Mexican-Sonoran red hominy stew: a long-simmered pork-shoulder broth deepened with dried guajillo, ancho and pasilla chilies, packed with nixtamalised hominy, served with cabbage, radish and lime.
Pozole has been cooked in Mexico since the pre-Columbian era; the Aztecs reserved the original ritual version for ceremonial occasions, replaced after Spanish colonisation with pork shoulder. The dish split into three regional schools: pozole rojo (red, from Jalisco, the most common in Phoenix), pozole verde (green, from Guerrero) and pozole blanco (white). Phoenix's strong Sonoran and Jalisco populations made pozole rojo the canonical Sunday-family dish. It is the Mexican-American hangover cure and the centrepiece of Mexican Independence Day and Christmas Eve dinner.
3 editor picks for Pozole Rojo in Phoenix, ranked by editorial score. All Phoenix signature dishes · Pozole Rojo across every city.
Tacos Chiwas ★ 4.5
central-phoenix · 1028 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85014
Tacos Chiwas on Indian School Road is a family-run Chihuahua-style room, plating gorditas and tacos from recipes carried up from northern Mexico.
The Original Carolina's Mexican Food ★ 4.4
central-city · 1202 E Mohave St, Phoenix, AZ 85034
The Original Carolina's Mexican Food on Mohave Street has stretched its thin house flour tortillas since 1968, a Valenzuela family standard in Phoenix.
Comedor Guadalajara ★ 4.1
1830 S Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Comedor Guadalajara on South Central is a big sit-down Mexican room of regional staples, fast service and lunch specials that fill a plate without much spend.