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A tray with chips, lime wedges and pozole in a crock with a slice of avocado on it
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Instant Pot Posole

Hearty, comforting, and loaded with flavors, this instant pot posole recipe makes the ultimate satisfying lunch or dinner. If you’ve never tried this classic Mexican soup recipe before, you’re in for a treat.
Course Dinner, Soup
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword instant pot posole, instant pot soup, Mexican soup, posole, pozole
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Pressure release 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 cups
Calories 110kcal
Author Elaine Benoit

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion (chopped medium small)
  • 2 teaspoons cumin (heaping)
  • 1 teaspoon basil (heaping)
  • 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (a few shakes)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons garlic paste (or 3 cloves, crushed)
  • 6 ounces tomato paste (small can)
  • 3 cans pinto beans ( 3 - 15.5 ounce cans. Rinsed and drained)
  • 4 cups chicken broth (or beef)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cups hominy (cooked)

Optional

Instructions

Hominy

  • See recipe notes on how to cook hominy.

Posole

  • Add onion to instant pot container.
    1 medium onion
  • Add basil, cumin, garlic, salt, chipotle powder, tomato paste, rinsed and drained cans of pinto beans and broth.
    2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon basil, 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoons garlic paste, 6 ounces tomato paste, 3 cans pinto beans, 4 cups chicken broth
  • Stir together to melt the tomato paste and combine the ingredients together. Add bay leaf. (AND OPTIONAL - add the toasted and seedless guajillo chiles if you are going to use them.)
    1 bay leaf, 2 guajilla chiles
  • Seal the instant pot, make sure the mode is set to normal and the pressure is set to high. Also insure that the venting knob is set to sealed.
  • Press the pressure cooker button and set the time to 10 minutes.
  • Once the IP beeps that it is done cooking, let it rest for 10 minutes before doing a quick release. Here's how: don an oven mitt and carefully nudge the venting knob to the venting position. Keep away from the steam as it releases.
  • Once the pressure indicator drops, open the IP and add the cooked hominy and stir to combine. (AND OPTIONAL - if you used the chiles, remove and throw them away.)
    2 cups hominy
  • Transfer to a serving bowl.
  • Eat
  • Smile
  • Enjoy

Notes

I'm not adding the time it makes hominy in this recipe, but you could add 2 hours to the time if you need to know.
Also the pressure cooker will take up to 20 minutes to come to pressure. That time is also not added as all pressure cookers are different.
How to make hominy
  1. Add 1/2 cup dry hominy and 2 cups of water to a medium saucepan.
  2. On medium/high heat, bring the hominy to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Shut the heat off under the pan and let it sit for an hour.
  4. Rinse and drain the hominy.
  5. Add hominy to a pressure cooker and add 2 cups of water. (Don't salt because the soup will be salted).
  6. Seal pressure cooker and make sure the venting knob is at the sealed position and press the pressure cooker button and set the time to 40 minutes. The mode should be normal and the pressure should be high.
  7. After the PC beeps that it's done cooking, you can either let the pressure release naturally or do a quick release after 10 minutes.
  8. Rinse and drain the hominy and set aside to use for posole.
Helpful tips
    • You will see a few guajillo chile peppers in the ingredient photo but alas, I didn't use any in the soup because hubby is very sensitive to spicy foods. If you're interested, here's a great website on how to toast them.
    • If you decide to use the chile peppers, I recommend using only two. That makes the soup moderately spicy. Four would make the posole spicy. Or you can add 1 tablespoon of chili powder.
    • After you toast them, you can add the chile peppers to the IP before you seal it. Once the soup is done, remove and discard the cooked peppers.
    • Usually, posole is made with meat such as pork but I make mine meatless, with a lot of beans. I just prefer that combination of flavors.
    • If you've never had hominy before, you are in for a treat. You can buy it from Latino stores and sometimes you can get it at the regular grocery store. I buy mine at nuts.com.
    • If you can, buy the hominy uncooked. It's easy to cook yourself and it tastes a lot better than canned hominy.
    • But if you can only get hominy in cans, do that instead of going with canned corn.
    • I make the hominy either the night before or earlier in the day that I'm going to make this posole. See recipe card notes for how to cook hominy.
    • This posole can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1034mg | Potassium: 351mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 353IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2mg