Turkey Pozole

This red pozole has a rich and delicious guajillo pepper based broth and hearty chunks of hominy and turkey. The toppings bring all the flavors together!

Easy pozole

If you love authentic Mexican recipes, check out my frijol con puerco (pork and beans), Mexican chicken and lime soup, or 2 ingredient corn tortillas.

This red pozole recipe has been adapted from my brother in law’s mother, Ofelia. She is a fabulous cook and she takes her pozole seriously! Rightfully so, this dish is loaded with rich flavor, and honestly, it speaks my love language- delish!

This dish is an authentic Mexican stew that is made with a guajillo pepper based broth. It’s fresh, hearty, and loaded with hominy, turkey (or any meat), and topped with all the best fixings like chips, radishes, lettuce, and cheese.

Leftover Thanksgiving turkey pozole was a no brainer! I had tons of leftover turkey from this bacon wrapped turkey recipe, and needed to make an easy meal that didn’t resemble Thanksgiving food, but used up the remaining turkey meat.

To make this easy pozole recipe, you just need a couple of ingredients and simple kitchen equipment. It comes together quickly since you are using cooked meat, and can be on the table in 30 minutes. I know you probably don’t feel like cooking another huge meal after Thanksgiving, so this is perfect!

turkey pozole ingredients

• Turkey– You can use any meat you’d like shredded pork, chicken, turkey, etc. This recipe uses turkey to help you clear out your holiday leftovers from your fridge!
• Chicken broth- Traditionally, pozole is made by boiling a chicken in water and building the base of the soup by adding ingredients to the simmering chicken broth. Since this recipe uses cooked meat, use canned chicken broth or homemade bone broth to kickstart the base of the soup.
• Garlic & onion– Whole garlic cloves are boiled with the onion and guajillo peppers to make the broth.
• Seasoning– Cumin, oregano, and salt is added to the broth for fresh flavors.
• Guajillo peppers– Dried guajillo peppers make the base of the broth rich and flavorful.
• Hominy– This pozole is hearty because of the hominy! It’s a classic Mexican staple and can be found in most well stocked grocery stores or Mexican grocery stores.
• Toppings– Avocado slices, corn tortilla chips, cojita cheese, diced radishes, cilantro, and lettuce helps build the soup up.

Chef’s tips

Where to find guajillo peppers and hominy

Dried guajillo peppers and hominy are a common Mexican ingredients. They can be found in most well stocked grocery stores in the ethnic food aisle.

Since guajillo peppers and hominy have a distinct texture and flavor, I can’t recommend any substitutions, they simply would not result in the same savory, rich flavor.

It’s all about the toppings

Pozole is a soup/stew that is all about the toppings. Chips, avocado slices, diced radishes, crumbled cojita cheese, cilantro, and chopped lettuce is added to the soup to make it extra hearty and filling.

Don’t skimp! This recipe is enriched heavily by the toppings, so make sure you load your bowl up!

How to make turkey pozole

1. Make the broth. Bring a large pot of chicken broth to a boil. Place the whole garlic cloves, quartered onion, oregano, cumin, guajillo peppers, and salt in the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the onion, garlic, and guajillo peppers from the broth along with a cup of water and blend it until it’s smooth. Add the purè back to the broth, then stir to combine.
2. Add the turkey. Shred the leftover turkey, then toss it into the broth and continue to cook for another 2-5 minutes, just enough time to warm up the turkey.
3. Prepare the toppings. Crumble the cojita cheese, dice and slice the lettuce, avocados, and radishes, and open the bag of corn tortilla chips!
4. Serve. Ladle the pozole into individual serving bowls, then top with the cojita cheese, avocado slices, radishes, lettuce, and chips. Mangia!

How to store and reheat

To freeze

You can easily freeze the red pozole broth! If you’d like to make this batch of pozole enough to be able to freeze, do not add the turkey to the broth. Add the turkey to individual bowls of pozole, and leave the pot of pozole broth without any toppings of meat. You can add the hominy to the broth, it freezes well.

Let the pozole cool in the fridge. Once it is cold, add it to a freezer safe container with a lid, then place it in the freezer. The pozole broth will stay good for 6-12 months

To reheat frozen pozole, dethaw the soup by either placing it in the fridge overnight or placing it in the microwave for 10 minutes. Make sure to stir the soup after 5 minutes.

In the fridge

Place the pozole in a lidded container and place it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

To reheat the pozole, ladle the individual serving into a bowl and place it in the microwave for 2 minutes, or place on the stovetop for 5 minutes over medium heat.

More Soups

• New England Clam Chowder
• Mexican Chicken and Lime Soup
• Creamy Sausage and Tortellini Tomato Soup
• Chicken Tortellini Soup

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