespoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 29 oz can white hominy, drained
- Toppings optional
- Diced red onions
- Mexican oregano or Cilantro
- Sliced radishes
- Lime or lemon wedges
- Shredded cabbage
Instructions
- Remove pot liner
- Cut meat into chunks and add to pot
- In a small bowl combine the salt, garlic, chili powder and cumin
- Pour red chile sauce over meat. Add water (3-4 cups) to cover the meat. Make sure to leave a couple of inches from the top.
- Sprinkle with spice mixture
- Add bay leaf
- Return pot liner to Instant Pot, close the lid and lock in place
- Make sure the steam release knob is in the sealed position
- Turn setting to Manual (pressure cook) button and turn to 45 minutes
- When cooking cycle is done, let the pot set undisturbed while it naturally releases the pressure.
- Manually release the remaining pressure by release the steam knob.
- Open lid and add hominy, stir in completely to heat through.
- Serve immediately with toppings if desired
- Store leftovers in refrigerator
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
Other great recipes here at The Foodie Affair…
You can find more Mexican cuisine at these recipes:
And more soups for a cold day:
I have been making this pozole for a few years now. It is delicious every time. I was sooo excited when I saw you posted it with instant pot instructions. This is what we are having for dinner tonight! The only change I make is I add another can of hominy. Thank you for this great recipe!!!
Thank you for commenting, Cindy! You can never have too much hominy. I hope your enjoy this pozole!
It’s really vibrant looking. I did it a bit different but come out great!
I’m unable to find the red chile sauce. Substitute suggestions?
Hi Leah! Darn, I don’t have a ready made alternative, but I do have a chili sauce that I use in my chili colorado recipe that I believe would be a good homemade alternative. Let me know if you go this route.
My husband is Mexican and has been wanting me to make Pozole for a long time. Your recipe looked perfect, not too overwhelming like some others I’ve seen, so I decided to give it a try. I followed it exactly except I added a chopped onion. It came out great and my husband loved it. The only change I would make is maybe next time I would add more hominy because my husband said it needed more. I’m so happy I found your recipe and will definitely be making it again and for years to come. Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing, Angie! I’m also all for the extra hominy. I definitely take more than my fair share. Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
Posole IS hominy. Just like garbanzos are chick peas. So the title of the recipe makes no sense.
Also, the way to cut the heat is to add a titch of sugar
I just realized my IP is 6qts 🤦🏼♀️ Do you think I can still use the recipe as is?
Hi Lauren! Yes, no problem!
I’m a little confused. There are 2 different set of cooking instructions? One that says “cook hominy for 45 minutes” and then the other saying “serve immediately after adding the hominy”?
No need to cook the hominy for that long. It doesn’t need to be cooked, just warmed. Sorry for the confusion. I’ll fix that.
The first set of instructions says to add water to the pork. The second one doesn’t mention adding water. Which one is it water or no water?
This is an oversight! I just made this last night and realized the water was missing. You’ll need to add 3-4 cups of water or just enough to barely cover the meat.
I can’t believe it only takes 39 minutes to make this! The Instant Pot is wonderful, isn’t it? Love pozole with all that hominy and the Instant Pot makes it so flavorful in such a short amount of time. Perfect!
This soup would definitely have me singing a *hominy* 😉
This is exactly what I need right now. Today. It’s rainy, and I’ve got a terrible cough and the sniffles. I have a feeling a cozy bowl of this good stuff would kick it right out of me. Can’t wait to devour this again and again!
I love pozole so much so I’m jazzed to see this version of the recipe. I always make green but would love to try this red version to mix things up. Can’t wait to try this!
Hominy is SO good in soups!! I love this version, and so does my family!
I love handed down recipes with a story. What a great gift your friends grandmother gave to you. The soup sounds amazing and if a grandmother handed it down, you know it’s authentic. I love Pozole and will save this for later. Thanks for sharing this!
We love Mexican food in our house. With comfort food season here, this recipe is PERFECT. Great to make a HUGE batch and have leftovers for during the week. Love all the flavours. I will pass this along to my daughter. She loves using her Instant Pot.
I’ve never heard of this soup before, but now I want it! It’s definitely soup weather here, and my Instant Pot is ready to go! Thanks for the idea!!! I even have avocado to put on top!
This sounds like a wonderful soup for fall when the temperatures dip. The spicy broth, loaded with so many good things, Pozole seems like full-on meal. You wouldn’t need anything else. And the hominy is such an unusual ingredient — I think I’ve only cooked with it once or twice. I’ve definitely been missing out. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
I love making soup in the instant pot! This is a great recipe!
This is the first time I saw Mexican soup with hominy recipe. It’s so stranger with me but who knows I will cook this on the menu tonight? hehe
Already a family favorite! Substituted white beans for hominy.