Easy Sopa de Fideo (Mexican Noodle soup)
Master an authentic sopa de fideo recipe ready in just 30 minutes with simple, everyday ingredients. This warm and comforting Mexican noodle soup is made with a tangy tomato base and golden brown noodles. It is extremely popular with Mexican moms because it’s very easy to make, and kids love it. Because what kid doesn’t like noodles?
How to Make Sopa de Fideo
I grew up eating this soup, which belongs to a category of simple, brothy soups known as sopas aguadas, that are a staple in Mexican home cooking. I have had many variations of the years, so I don’t think there is one authentic way to make it. That being said, there are some key elements like the tomato, garlic, and onion puree and the toasting of the noodles, that make this soup so special.
There are some regional variations that are worth mentioning, like the Mexico City sopa seca de fideo, which is a casserole version of this soup, usually with the addition of chile ancho or chile chipotle; sopa de fideo con frijol from Oaxaca, which uses black bean broth instead of chicken broth as the soup base; and the Tex Mex version (my kids’ favorite), fideo loco, which adds beans and ground beef to the soup.
What You Need Before You Start
Fideo: Fideo translates to noodle, but traditionally this soup uses angel hair pasta that has been cut into ¾ inch pieces. You can find it at your local Mexican market or online. If you can’t find it you can use thin spaghetti or angel hair broken up into pieces.
Tomato: Ripe tomatoes are essential for this recipe, I usually use Roma tomatoes in the months when they are in season. When they are not, I use canned tomato to ensure a vibrant tomato flavor.
Broth: Make sure to use a high quality broth, I’m vegan so I use homemade vegetable broth if I have it, or store bought vegetable broth.
Bouillon (optional): If you’re using a high quality broth you don’t need to use bouillon, but a lot of Mexicans associate the flavor of fideo soup with the particular taste of Knorr suiza a chicken bouillon used very frequently in Mexican cooking. If you want to replicate this, but you’re vegan like me you can use No Chicken Base by Better than Bouillon.
Zucchini or other veg: This is optional, but I love adding veggies like zucchini, potatoes, and carrot to boost the nutritional value of the soup.
Step by Step Instructions
1. In a medium pot get your vegetable broth boiling hot and set aside. Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and 2 cups of the vegetable broth to the blender.
2. Puree until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh strainer.
3. Heat oil in a large pot, over medium-low heat. Add broken up noodles and toss to coat in oil. Continue to cook until noodles are golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Pour in the tomato puree, and stir. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer. Add zucchini and cilantro, and cook noodles until tender.
Tips for Better Results
· Don’t overcook the fideo: It can quickly become too soft and mushy, and keep in mind that the noodles will continue to cook and absorb broth even after you take the soup off the heat.
· Toast the noodles well: This adds flavor and helps give the soup its characteristic taste, but be careful, don’t take your eyes off the noodles because they can burn quickly.
· Watch your liquid ratio: I know that 10 cups of broth might seem like a lot, but as I mentioned before, as the soup cools down the noodles will continue to absorb the broth. If you like your sopa de fideo on the thick side, use only 8 cups of broth.
Make This Oil Free
To make this recipe without oil set the pot to medium-low heat and add the noodles. Dry toast the noodles until golden brown stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Continue with the rest of the recipe as written.
Ways to Boost This Recipe
More protein: You can add beans or ground “beef” like I do in this fideo loco recipe.
More Veggies: You can add up to a cup of another vegetables. Besides zucchini, I also like to add potatoes, carrots or chayote.
More fiber: Use whole wheat noodles instead, but be mindful of the cooking time. Depending on the brand they might take longer to cook than wheat noodles.
Make Ahead
You can make this the day before serving, but you will have to adjust the amount of broth after heating it. The noodles will absorb some of the broth overnight.
How to Store and Reheat
Let cool and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. Reheat on the stove in a large pot, over medium-low heat. If the soup is too thick, add a cup of broth.
FAQ
Yes! This same soup can also be made with alphabet pasta or macaroni.
You can serve with these potato or mushroom tinga flautas, or top it with queso fresco and slices of avocado.
More Mexican Soup Recipes
Are you looking for more Mexican soup recipes?? Try this pozole verde, pozole rojo, vegan tortilla soup, vegan caldo de res, and this vegan albóndiga soup.
Sopa de Fideo (Mexican Noodle Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable (optional)
- 8 ounces fideo or angel hair pasta, broken into 1 in. pieces
- 1 can (14.5 oz) Diced tomatoes or 2 cups of fresh diced tomatoes
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 10 cups vegetable broth
- 1 medium Mexican zucchini, diced
- 1 sprig cilantro
- 1 lime, cut into quarters
Instructions
- In a medium pot get your vegetable broth boiling hot and set aside.
- Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and 2 cups of the vegetable broth to the blender and puree until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh strainer.
- Heat oil in a large pot, over medium-low heat. Add broken up noodles and toss to coat in oil. Continue to cook until noodles are golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Pour in the tomato mixture, be careful, it might splash. Stir to prevent the noodles from sticking. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until the tomato puree becomes a deep red color.
- Pour in the rest of your broth and increase heat to high. Add zucchini and cilantro sprig, and cook noodles at a low boil until noodles are al dente and zucchini is tender. Stir often. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve with a wedge of lime so everyone can add as much lime juice as they like.
Video
Notes
- You can add zucchini, carrots, beans or potatoes to this for higher nutritional value.
- For a lot of us, the food memory of this soup is associated with the flavor that knorr chicken flavor bouillon gives to the soup. To substitute this, I recommend using 2 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base
- To make this spicy, score an x on the tip of a jalapeño and add it to the soup along with the zucchini.
Nutrition
Although dorastable.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates.
This was so easy to make and delicious. My only critique was that I wish it had a slightly stronger tomato flavor but that was a very minor thing and based on my own personal taste. Next time I will add a couple tble of tomato paste and that should do it. I added raw chopped onion and avocado on top of the hot soup and it was fabulous!
I was just about to say you can add some tomato paste for a stronger tomato flavor. Glad you liked it!
This recipe is one of my favorites. I adde carrots and pinto beans and it was so delicious! Definitely would make again!
This is truely comfort food and your recipe is perfect!
I hadn’t made any in a really long time and, since I’m recovering from cancer, I didn’t trust my mind…
Your recipe big the spot and your page has been permanently bookmarked!
Thank you!
~Rhonda
I made this with fresh tomatoes, since that was an option. I followed the recipe very closely. Once I had put the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and 2 cups of vegetable stock into my blender and puréed it very thoroughly, I tried to strain the mixture through a sieve but it was so thick that almost no liquid made it through. I tried flattening it against the sieve with the spatula but really only a tiny bit of liquid came out and most of the contents were in the sieve. In the end I didn’t want to waste all that tomato/onion/garlic goodness so I dumped it into the soup and cooked it. The texture wasn’t ideal, but I don’t think it would have had any flavor if I’d thrown this part out. Any suggestions on what I should have done? Thanks.
Hi Karen, you can just add a little more liquid to the blender to get it to the consistency of a puree then strain.
substituted some thing because I did not have all ingredients. I used regular spaghetti. Broke into Fidel size,
I had to comment because I make a verrrrrry similar recipe to yours. So, here are my differences: I actually add garlic to the pasta when it’s about half way done toasting to give the pasta the garlic flavor. It comes out less garlicky if you blend it with the broth, and I love garlic.
Also, I use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth.
Something else I might do is add about half of a can of tomato sauce to thicken the broth that I blended.
I add a little bit of cumin, oregano, and pepper to the blender with the chicken broth. Cumin really gives it the Mexican flavor I’m looking for
This was a great recipe and so easy to adapt! I made with zucchini but want to make again with some plant based meat. I used the secret ingredient of Knorr chicken tomato bullion but could be made all vegan/vegetarian easily. I also added Tajín while cooking.
Is this a soup that can have chicken beef or shrimp added to it. I ask because my husband was out in Texas and had a soup that looked similar to this but had steak added. Was on a good truck.
Yes, there’s a street food called fideo loco which is basically this soup but with beans and meat added to it.
Why 10 cups of stock? Am I using all 10 cups?
Yes, as the noodles expand they absorb a lof of the broth
Does the cooking time need to be altered if I’m using gluten free spaghetti? I have an allergy so I can only use gf pastas and I don’t often find recipes that have a note about prep for gf option so just wanted to ask if you may have insight so I don’t prepare everything and end up with gf noodles that have been broken down too much, any help is appreciated thank you
Yes, adjust the cooking time according to the package. I would also reduce the amount of liquid from 10 cups to 6 then add more as necesary
Hi just a silly question, to make this soup using a chicken bouillon would I just substitute the broth for boiling water then add the chicken bouillon? And how many would I need for 8 cups.
Kristal
Yes, that will work. I don’t use chicken bouillon myself so you would have to read the packaging on the product you are using
Thanx very much for helping me.
Your recipes don’t fail.
Made this using vegan chicken stock and added veggies. It turned out so delicious :)
Makes all the difference using fresh tomatoes ???? love it ????
Full disclosure I’m a carnivore, but my wife asked me to make this and I did with some reservations, but y’all this is good! I was shocked how good it is without doing a thing to it.
So glad you liked it!
I am 13 years old and I was interested in cooking so my mom let mnme try this recipe out and my family absolutelky loved it. I MEAN lOVED IT.
It was also a great recipe because we’re in the holy month of Ramadan. Soup is a big dish before breaking the fast. I hope I find more recipes on your page!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment. So happy you loved the soup.
Great recipe, I substituted some thing because I did not have all ingredients. I used regular spaghetti. Broke into Fidel size, I use 10 cups water and like 3 big TBL Spoon of Knorr bouillon and
some tomato paste, added 1 chopped tomato, one chopped potato. Let boil/Simmer for awhile, browned spaghetti and I little onion, then added to broth and simmer all together til noodles are done.. pretty gooe😋
can it be made with chicken stock ? would it still requite 10 cups ?
Yes, still 10 cups
Hi Dora
I tried making this recipe for Fideo soup but it didn’t turn out well. I used only water instead of vegetable stock. I didn’t have any. So it needed salt. So I added in as much salt as I thought which is about 1 teaspoon.
I doubled the recipe because I had 2 little packages of fideo. I also added cheddar cheese at the end. I did use one zucchini and I did it like your recipe says. I never did use to fry the fideo either. But I did this time. It taste alright but had to add a little more salt. Why did you not say salt in recipe?
Hi Ramona, I usually recommend you add salt to taste.