Jackfruit Vegan Pozole Rojo

Pozole is a hearty, spicy, satisfying Mexican soup. It is said to be a hangover cure, which I cannot confirm, but it is certainly a special occasion dish and is often served on Christmas and New Year’s. In this vegan recipe jackfruit and hominy are simmered in a spicy guajillo and ancho chile broth, then topped with shredded cabbage, radishes, and oregano.

Blue bowl full of vegan pozole surrounded by oregano, tostadas, radishes and cabbage.

What Makes This Recipe Great

This is an adaptation of my grandmother’s famous recipe. Every Christmas for as long as I can remember my grandmother would make two of the biggest pots of pozole and menudo I have ever seen. We would all salivate as we waited for the cooking to be done. When I stopped eating meat I decided to adapt my grandmother’s recipe and I’m so glad I did. This version is vegan, gluten-free, and as absolutely as salivating as my grandmother’s recipe.   

A History

Pozole is a dish of pre-Hispanic origins, the name comes from the Nahuatl word “pozolli ”which means frothy. Which is believed to refer to the appearance of the cacahuazintle corn during the cooking process. It was eaten as part of a ceremonial ritual for the god Xipe Totec, the lord of fertility and regeneration of corn.  Today you can find pozole in three versions red, green, and white.

Ingredients

can of jackfruit, jackfruit on a plate

White hominy: Hominy is dried field corn that has been through the process of nixtamalization, which results in tender and plump corn. You can find hominy in white and yellow varieties dried or canned. For this recipe, I used canned white hominy which can be found at your local grocery store or Mexican market.

Guajillo Chile: Guajillo chiles are the dried form of the mirasol pepper. They are a deep red color and about 3 inches long. You can also find them labeled as chile colorado. You can find them online or at your local Mexican market. New Mexico chiles would work as a substitute if you can’t find these.

chile ancho and chile guajillo on a wooden background

Ancho chile: Ancho chiles are the dried form of poblano peppers. They are a black-reddish color and are large and flat. You can find them online or at your local Mexican market.

Chile de Arbol: Chile de Arbol is a very small elongated dried chile. It is known for being very spicy, so keep that in mind when working with them. For this recipe, I call for five of them!! If you don’t eat spicy food I recommend you omit them or reduce the amount to one or two. You can find them online or at your local Mexican market

Young green jackfruit: Jackfruit is a tropical fruit used as a meat substitute when it is unripe, due to its stringy texture similar to pulled meat. You can find it canned online or at Asian grocery stores.

How to Make Vegan Pozole Rojo

jackfruit boiling, shredding jackfruit, squeeze water out of jackfruit, pour water over chiles
  1. Simmer jackfruit in water with onion and garlic for 10 minutes.
  2. Shred jackfruit with your hands.
  3. Place in a clean towel and squeeze all the water out of it.
  4. Let guajillo, ancho, and arbol chile in hot water for 15 minutes.
blend chiles, sauteeing jackfruit, pour sauce over jackfruit

5. Place garlic, onion, the soaked chiles, and the reserved chile soaking liquid in the blender.

6. Puree the sauce until completely smooth and pass it through a fine mesh strainer.

7. Saute jackfruit until golden brown.

8. Pour in the chile puree and simmer for 10 minutes.

hominy and broth in a pot, add jackfruit to pot, blend some hominy, pozole simmering in a pot

9. Heat vegetable stock and hominy in a large pot.

10. Blend one cup of broth and hominy to make a puree.

11. Add jackfruit and zucchini (optional)into the pot.

12. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the zucchini is tender.

Vegan Pozole in the Instant Pot

To make vegan pozole in the instant pot make your chile sauce first. Then in the Instant Pot set to “Saute” cook the jackfruit until it begins to brown. Pour in the chile pure and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the hominy and enough broth to fill the instant pot to the 2/3 max fill line. Pressure cook on “Manual” for 20 minutes, and allow for natural release for 10 minutes.

Serving

Serve immediately with shredded cabbage, lime juice, oregano, and tostadas.

Storing

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 6 months.

Vegan pozole in a white and blue talavera bowl on top of a linen napkin with a spoon digging in.

FAQ

What are some meat substitutes for pozole?

I use jackfruit in this recipe, but it also works with soy curls or shredded oyster mushrooms.

What is the difference between red pozole and green pozole?

Red pozole is seasoned with a red chile sauce that usually includes chile guajillo, ancho, and arboo. Green pozole is seasoned with a green chile sauce made with poblano pepper, serrano pepper, tomatillo, epazote, spinach, and pumpkin seeds.

Blue bowl full of vegan pozole surrounded by oregano, tostadas, radishes and cabbage.

More Vegan Mexican Soups

vegan pozole in a white and blue talavera bowl on top of a linen napkin with a spoon digging in
Save Recipe
4.76 from 70 votes

Jackfruit Vegan Pozole Rojo

Vegan Jackfruit Pozole Rojo, a spicy soup made with dried chiles, hominy, jackfruit, and veggies. 
Pin Recipe Print Recipe
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mexican
Diet: Vegan
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 331kcal
Author: Dora Stone

Ingredients

  • 3 cans (15 oz.) White hominy, drained, rinsed
  • 2 ½ quarts Vegetable Stock
  • 5 Chile guajillo, dried, stemmed and seeded
  • 2 Chile ancho, dried, stemmed and seeded
  • 5 Chile de árbol, dried, stemmed and seeded
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • ½ Onion, white
  • 1 tbsp. Vegetable oil (optional)
  • 2 cans (20oz./ea) Young green jackfruit brine, drained (see note)
  • 1 Zucchini, medium, cut into dice

Toppings

  • 1 White onion, small, minced
  • 6 Red radishes, sliced into batons
  • 2 tbsp. Oregano, dried
  • ½ Green cabbage, cored, thinly sliced
  • 4 Limes cut into quarters
  • 1 bag Corn chips or tostadas

Instructions

  • In a large pot, combine the vegetable stock and hominy and bring to a LOW simmer.
  • While the hominy is simmering, remove stems and seeds from the chile ancho, arbol, and guajillo. Rinse and place in a medium pot with water.
  • Bring pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 min.
  • Drain chiles, but reserve 1 ½ cups of the chile water. Place chiles, garlic and onion in the blender, add the chile water and blend until smooth. Strain.
  • To prepare the jackfruit, drain the jackfruit, rinse, and pat with paper towels. Cut out the core of the jackfruit (tip of the triangle pieces), and cut pieces in half. Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a large sauté pan set to medium heat. Add the jackfruit and cook for 3 -4 minutes on each side or until it begins to brown. Pour the chile sauce over the jackfruit and reduce heat to low-medium. Simmer for 10 minutes or until jackfruit begins to break down and the sauce has thickened slightly. Use a fork to shred the jackfruit as it cooks down. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Your hominy should still be simmering very slowly. Scoop out one cup of the hominy-vegetable stock mixture and blend until smooth. Pour this back into the pot with the hominy
  • Raise heat to medium-low, and add the zucchini and shredded jackfruit with sauce. Let simmer for 8- 10 minutes or until the zucchini is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
  • Serve your pozole with all of the toppings on the side.

Video

Notes

To remove the briny taste from the canned jackfruit you can simmer it in water, 1/2 onion, and  1 bay leaf for 10 min. Drain it, and squeeze out all the liquid. Now you can continue with the rest of the recipe.
If you don’t have access to jackfruit you can use 2lbs. of mixed mushrooms or soy curls instead. You can substitute the zucchini with chayote with excellent results. If you like your pozole really spicy serve it with this salsa macha from Mexico in my Kitchen
 
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 2605mg | Potassium: 756mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 5062IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 173mg | Iron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @dorastable or tag #mexicangonevegan!

Although dorastable.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates.

Similar Posts

67 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Delish! Such great comfort food! And as an added bonus, it was not too spicy for my wife to enjoy.

  2. Awesome recipe I added a few extras into the mox like thai chiles, cumin, sage bay leaves rock sugar and pinto beans

  3. I’ve made your pozole verde several times and it’s my favorite. I am substituting the jack fruit for mushrooms and following both recipes from your verde and red pozole. I like it spicy and i double the ancho chilis.

  4. 5 stars
    So this is my base recipe I use with some modifications. I’ve been making this for years and love this recipe.
    The secret is to pressure cook the jackfruit for 30 mins in seasoned vegtable broth before cooking. I also omit the zucchini for a more traditional taste. I also pan fry the jackfruit with spices before adding the blended chili. If you want it less spicy leave out 1-2 of the arbol chili and add an extra one of a different chili.

4.76 from 70 votes (52 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.