This Instant Pot Pozole Verde with Chicken is the perfect soup to make when you feel the first chill in the air of fall. It’s spicy, healthy and will warm up your whole body. You will want to make it all fall and winter long!
When September hits, it’s officially soup season for me. With so many amazing ingredients in season right now there’s endless soups to be made. This soup is definitely one of my favorites.
What is Pozole?
Pozole is a Mexican soup consisting of tomatillos, peppers and chicken. The peppers and tomatillos are cooked down with chicken and chicken stock and then blended to create a spicy and smooth soup. Chicken and hominy are then added back in as the main ingredients in the soup. This pozole is a verde (green) but there are also many delicious red and white pozoles as well. Pozole verde is personally my favorite!
How to make Pozole Verde in an Instant Pot
- Toast the pepitas. In a small pan over medium heat, toast the pepitas for 2-3 minutes until slightly brown. Add to a blender and blend until ground. Set the blender aside, you will be adding to it later.
- Cook the chicken and peppers in the Instant Pot. Add the chicken thighs, jalapenos, poblano pepper, onion, garlic, mexican oregano and chicken stock to the pot. Cover the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. The Instant Pot will take around 10 minutes to preheat, so overall this takes around 25 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and blend the solid ingredients. Release the steam from the Instant Pot. Remove the chicken from the mixture and place on a cutting board to cool. Place a strainer over a large bowl. Pour the rest of the contents from the pot through the strainer to separate the solid ingredients from the liquid. Place the liquid back in the Instant Pot and place the solid ingredients in the blender with the ground pumpkin seeds. Add the cilantro and blend until smooth and add to the liquid in the Instant Pot.
- Shred the chicken and add the chicken and hominy to the soup. Turn the Instant Pot to medium on the saute function and heat until hot. Garnish with sliced avocado, cilantro, tortillas and chopped onion. Serve hot and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the pot. Try to get as much as you can out, but if the chicken falls apart (it will be very tender) you can remove the rest when you seperate the peppers from the liquid.
- Fry your own tortillas and sprinkle them with salt. You can use tortilla chips but fresh fried tortillas are SO much better!
- Remove a jalapeno if you like less spice.
Instant Pot Pozole Verde with Chicken
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- High Powered Blender
- 2 Forks
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
- Strainer
Ingredients
- ½ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1½ lbs chicken thighs
- 1 lb tomatillos, halved (around 7-8 medium tomatillos)
- 2 jalapeños, roughly chopped
- 1 poblano pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 28oz can hominy
- 2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
Garnish
- 1 avocado sliced
- 2 tortillas fried and sliced or tortilla chips
- ¼ white onion, chopped
- chopped cilantro
- fresh lime wedges
- juice from ½ lime
Instructions
- Toast the peptitas over medium heat in a small frying pan. Add them to a blender and blend until ground. Set the blender aside with the ground pepitas, you will add more to it later.
- Add the chicken, tomatillos, jalapeno, poblano, onion, garlic, Mexican oregano, chicken stock and salt to the Instant Pot. Cover the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Release the steam from the Instant Pot. Remove the chicken from the mixture and place on a cutting board to cool. Place a strainer over a large bowl. Pour the rest of the contents from the pot through the strainer to separate the solid ingredients from the liquid. Place the liquid back in the Instant Pot and place the solid ingredients in the blender with the ground pepitas. Add the cilantro and blend until smooth and add to the liquid in the Instant Pot.
- Using 2 forks shred the chicken and add it to the Instant Pot. Add the hominy and stir until blended. Place the Instant Pot on the saute function and heat until the soup is heated through. Garnish with the tortillas, avocado, onions, cilantro and a big squeeze of lime juice. Serve hot and enjoy!
Looking for more healthy recipes to make? Check out my Coconut Cashew Chicken and Instant Pot Coconut Ginger Stew with Chicken Thighs