What does pozole mean?
Pozole is a Mexican soup whose defining ingredient is hominy, or corn kernels cooked until they become soft and enlarged. Its broth may be red or green and can include pork, chicken, or other ingredients, with chillies, garlic, onion, and traditional garnishes such as cabbage, radishes, oregano, and lime often added at the table. Vegetarian versions are also common. The dish is especially associated with Mexican cuisine and is well established in Mexican American and Southwestern US food traditions. Although a general English reference might describe pozole simply as corn soup, that wording loses the distinction between ordinary corn soup and this seasoned dish built around hominy. The name is also spelled posole, but pozole is now more usual. The soup is typically served as a complete meal or substantial main course rather than as a small starter.
nounA traditional Mexican soup made from cooked corn (hominy) in a seasoned broth, commonly served with meat, chillies, lime, and other garnishes. It is also an important dish in Mexican American and Southwestern US cuisine.
- A Mexican soup made with hominy and seasoned broth, often containing meat, chillies, and vegetables.
"We shared a bowl of pozole with shredded chicken, cabbage, radishes, and lime."
"A server brought us steaming bowls of pozole topped with onion, oregano, and chopped jalapeño."
"She served a vegetarian pozole at the community gathering."
"The recipe for green pozole calls for tomatillos, tomatillo chiles, and fresh corn kernels."
Pozole is normally treated as a mass noun when referring to the dish as a whole, but pozoles can denote separate servings or bowls.
"They ordered three pozoles for the table."
Pozole traces its name to a Nahuatl word associated with the foam of a corn drink—fitting for a broth celebrated for its lively, bubbling texture.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pozole come from?
The English word comes through Spanish, where pozole denotes both the soup and a related preparation of corn. Spanish pozole was borrowed from Nahuatl pozolli, a term associated with a foaming corn drink traditionally prepared for ceremonial occasions. The culinary sense developed into the modern soup in which whole kernels of cooked corn, or hominy, form the foundation of the broth.
How pozole is actually used
The word is especially common in Mexican, Mexican American, and Southwestern US culinary contexts. In British English it is less usual but appears in discussion of Mexican food. When referring specifically to the red version, it may be called red pozole to distinguish it from green pozole.
Easily confused with pozole
Posole is an alternative spelling of pozole; both names refer to the same Mexican corn soup, though pozole is now the predominant spelling.