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Robust Slow-Cooker Pork Posole Recipe
Try this robust Slow-Cooker Pork Posole Recipe next time you have a craving for a flavorful, hearty and comforting Mexican stew!
This popular Mexican stew has a deep rich flavor and a warming heat from the earthy chipotles in adobo sauce. While canned chipotles are not typically used in a posole recipe, it’s a great shortcut in place of the hard-to-find dried ancho and guajillo chiles that must be toasted and rehydrated. This recipe may not be completely authentic, but it sure is tasty!
With three whole chipotles added to this recipe, this stew is not spicy-hot, just a little warm, in a good way. You can use more, or less of the chipotles in adobo to suit your taste, but I say bring the heat.
Once you use as many chipotles as you need for this recipe, flash freeze the remaining peppers for other recipes. I always have a bag of chipotle peppers in my freezer, which is a good thing! Be sure to add some adobo sauce to each one when flash freezing, it’s so good.
Slow simmering the pork creates a fall-apart tender texture and intensely flavorful bite.
The key to a fantastic Pork Posole recipe is to use the right cut of meat. Pork butt (or Boston butt) and pork shoulder are the traditional cuts of pork used in this recipe. You’ll need enough marbling of fat in the pork to create the signature fall-apart tender texture.
However you only need about 2 1/2 pounds of pork for this recipe. Most pork roasts found in our stores are 7, 8 and 9 pounds each, which is way more than we need for this recipe.
Instead of wrestling with cutting up a giant pork roast, I use another inexpensive, perfect cut for this stew … boneless country style pork ribs. Often sold in 1 to 1 1/2 pound packages, these close cousins to the pork butt are quick and easy and have just the right amount of fat to create tender meat and great flavor.
Do not use pork tenderloin or pork chops for this recipe. The pork will be too chewy and dry – no bueno!
What’s the difference between pork butt, pork shoulder and country style pork ribs?
Pork butt, pork shoulder and country style ribs all come from the same shoulder area of the pig. Some diagrams show pork shoulder as the lower portion of the pork shoulder down to the leg, and the butt is the actual shoulder.
I have no idea why they call it pork butt (or Boston butt) when it actually comes from the front of the pig, but it’s a great cut for use in pulled pork dishes and this stew. My butcher tells me they use pork butt to make hams, with the rump area of the pig also used for hams.
Country style ribs come from the upper shoulder area as part of the pork butt. If I haven’t confused you by now, then I don’t know what! Just pick up a package or two of country style pork ribs and make this stew!
Our Pork Posole recipe is all about the garnishes!
Posole is the Spanish word for hominy. These oversized corn kernels are another key ingredient in this stew adding a nice starchiness and extra body. You can use white or yellow hominy in this pork posole.
The final step is to top your individual bowl of Posole with loads of garnishes. Some of our favorites are cilantro, lime wedges, hot sauce, shredded cheese or crumbled Cotija cheese, sliced radishes, diced avocado, minced red onions, red pepper flakes and chips or corn tortillas.
Make it your own and enjoy! This stew keeps well for several days and reheats beautifully.
Thanks for PINNING!
Slow-Cooker Pork Posole
Ingredients
For the posole:
- 2 ½ pounds Boneless Country Pork Ribs (or pork butt)
- salt and pepper
- 3 teaspoons vegetable oil divided
- 1 large onion chopped
- 6 medium garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce minced (for less heat start with 1)
- 2 (15-ounce) cans white or yellow hominy drained (do not rinse)
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes with juice
- juice of 1 lime
Optional toppings for serving:
- cilantro
- lime wedges
- hot sauce
- shredded cheese or Cotija cheese crumbled
- sliced radishes
- diced avocado
- red onions, minced
- red pepper flakes
- chips or corn tortillas
Instructions
- Trim any visible fat from the pork and cut into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the pork pieces to the pan and cook until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add the browned pork to the slow cooker. Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan and once shimmering, brown the remaining pork. Remove to the slow cooker.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the last teaspoon of oil to the pan. Once heated add the chopped onions. Sauté the onions until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano to the onions. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onion and garlic mixture to the slow cooker.
- Add the minced chipotle peppers with adobo sauce, hominy, chicken broth, bay leaf and fire roasted canned tomatoes to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook until the pork is very tender, about 6 to 7 hours on high or 7 to 8 on low.
- Turn off the slow cooker and remove the bay leaf. Skim any fat from the surface of the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the juice of 1 lime. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Craving more Mexican inspired recipes?
Finally, with a quick weeknight dinner in mind, these Easy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe are loaded with simple shortcuts. Use up some of your canned chipotles in adobo in this casserole style classic.
Another one of our south-of-the-border favorites are these spicy and Smoky Chicken Tinga Tacos. Boneless skinless thighs are cooked in a rich Mexican inspired tomato sauce with chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Topped with plenty of fresh garnishes, taco Tuesday never tasted so good!
Finally, add this richly flavored Easy Spanish Rice Recipe to your next Mexican Fiesta. This rice goes well with just about any dish and is great left over too.
Terry
Made this, amazing flavor, just right amount of spice with a little heat. Even better the next day, reheats well.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Terry! We love it too. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Brandy Gavenda
This is delish. The pork ribs were perfectly tender. I couldn’t bring myself to use chipotle in adobe as my kids can’t handle too much spice. But did a healthy squirt of sriracha instead. This is a keeper for sure!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Brandy. So glad even the kids enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
nichole
The chipotle peppers in sauce are a lot hotter than I anticipated. I doubled this recipe. The temperature for me was great, definitely got some sweat going. This is not for folks who are sensitive to spicy foods. I wish there would have been more of a warning regarding the chipotle peppers in sauce as I am not familiar with this ingredient ( I put six minced pepper in for a double batch) . I had to separate out the soup into two separate crock pots and add chicken broth to each to tone it down for my more mild preferring family and friends. The flavor is ok. Can’t say that I will make this again. Had fun though, thanks!
Tricia Buice
Thanks for trying it Nichole. I’ll add a warning to the recipe. Thanks for the feedback.
Susan
My family and I loved this posole! I made the recipe as written using the country pork ribs (which we just love), but did double the spices. My teenage son raved about it as he ate a giant bowl of it for breakfast (!) this morning. He said it “reminded him of Chipotle” in taste and smell, but even better. There’s a great review for you! I’ll be putting this one into the regular rotation.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Susan and tell your son thanks so much! I’m thrilled and love that you doubled the spices. Bring on the flavor!
Ruthie B
I made this with regular canned tomatoes and added my favorite heat, Piment d’Esplette and a few shakes of a rich homemade habañero sauce. Even though I used boneless pork chops (it’s what I had) it came out delicious and tender and was gone by next morning! I’m going to make another batch tomorrow, this is now a family favorite!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Ruthie! I love your additions and that the boneless pork worked well. Thanks for letting us know. I’m sure your insights will help all our readers.
Caleb
A little too spicy but everything else was perfect…except for the tenderness of the pork. I followed all instructions to a T but the pork was hard as a rock. Any advice on browning the pork without overcooking it?
Tricia Buice
Sorry you found the pork to be tough. I’ve never had that trouble and wonder what cut of pork you used. Those country ribs absolutely fall apart when slow cooked. If you used a tenderloin that might be why. Hope you’ll try again sometime.
Carol
Excellent Recipe ! it tastes even better the next day !
Tricia Buice
Thanks Carol! So glad you enjoyed it.
Sandi
Has anyone made this in the instapot? I have made this slow cooker recipe numerous times and its fantastic but lost track of time tonight and thought maybe the instapot would work?
Marla G
HI.
I just found this recipe and want to try it. My slow cooker is only 4 quarts. What size slow cooker do you use for this recipe? Thank you.
Marla
Tricia Buice
My slow-cooker is 6-quarts so you should be fine Marla. Enjoy!
Mark
I am not using cans of hominy. I have a 2 pound bag of frozen hominy, and I am looking for a recipe using frozen hominy, which I have thawed out, and it’s being soaked in water. I plan on using a slow cooker and need to know how long to cook the hominy. Any help would really be appreciated.
Mark
Tricia Buice
Hi Mark. Sorry I haven’t used frozen hominy in this recipe before. I would follow the directions on the bag for sure. Good luck!
Melissa
Absolutely loved this! We almost doubled the spices and chicken broth. Used pork shoulder since our local grocery store was out of butt but this still worked lovely. Overall great recipe, easy instructions and delicious dish!
Thank you thank you thank you!!
Tricia Buice
So happy you enjoyed it Melissa. We love it spicy too so good plan to add more. Thank you very much for the kind review!
Lisa hall
Awesome recipe, made it several times. One of my families favorites. Thank you so much!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Lisa! We appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Cinda
This is yummy. I love this recipe. I hate tomatoe chunks. So I do the tomatoes but blend the tomatoes, the chilis and the broth.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Cinda. Glad blending the tomatoes worked for you!
Joan
Sorry tomatoes do not go into pozole- Native New Mexican here🙄
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the info Joan. Maybe you’d like it with tomatoes – try it!
Cuéllar
I grew up in New Mexico and this tasted so good!!! Cooking it again right now for the second time in as many weeks.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Cuéllar. So glad you’re enjoying this delicious stew! So much flavor and great serving options. It’s a personal favorite 😉
Maria Garza
Tomatoes or tomatillos are in most pozole recipes…
Native Mexican
Elizabeth
That’s technically kinda right. Tomatoes don’t go in the posole, but rather are used to make the red chile. This recipe isn’t separating the chile from the soup, so that’s why the tomatoes go straight into the posole. I don’t add tomatoes either, because I like to leave the chile on the side so people can add it to taste. I usually serve my posole with 4 sides of chile (mild green, medium green, mild red, medium red).
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the info Elizabeth. Sounds delish!
Shar
If you cook this on the stove, how long would I cook for?
Tricia Buice
I would give it at least 2 hours Shar. Enjoy!
Sandy Z
Very good. First time at pozole it was a hit. I used 3/4 of the hominy, it was still a bit much for me so will probably use half can next time. I also used leftover pork medallions and they came out fine. I want to try it next time with ground pork. Don’t skip on the garnishes!
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Sandy. So happy you all enjoyed this luscious stew. Bravo!
Ashley
Im homeschooling my 3 year old and we are studying continents starting with North America. I decided to include food and made this for Mexico. This was delicious! Weve never had anything like it and we all loved it. Even the 3 year old was chowing down on it and he is picky! Thanks for sharing this recipe, I appreciated how easy it was and that it was ready for us after we got back from soccer!
Tricia Buice
How cool Ashley! This comment made my day 🙂 You’re doing something right if your little one will eat stews and soup. Bravo!
Kate M
Do you have any nutritional information on just the posole not the toppings? I have this in my crockpot right now 😊
Tricia Buice
Hi Kate! I updated the recipe to include the nutritional information. I wish I had this in my crockpot right now! Yum 🙂
Donna Arnold
Hi, I haven’t tried your delicous looking recipe yet. I’m wondering what brand and type of chili powder you recommend? I’ve found the chili powder I’ve been using (Simply Organic) has an almost bitter taste to it.
Tricia Buice
I often buy McCormick’s brand Donna. Hope that works out better for you. Thanks!
R Lambert
Pork “butt” has nothing to do with the location on the pig. A butt was a small barrel for colonial days… that pork was packed into for sale.