A quick chicken pozole rojo is a soup I make on almost a weekly basis. Just in case you’re not familiar with pozole, it’s a Mexican soup made with hominy, and traditionally, with pork, but I use boneless chicken thighs to speed things up. The best part is the endless toppings at the end. Think chicken tortilla soup toppings, but on steroids. I serve it with white rice on the side and of course, corn tortillas. It’s already such a comforting meal on it’s own, but I decided to take it to the next level by turning it into a delicious over-the-top mac and cheese. Pozole Mac and Cheese is my newest obsession and I can’t recommend it enough!
Let’s make the red chile sauce for the pozole part of this mac and cheese. Heat a large oven-safe shallow pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, add the dried chiles and cook until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
**Note: This is the same sauce I make when I make pozole, so keep that in mind the next time you want to make homemade pozole as well!**
Add 1 cup hot water, turn off the heat and put on the lid. Let sit until the chiles are completely softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, push the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl. Set aside.
**Tip: This can be made 2 to 3 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use!**
Wipe the skillet as clean as possible, and place over moderate heat with the remaining oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken in a single layer and brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
**Note: I love using chicken thighs for this because they offer the most flavor to the dish, but if you prefer, chicken breast will work fine as well. If you want to speed things up, you can skip this step and use store-bought rotisserie chicken that you’ve shredded.**
Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Pour the chile sauce into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Then nestle the chicken back into the sauce and cook, slightly covered, over low heat, until cooked through and soft enough to shred with two forks, about 15 to 20 minutes.
To make the cheese sauce, set a medium saucepan over moderate heat with the butter. Once melted, stir in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the milk and cook until it has thickened. Season with salt, pepper and the rest of the spices. Remove from the heat and stir 1 1/2 cups of each cheese (reserving 1/2 cup of each for later) until fully melted through. Keep the sauce warm until ready to use.
**Tip: If you want to add a bit of spice to the cheese sauce, you can swap out the Monterey Jack with Pepper Jack if you’d like! And you can also add a couple dashes of hot sauce to the sauce!**
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce, hominy and the chicken and chile sauce until well-combined.
Pour into a baking dish or the pan where you cooked the chicken. Top with the reserved cheese and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
You don’t have the bake the mac and cheese, if you’d like you can just stir everything together and serve from the stove, but I love baking my mac and cheese always because you get a great cheesy crust on top.
Because I wanted this to be just like pozole, I like to serve it in bowls and then top it with all the things I’d top traditional pozole with. You can use any or all of these: cabbage, radish, avocado, white onion, scallions, cotija cheese, cilantro, and lime wedges. The possibilities are endless.
If you want to make this ahead of time you can make it up until you mix everything together and pour it into the baking dish. Cool and then cover with foil and place in the fridge until ready to bake. Then just bake as directed, but adding another 5 minutes to compensate for the chill.
The next time you’re craving homemade mac and cheese but you’re bored of the straight up classic version, I highly recommend giving this a try. If you love pozole, then this is your new favorite dish. It might seem like a lot of steps, but I promise it’s worth it. It’s a dream come true.
Pozole Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 dried guajillo chile peppers stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried ancho chile peppers stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried cascabel chile peppers stemmed and seeded
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- coarse salt and pepper
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 pound dried macaroni pasta
- 1 29-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
Topping options:
- shredded cabbage
- sliced radish
- fresh cilantro
- sliced scallion
- diced white onion
- avocado
- sour cream
- crumbled cotija cheese
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat a large oven-safe shallow pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, add the dried chiles and cook until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup hot water, turn off the heat and put on the lid. Let sit until the chiles are completely softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, push the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl. Set aside.
- Wipe the skillet as clean as possible, and place over moderate heat with the remaining oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken in a single layer and brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Pour the chile sauce into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Then nestle the chicken back into the sauce and cook, slightly covered, over low heat, until cooked through and soft enough to shred with two forks, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- To make the cheese sauce, set a medium saucepan over moderate heat with the butter. Once melted, stir in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the milk and cook until it has thickened. Season with salt, pepper and the rest of the spices. Remove from the heat and stir 1 1/2 cups of each cheese (reserving 1/2 cup of each for later) until fully melted through. Keep the sauce warm until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce, hominy and the chicken and chile sauce until well-combined. Pour into a baking dish or the pan where you cooked the chicken. Top with the reserved cheese and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with desired toppings. Enjoy!
