Vegan Pozole Recipe with Pinto Beans (Posole Rojo)
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.This easy Vegan Pozole with pinto beans is a delicious Mexican stew that is packed full of flavor. Ready in just 30 minutes, with rich spices, crunchy veggies, and chewy hominy – this healthy soup is perfect for a quick one-pot meal.

My Instant Pot has been a lifesaver on busy weeknights, when I want something hearty, filling, and flavorful but do not have time to spend standing in front of a stove all day. And while traditional pozole is not typically a vegetarian or vegan friendly dish, I love the deep spices that give pozole such a satisfying and warming feel. Since the base of posole (spices + hominy) are vegetarian friendly, I figured why not replace the traditional meat with healthier beans and create a vegan pozole in my Instant Pot!
Top it with diced red onions, diced tomatoes, cilantro, lime wedges, guacamole, crushed tortilla chips (or for a non-vegan option: Plain Greek Yogurt or Shredded Cheese) – and you have got yourself an easy weeknight meal that feels like it’s been cooking all day!
The great thing about this recipe: It makes for amazing leftovers and tastes even better the next day because the flavors have more time to blend together!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make
- No meat: Made with pinto beans instead of pork!
- High in fiber and plant protein: 8 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein in every serving!
- Nutritious, filling, tons of flavor
- Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free
- Can be made in the Instant Pot or on the stove top (we have directions for both here!)
- The ultimate comfort food dish
- Easy to customize!
How to Make The Best Vegan Pozole
Ingredients and Notes
This vegan version of pozole can easily be made with simple ingredients found at your local grocery store!

Extra virgin olive oil, Red or white onion, and Garlic: You’ll saute onion and a few cloves of garlic in olive oil to start this recipe.
Yellow Bell Peppers: You can use any peppers you like in this vegan recipe — orange peppers, red peppers, green bell peppers, or even poblano peppers would all taste great.
Baby Spinach: For some added greens!
Spices: Cumin, Chile Powder, Ancho Chili Powder, Coconut Sugar, Sea Salt, Bay Leaves. Feel free to adjust the spices depending on how much heat you want this
Pinto Beans: I used canned pinto beans to save time. You could also use black beans or red kidney beans if you don’t have pinto!
Can of Hominy: This might be the most important ingredient in this vegan posole recipe, because hominy is what makes posole, posole!
Vegetable Broth and Tomato Paste: Combine these together to get the base of your vegan pozole rojo broth!
Equipment Needed
- An Instant Pot or Large Stock Pot
- Chopping Knife
- Cutting Board
- Garlic Press
- Can Opener
- Cooking Spoon
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Turn the Instant Pot to saute on low. Add olive oil through garlic, saute 5-10 minutes

Step 2: Add the cumin, chili powder, ancho chili powder, coconut sugar and salt. Saute another 2-3 minutes.

Step 3: Add tomato paste, bay leaf, pinto beans, hominy and vegetable broth. Stir to combine.

Step 4: Secure lid of the instant pot. Press “pressure cook” and set timer to 15 minutes (you’ll be cooking at high pressure this whole time). Natural release. Turn off your instant pot and open the lid. Give your pozole a good stir and let it sit uncovered for about 5 minutes.

Step 5: Top with anything you like! (e.g. cilantro, lime, avocado, etc)

How To Make on the Stove Top
Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, peppers, spinach, garlic, tomato paste and spices. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions have caramelized slightly. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, simmer for about 30 minutes until all of the flavors have combined. Serve this delicious meal with warm corn tortillas or any other toppings you like!
Recipe FAQs
Pozole, or posole is a traditional Mexican soup or stew. Typically it is made with pork, but my vegan version makes pinto beans the star of the show. Pozole is typically served during the holiday season in Mexico, and is a popular dish at New Years Eve as well as other large celebrations throughout Mexico.
You have probably seen different ways to spell the word pozole. “Pozole” seems to be the preferred way in Mexican culture, while “posole” often shows up more in adapted or recipes originating outside of Mexico proper.
Hominy is whole corn kernels that have been soaked in a lye or lime solution, and are then washed to remove the hulls and excess solution. The result is a puffy, giant corn that has a meaty, chewy texture. Corn, on the other hand, is just fresh corn kernels that haven’t been soaked or processed.
This posole is a great way to get your kids to eat some extra veggies (since they are pretty hidden amidst the beans, hominy and toppings!) I recommend putting out a “toppings bar” for kids — so they can pick whatever they want to go on top of this posole. If you have kids that are particularly sensitive to spice, you can always cut the quantity of spices in half before you make this dish. And for kids who don’t even like the look of veggies, you can puree all the veggies together and add them into the “broth” — so they are completely hidden!

How to Store and Keep
This recipe makes enough for a large crowd with plenty of leftovers!
To Store: Let leftovers cool completely. The leftovers will keep, refrigerated, in an airtight container for about a week
To Freeze: Transfer the posole to freezer-safe, airtight containers or bags with as little air as possible to prevent freezer burn. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To Reheat: thaw overnight in the fridge, and warm over low heat on the stovetop or microwave.
Serving Suggestions
A good pozole is all about the toppings! Here are our favorite toppings:
- Fresh Herbs and Garnishes: Fresh Cilantro, Fresh lime juice, Chopped radishes, Chopped green onions, Diced tomatoes
- Crunchy Toppings: Crushed tortilla chips, Pumpkin seeds
- Creamy Toppings: Avocado or guacamole, vegan sour cream, or a vegan yogurt
- Your Favorite Salsa: salsa verde or even a pico de gallo would work well
- Non-Vegan Toppings: If you don’t need to make this recipe vegan, you can use a shredded Mexican cheese blend, sour cream, or Plain Greek Yogurt!
Expert Tips For Making This Vegan Pozole Recipe
- If you don’t have an instant pot or pressure cooker, you can make pozole on the stove top, it will just take a little longer.
- Ready-to-eat Hominy is sold in the canned section of the supermarket. You can also cook it yourself but it takes much longer! If you choose to cook dried hominy on your own, follow the same process as you would for dried beans.
- You can experiment with different types of beans in this recipe: black beans, kidney beans, even navy beans would all work well. Or you could do a combination of beans and make this a 4 bean pozole!
- Feel free to mix up the veggies used in this dish. I used bell peppers and spinach primarily, but you can use anything you have in your fridge. You can even make this a vegan pozole verde by using 1/2-1 cup of salsa verde along instead of tomato paste when making your pozole.
- Don’t forget the toppings! Our favorites include: Cilantro, Lime juice, Avocado or guacamole, Chopped radishes, Chopped green onions, Diced tomatoes, Crushed tortilla chips.

More Soup Recipes!
- Spicy Tomato Bean Veggie Soup
- Black Bean Hominy and Kale Stew
- Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup
- Skinny Broccoli and Cheese soup
- 30 Vegetarian Soups and Stews
- 65 Vegetarian Mexican Recipes
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🎥 Watch How to Make It
Vegan Pozole with Pinto Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 3 yellow bell peppers diced
- 6 oz fresh baby spinach chopped
- 10 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ tbsp ground cumin
- 1½ tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ancho chili powder
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt more to taste – I added about 1/2 tsp more
- ½ cup tomato paste (4 ounces)
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 15oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15oz can hominy, rinsed and drained
- 32 ounces vegetable broth (4 cups)
- optional toppings: ¼ cup chopped cilantro, divided, squeeze of lime juice, diced avocado or guacamole, chopped radishes, shredded mexican cheese blend, crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
To Make In The Instant Pot
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute on low. Add olive oil through garlic, saute 5-10 minutes.
- Add the cumin, chili powder, ancho chili powder, coconut sugar and salt. Saute another 2-3 minutes.
- Add tomato paste, bay leaf, pinto beans, hominy and vegetable broth. Stir to combine.
- Secure lid of the instant pot. Press "pressure cook" and set timer to 15 minutes. Natural release.
To Make On The Stove Top
- Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, peppers, spinach, garlic, tomato paste and spices. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions have caramelized slightly. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, simmer for about 30 minutes until all of the flavors have combined. Serve this delicious meal with warm corn tortillas or any other toppings you like!
Notes
- If you don’t have an instant pot or pressure cooker, you can make pozole on the stove top, it will just take a little longer.
- Ready-to-eat Hominy is sold in the canned section of the supermarket. You can also cook it yourself but it takes much longer! If you choose to cook dried hominy on your own, follow the same process as you would for dried beans.
- You can experiment with different types of beans in this recipe: black beans, kidney beans, even navy beans would all work well. Or you could do a combination of beans and make this a 4 bean pozole!
- Feel free to mix up the veggies used in this dish. I used bell peppers and spinach primarily, but you can use anything you have in your fridge. You can even make this a vegan pozole verde by using 1/2-1 cup of salsa verde along instead of tomato paste when making your pozole.
- Don’t forget the toppings! Our favorites include: Cilantro, Lime juice, Avocado or guacamole, Chopped radishes, Chopped green onions, Diced tomatoes, Crushed tortilla chips.
This was really delicious, and so easy! My whole family, including the somewhat picky 7 year old loved it! Thank you!
Woohoo! So happy to hear that Heather – thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Yummy! My family is going to love this for dinner! Looks so delicious! I wish I could have a bowl right about now.
Yay! Can’t wait to hear how you all like this recipe Beth!
Such a flavorful stew! I love the addition of all those spices and the minimal prep with the instant pot. Yum!
Thanks so much Tara! 🙂
I love all the flavors in this and its so hearty perfect for the cooler weather we are having
It really is perfect for cold weather! Warms you up right away!
This was an easy, flavorful dinner. I’m looking forward to leftovers for lunch! I really like the hominy and plan to add it to soup more often.
Thanks so much Jen!! So glad you liked it!
Love this!! This is my favorite instant pot recipe. Make it for our plant based eating family including little kids, and meat eating friends, and everyone I’ve made it for loves it! Thank you!!
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that Kate! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
I don’t see in the recipe when to add the spinach. I’m afraid it will disintegrate in the instant pot, so does it get added after cooking?
Hi Deanna! You can add it after cooking and just let it warm through, or you can add it before cooking and let it “disintegrate” into the broth of the posole! Either way works honestly, it just depends on what you prefer. Typically if I’m talking to a parent of a picky eater, I’ll tell them to let it disintegrate because then at least the child gets the benefits of spinach (even if they can’t really see it). But for adults and non-picky eaters, because I love the bright color spinach retains, I recommend adding it at the end of cooking and just simmer in the instant pot on low for a couple minutes! Hope that helps!
This recipe looks so good and easy to make!
Thank you so much!! I know you’ll love it!
I’m trying to introduce more beans to my kids and can’t wait to try this recipe. I also love to use my instant pot whenever I can, so this is perfect!
Awesome!! I can’t wait for you and your family to try this recipe Tayo! I’m sure it’ll be a hit!
Loving this recipe! I’m such a sucker for posole, and making it from scratch too so darn long until I found this recipe. If you don’t own an Instant Pot, it’s worth it for this recipe alone!
Hooray!! I’m so happy to hear that Candice!! I’m a sucker for posole too!
This is everything a gourmet soup should be, and then some! Looking forward to warming up with this on a cold night this week!
Totally!! It’s perfect for the season – I’m sure you will love it when you try it! 🙂
This looks so good and inviting. And perfect for the cold weather. Give me some bread and I’m a happy camper.
Thank you so much Anita!! This is one of my favorite fall/winter recipes for sure!