When temperatures drop, the Freezer Meal Frenzy staffers find ourselves craving two things: spicy foods and soups. The Trader Joe’s Spicy Pozole Verde soup promises the best of both worlds. We’re not familiar with the classic version of this dish, which apparently contains chicken, but we were excited to see what this vegan soup had to offer nonetheless.
Since this is a refrigerated soup, you can prepare it in no time at all. While you can heat the soup by tossing the plastic container in the microwave, we decided to heat it on the stovetop and transfer it to a bowl. It only took us about 3 minutes, and the soup didn’t stick to our pot at all.
While this soup isn’t lacking in flavor, it’s probably going to disappoint you if you’re craving a spicy meal. The broth is tasty, but it doesn’t have much of a kick to it. The flavor is slightly reminiscent of salsa verde — which makes sense considering this dish contains many of the same ingredients you’d find in green salsa, like lime juice, tomatoes, and green chilies.
The things that really make this soup shine are the beans and the hominy — we just wish there were more beans here. They have a great meaty texture to them, making this a great vegan-friendly alternative to a chicken soup. We wouldn’t quite say that Trader Joe’s was stingy with the beans, but our bowl had way more broth than anything else, which was a little disappointing.
Trader Joe’s Spicy Pozole Verde isn’t a perfect soup, but it is a pretty solid option for a cold or rainy day, especially if you’re looking for a good vegan lunch option. If you happen to have some extra beans or lime juice in your fridge, you could easily take this from a good soup to a great one. Or, if you’re in the mood for spice, you might want to add a little hot sauce to the mix. No matter how you choose to customize this vegan-friendly soup, there’s plenty to love here for vegans and meat-eaters alike.
To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in this Trader Joe’s soup, check out our package scans below.
