Guerrero, Mexico — particularly Chilpancingo and the Pacific Coast region; the green variant is associated with Guerrero state
Pozole verde is the Guerrero state version of Mexico's ancient hominy soup — made with tomatillos, fresh green chiles (serrano, poblano), epazote, pepitas, and pork or chicken in a thick green broth. Unlike pozole rojo (dried chile base), the verde is built on fresh green ingredients blended and fried in oil. The hominy (cacahuazintle corn kernels) is the constant across all pozole variations. Served with a garnish bar of tostadas, shredded cabbage, dried oregano, lime, and radishes.
Bright, tart from tomatillo, herb-forward from epazote, nutty from pepitas — lighter and fresher than pozole rojo
{"Tomatillo is the acid base — not lime juice added to stock","Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) toasted and blended add body and nuttiness to the green base","Epazote is essential for the Guerrero style — not cilantro","The green base is fried in oil before adding stock — the frying step prevents the raw blended vegetable flavour","Hominy (nixtamalized cacahuazintle corn) is always pre-cooked separately — never add raw hominy to the soup"}
{"Toast pepitas until aromatic before blending — enhances nuttiness in the verde base","For the garnish station: shredded raw cabbage, thinly sliced radish, dried Mexican oregano, lime wedges, tostadas, chile powder","Pozole verde reheats well but the green colour fades — add a handful of fresh spinach when reheating to restore colour","For the best pozole: use pork neck bones + shoulder — the bone gives broth depth"}
{"Skipping the oil-frying of the blended green base — raw tomatillo flavour without the cooked integration","Adding hominy raw to the broth — hominy takes 2–3 hours to cook; must be pre-cooked","Using regular yellow corn instead of cacahuazintle hominy — wrong starch, wrong texture, wrong flavour","Under-garnishing — the garnish table is as important as the soup; lime, cabbage, and radish are not optional"}
Mexico: The Cookbook — Margarita Carrillo Arronte; The Cuisines of Mexico — Diana Kennedy