By Sara
Do you love pozole, but yearn for a whole food plant-based pozole rojo recipe?
What is Pozole?
Pozole is a traditional soup in Mexican cuisine, normally served on New Year’s Eve or for special occasions. Most of the ingredients are easily found in your local grocery store, some will be found in the ethnic foods aisle. Traditional pozole normally contains pork, but we don’t need or want that! So, today I am replacing the meat that is typically included with beans, and adding more vegetables to make it more filling (and more delicious)!
So gather the ingredients, and once done, gather your loved ones around your dinner table, and serve up an easy vegan pozole that has so much flavor and seems to get even better the next day, once the flavors marry in your fridge.
“By making this into your own version, specially created with the spices and flavors you most enjoy, you will have a hominy soup that you will enjoy eating.”
Plant-Based Pozole Rojo
Ingredients
- 4 Dried Ancho Chilies
- ¾ cup Chilies de Arbol
- 8 cups Canned Pinto Beans
- 6 cups Hominy
- 2 White Onions, cut to ½ inch dice
- 2 cups Carrots, cut to ½ inch dice
- 8 Cloves Garlic, 6 of them minced
- 4 cups Potatoes, cut into ½ inch dice
- 2 cups Zucchini, cut into ½ inch dice
- 10 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 TBSP Dried Mexican Oregano
- 1 TBSP Ground Cumin
- 2 TBSP Sun-Dried Tomato Paste
Toppings
- 1 ½ cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup Chopped Radishes
- ½ cup Chopped fresh Cilantro
- ½ cup Chopped Onion
- 10 Lime wedges
- 1 Avocado, cut to ½ inch dice
- ¼ cup Pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup Corn tortilla chips or strips
Instructions
- Break the stems off of all the chilies and shake out as many seeds as you can (it's ok if a few remain). Put them in a bowl (or a french press works great for this!) and cover with boiling water, until the chiles soften, about 30 minutes. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the soaking water, all of the chiles, and 2 garlic cloves to your high-speed blender and blend until smooth. If you don't have a high-speed blender strain this mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids.
- Add the carrots and white onion to a hot stockpot, over medium heat, cooking about 5-ish minutes until soft. Add up to 2 TBSP of water at a time if things start to stick. By using the tiniest bit of water, you ensure you are not steaming the veggies. Add the remaining minced garlic and saute' over medium heat for a little bit (a couple of minutes). Stir in 2 cups of vegetable broth, bay leaves, oregano, cumin tomato paste, and half of the chile mixture, and bring to a boil. Add the rest of the vegetable broth and hominy, then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for about 50 minutes. You want to create layers of flavor in this dish.
- Next, add the potatoes, cook 5 minutes and then add zucchini, pinto beans, and cook through, about 5-10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Once finished, remove the bay leaf and taste. Adjust salt and add more of the chile mixture if you desire more heat in your soup. You can also add some water if the soup is too thick.
- Serve with your choice of favorite toppings- the above are only suggestions. A squeeze of fresh lime juice followed by a good stir really makes this recipe sparkle! You may store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Customize to your tastes:
You can change the recipe up to fit what you like. Don’t like pinto beans? Try black beans, anasazi or kidney beans. Or you can substitute soy curls or canned green jackfruit in place of the beans if you prefer. If you don’t have or can’t find any dried chilies, you can substitute a mix of some chile powder and enchilada sauce. You could even add in some cotija cheese (see a recipe for this here). By making this plant-based pozole rojo into your own version, specially created with the spices and flavors you most enjoy, you will have a hominy soup that you will enjoy eating.
How much heat you add will be up to you. It is especially great for those cold weather and snow days to warm you right up. If you want it to be even more filling, you could even add a cup or so of barley. This plant-based pozole rojo is a great addition during the holiday season as well. Another great thing about this traditional Mexican soup is that it freezes well.
So make yourself a big batch, freeze any extras, and enjoy a large bowl with some warm corn tortillas and your choice of toppings!
