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.
Used homemade chicken stock to make it authentic and flavorful and added some carrots and a little chopped chicken. Make sure to get about half the uncooked noodles you fry for this to a dark brown color (just shy of burnt). Divine.
Tastes just like my mom’s! I never thought it would be this easy to make. I added soy curls, carrots, celery, and potatoes to make it more filling :)
Yum! Glad you liked it.
Brought back so many childhood memories of my grandmothers cooking.
That makes me so happy!
Made this tonight it was wonderful . I didn’t have cilantro, and used lemon instead of lime. enjoyed it very much!!
So happy to hear!
I love this recipe. The blending of the tomatoes, onion and garlic is just so delicious. I made the recipe but did not have all the ingredients, and it still turned out great! This site and FB page is one of my very favorites.
Thank you Melissa!!