A delicious and simple side dish or plant-based main course of plump hominy made a la Veracruzana or Veracruz-style with tomatoes, green chilies, green olives, capers, and parsley. Meet your new favorite healthy hominy recipe. Vegan and gluten-free!
Recipe first posted February 22, 2022. Last updated with new video, images, and text on October 4, 2023.
I’ve come to that point in winter when even though I still crave comfort foods I am starting to think about the spring that is right around the corner. The slow cooker is still my kitchen workhorse and casserole recipes still play centerstage but my cravings for everything cheese and cream is starting to wane.
This hominy recipe fills this in-between late winter season so nicely. It is warm and hearty with chewy, toothsome hominy and a luscious tomato sauce but hints at a vibrancy lacking in creamier winter foods thanks to the briny pop of pickled green chile, olives, and capers.
If you’ve never cooked with hominy outside of making Pozole Rojo I want to encourage you to give this a try. Have fun with this recipe and make it your own! Keep reading for the basic steps and a little more about hominy.
What is hominy?
If you aren’t familiar with hominy, it is dried field corn (not sweet corn) that has been soaked in an alkaline solution called lye (which is calcium hydroxide) through a process called nixtamalization. The soaking process softens the tough exterior so it can be removed making the corn nutritious and edible.
Hominy is at the heart of Mexican cuisine but also a Southern staple as well. Hominy casserole topped with cheddar cheese and hominy au gratin made with sour cream and bacon are popular dishes in the South, not to mention grits.
In Spanish, hominy is called pozole so you will sometimes see it labeled as such. It is the ingredient that gives Pozole, the iconic Mexican chicken and hominy soup its name. In Mexico they grow a specific variety of corn which is called pozole specifically for the soup, Pozole, but it is impossible to find in the US, so we use hominy. What’s not impossible? Me using the word pozole five times in the same paragraph.
Why you should make this hominy recipe
It’s easy! A few vegetables to chop, yes, but after that it comes together really fast, definitely under an hour. Serve with Coconut-Cilantro Rice for a plant-based main course or as a side dish.
The taste is incredible! It is a little spicy, a little sour, but with a rich earthy undertone that keeps you coming back for more.
The textures are also incredible! The chewy kernels of each hominy grain mixed with the rich, silky texture of the hominy stew make for a truly sensational experience.
Ingredients
- Hominy
- White onion
- Garlic cloves
- Red bell pepper
- Tomatoes
- Italian parsley
- Green olives
- Capers
- Pickled jalapeños
- Bay leaves
- Lemon
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- Chipotle chili powder
- Tomato paste
How To Make This Recipe
step one
Blanch the hominy. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a couple tablespoons of salt and the hominy. If you are using canned hominy, cover and remove from the heat immediately. If you are using fresh hominy, let cook until just tender, about 3 minutes then remove from the heat and cover. Let the hominy bloom in the hot water while you prepare the sauce.
step two
Make the sauce. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and pepper and season with a teaspoon salt and black pepper. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown. Add garlic and cook a minute more. Add tomatoes and continue cooking until tomatoes have broken down into a sauce, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add remaining ingredients.
step three
Add hominy. Drain hominy and add that as well. Cover and cook until hominy is tender, about 10 minutes.
step four
Serve. Stir in a handful of fresh parsley and serve as a side dish or with Coconut-Cilantro Rice as a plant-based main.
Hominy FAQ’s
If, like me, you are lucky enough to live close to a well-stocked Latin grocery store, you will be able to find a few different options when it comes to buying hominy. They all cook a bit differently so let’s go through them one by one.
Canned Hominy
This is the most common type and can be found in any grocery store next to the canned vegetables. It comes in white or yellow, either one is good. Canned hominy is fully cooked however, it has a bit of a funky aftertaste so I like to blanch it in salted water briefly before using it in recipes.
Dried Hominy
You can buy prepared dried hominy online or in some grocery stores and cook it yourself. Make sure when you are buying dried hominy that it is labeled “prepared”. This means it has gone through the nixtamalization process and then dried. It takes a long time to soften dried hominy but you can do it in about an hour in the Instant Pot.
Fresh Hominy
What I like to use for this hominy recipe is freshly nixtamalized hominy which they sell at my local Vallarta Market. It is plump with incredible chewiness and amazing corn flavor. It is tender but still needs to be briefly cooked before eating. I blanch it like I do the canned hominy, but for 3-4 minutes or until it is tender on the outside with a bit of a bite on the inside. It will continue cooking in the tomato sauce so you don’t want it too soft.
More Plant-Based Recipes To Try!
- Creamy Lentil Soup with Salsa Macha
- Authentic Chile Relleno Recipe
- How To Make Huevos Rancheros At Home
- Vegan Ceviche with Avocado and Lime
- Spicy Vegan Enchiladas
- How To Make Sofrito Black Beans
- Black Bean and Cheese Vegetarian Tamales
Operation delicious dinner
Looking for something satisfying, healthy, and delicious? This hominy recipe checks all the boxes. Give it a try! When you do, snap me a pic and tag me @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno on Instagram so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating)! Also, make sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!
Veracruz-Style Hominy Recipe
A delicious and simple side dish or plant-based main course of plump hominy made a la Veracruzana or Veracruz-style with tomatoes, green chilies, green olives, capers, and parsley. Meet your new favorite healthy hominy recipe. Vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 pound fresh hominy or 1 (29-ounce) can hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
- 1 cup chopped Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup sliced pickled jalapeños
- 1/4 cup chopped, pitted green olives
- 1 tablespoon, drained non-pariel capers in brine
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder
Instructions
- Blanch hominy. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add hominy. If you are using canned hominy, immediately remove from the heat, cover and let bloom in the hot water while you prepare the sauce. If you are using fresh hominy, let cook for 3-4 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat, cover and let sit.
- Saute the vegetables. Heat oil a large (12-inch) frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are just starting to brown. Add garlic and cook a minute more.
- Cook down the tomatoes. Add tomatoes and cook until they start to break down, about 10 minutes.
- Combine with hominy. Add remaining ingredients. Drain hominy and add that to the pan as well. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until hominy is tender and vegetables are cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Sauce should be slightly thickened, if it is a bit runny, remove the lid and let cook a few minutes more. Taste and season with salt if needed. Spinkle with a handful of chopped parsley.
- Serve. Serve immediatley with rice (I like to serve it with this Coconut-Cilantro Rice) as a vegan main or as a side dish.
Notes
- Hominy: If you can find (or make your own) freshly nixtamilized hominy use that here. If all you can buy is canned hominy, that will work too. Just cook it a little less so it doesn't fall apart.
- Controlling the spice level: Cut the amount of pickled jalapeños in half if you are sensitive to spice and add just a pinch of chipotle chili powder.
- Make ahead instructions: This is a great dish to make in advance as it improves in flavor the longer it sits. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Serving suggestions: Top the dish with lots of fresh, chopped parsley and toasted sliced almonds for texture. I like to serve it with my Coconut-Cilantro Rice. The creamy, slightly sweet rice goes amazing with this dish.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 85Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 446mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 2g
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Resources
Tu Casa Mi Casa by Enrique Olvera
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Made this as an accompaniment to ham on Easter and it was a hit! It’s really easy and delicious it’s bright yet has depth of flavor. Highly recommend and will definitely make again.
I’m so happy you liked it!!