Holiday Veggie Pozole

🥣 Ingredients

Base

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 carrots, diced

• 2 celery stalks, sliced

• 1–2 cups diced mushrooms or zucchini

• 1–2 cans hominy, rinsed

Broth

• 6 cups vegetable broth

• 1–2 bay leaves

• Salt + pepper

Red Pozole Holiday Sauce

(This is what makes it taste like real Christmas pozole.)

• 3–4 dried guajillo chiles (seeded)

• 1 dried ancho chile (optional, for richness)

• 1 Roma tomato or 2 tbsp tomato paste

• ½ tsp Mexican oregano

• ½ tsp cumin

• Pinch of cinnamon (holiday twist!)

Shortcut:
If you can’t find dried chiles → use ½ cup red enchilada sauce + 1 tsp smoked paprika.

🎄 Instructions

1️⃣ Make the chile sauce

1. Boil water, then soak guajillo + ancho chiles until soft (10–15 min).

2. Blend with tomato, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and ½ cup of the soaking water.

3. Blend smooth.
   (This is your Christmas magic.)

2️⃣ Build the soup

1. Sauté onion, garlic, carrots, celery in olive oil — 5 minutes.

2. Add mushrooms/zucchini and cook 3–4 minutes.

3. Add hominy, broth, bay leaves.

4. Stir in your red chile sauce.

5. Simmer 25–30 minutes.

Taste + adjust salt.

🌶️ Optional additions

• 1 can pinto beans

• 1 cup shredded cabbage added in last 5 min

• ½ cup coconut milk for a creamy holiday variation (SO good)

• A squeeze of lime to brighten

🎁 Festive Toppings (the fun part!)

Set out a topping bar so it looks like a Christmas spread:

🌿 Shredded cabbage (green + red)
🌱 Cilantro
🍋 Lime wedges
🥑 Avocado slices
🌶️ Radishes (holiday red!)
🧅 Diced onion
🌮 Tortilla strips or chips
✨ Crushed red pepper

It ends up looking naturally red + green, the perfect holiday palette.