Authentic Chicken Hominy Soup – Comforting & Delicious
Warm, hearty, and full of flavor, chicken hominy soup is a comforting bowl that satisfies every time. This traditional soup combines tender chicken, creamy hominy, and a medley of fresh vegetables and spices. Every spoonful bursts with savory goodness, making it a perfect dish for chilly evenings or casual family dinners.
Making chicken hominy soup at home is easier than you think. You don’t need complicated ingredients or hours of prep. With a few simple steps, you can create a rich, flavorful broth that highlights the natural taste of chicken and hominy. Fresh herbs and spices elevate the dish, giving it a homemade touch that store-bought versions can’t match.
Chicken hominy soup is more than just a meal. It’s versatile, healthy, and budget-friendly. You can add corn, peppers, or tomatoes for extra depth, or spice it up with chili for a warming kick. It’s gluten-free, naturally high in protein, and perfect for meal prep or freezing for later.
In this post, I’ll guide you through a step-by-step recipe for chicken hominy soup. You’ll learn tips for tender chicken, creamy hominy, and a broth packed with flavor. By the end, you’ll have a soup that’s both satisfying and nourishing.
Chicken and Hominy Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 bunches green onions sliced
- 4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2½ teaspoons paprika
- 10 cups chicken stock
- 14½ ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 roasted chicken meat removed and shredded
- hot pepper sauce to taste
- 45 ounces hominy in juice white or golden
- 1 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat your soup pot over medium-high heat, add oil and when hot, add the green onions, cumin and paprika. Sauté for about 5 minutes and then add the chicken stock, tomatoes WITH juice, chicken meat and a teaspoon or two of hot pepper sauce. You can add more of the hot pepper sauce toward the end if you want it spicier but it's easier to add less now than suffer from adding too much.
- Using a food processor or blender, puree the hominy with juice until smooth. Add the hominy to the soup and bring it all to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the cilantro, taste and adjust with salt and hot pepper sauce. One thing you might not realize is it is very difficult to adjust seasonings when the soup is as hot as it is at this point. Over a certain temperature, you taste buds are not that effective.I recommend you either wait until the soup cools down a little before adjusting the seasonings or have salt and pepper or hot pepper sauce on the table and let the individual eating the soup make the adjustment. Just be sure to tell them it may need salt.
Notes
Chicken Hominy Soup – Helpful Cooking Tips
- Sauté Spices with Oil – Heating the cumin and paprika in olive oil before adding liquid brings out their full flavor. Don’t rush this step; 4–5 minutes is ideal.
- Control the Heat – Add hot pepper sauce gradually. You can always add more later, but once it’s too spicy, you can’t take it back.
- Puree the Hominy – Blending the hominy with its juice creates a creamy texture that thickens the soup naturally. Avoid skipping this step unless you prefer chunky hominy.
- Simmer, Don’t Boil – After adding the hominy, bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat. Gentle simmering lets flavors meld without overcooking the chicken.
- Season Carefully – Taste buds are less sensitive when the soup is piping hot. Wait a few minutes for it to cool slightly before adjusting salt or spices.
- Cilantro Last – Add fresh cilantro at the end to preserve its bright flavor and color.
- Serve Customizable – Keep salt and hot sauce on the table so each person can adjust to taste. This ensures everyone enjoys the soup perfectly seasoned.
- Leftovers Improve Flavor – Like many soups, chicken hominy soup tastes even better the next day after the flavors meld overnight.
Ingredient Substitutions
| Ingredient | Substitution | Description | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | Avocado oil or vegetable oil | Neutral-tasting oils with high smoke points | They sauté spices and vegetables without burning, preserving flavor |
| Green onions | Leeks or shallots | Mild allium with a sweet flavor | Provides similar aromatic base for the soup |
| Ground cumin | Ground coriander or chili powder | Warm, earthy spices | Maintains depth of flavor if cumin is unavailable |
| Paprika | Smoked paprika or chili powder | Adds mild sweetness and color | Preserves the smoky, vibrant flavor profile |
| Chicken stock | Vegetable stock or water with bouillon | Liquid base for soup | Provides flavor and moisture; vegetable stock keeps it vegetarian |
| Crushed tomatoes | Tomato puree or diced tomatoes, blended | Tomato base for richness | Maintains acidity and flavor of the soup |
| Roasted chicken | Cooked rotisserie chicken or turkey | Pre-cooked poultry | Saves time and keeps meat tender |
| Hominy | Canned white or yellow corn, cooked and pureed | Starchy corn kernels | Thickens soup and adds texture, similar to hominy |
| Cilantro | Parsley or fresh basil | Fresh green herb garnish | Adds brightness and fresh flavor if cilantro isn’t available |
Cultural Significance
Chicken hominy soup carries deep cultural significance, particularly in Mexican and Southwestern U.S. culinary traditions. It is a modern iteration of pozole, a dish with roots stretching back to pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
Indigenous peoples used hominy—dried corn treated through nixtamalization—as a staple ingredient, providing not just sustenance but also spiritual symbolism. Corn was sacred, representing life and community, so dishes like pozole were often served during religious ceremonies, festivals, and important life events.
Over centuries, European influences—especially Spanish—introduced chicken and other meats to the dish, creating the comforting, hearty chicken hominy soup we know today. In contemporary culture, chicken hominy soup is more than just nourishment; it embodies family, tradition, and hospitality.
It’s often prepared in large batches for gatherings, embodying the idea of sharing warmth and sustenance with loved ones. In the U.S., particularly in regions like New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, chicken hominy soup is celebrated both as a staple home-cooked meal and a cultural link to Mexican heritage.
Its combination of tender chicken, rich broth, hominy, and fresh herbs symbolizes the blending of indigenous and European culinary practices, making each bowl a taste of history and community.
9 Responses
I can’t wait to try this!
I live in the U.K and had never heard of hominy so I did a bit of research on the internet and found it on a website and it said it was dried maize (corn). Would normal tinned sweet corn be o.k to use because it’s been quite cold recently and this sounds like it would warm me up on these cold dark evenings.
You can use canned sweet corn and I’m sure the recipe would be good but it would not have the flavor or consistancy when using hominy. The hominy gives this soup a very different flavor and worth trying to find some.
I justed wanted to say that the tortilla soup was very delicious. It was so easy to make. I give the tortilla soup a 10+. My family really enjoyed it. thank you.
Thank you Phyllis. It is one of my favorite recipes when the temperatures start going down. Glad you enjoyed it.
It certainly is nice to obtain new suggestions for dishes combined with straightforward approaches to create them. My partner and I put together this dish for our supper a few days ago. All the family loved it, I’ll be cooking it regularly from now on.
Thanks Rose for sharing your results. – RG
Nice chicken recipe.
Thanks – RG
I want to make this tonight but I don’t understand.
PUREE the hominy?
Why not whole?
And since I’m tripling your recipe, I may not wait for a reply and puree half my frozen nixtamal and leave the other half in the soup.
I like all your other touches here.
Hi Brent, so how did your soup turn out? Why puree the hominy you ask? I guess because that’s the consistency and texture they were looking for. If that’s not how you like it, don’t puree it and if you like the results. If not, you can always puree afterwords. Think of recipes as guides but they are not absolutes unless you are baking and then it is much more critical to follow the amounts exactly. – RG
My favorite soup of all time! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I try to make at least once a month. It’s even better the next day and even better the next!