Mexican Fideo Seco Recipe (Sopa Seca de Fideo)

Fideo seco or sopa seca is a traditional Mexican dish made with thin fideo noodles and cooked in a tomato sauce. This is an easy to make meal that’s full of rich flavors and quite budget friendly too. Serve it as a main dish or as side dish.

What is Fideo Seco

Fideo seco is comfort food.

Like it doesn’t matter if you’re Mexican and grew up eating it, or if your from another culture and just now discovering it — it’s simple and delicious comfort food.

This Mexican pasta is a dish made with thin noodles that are similar to angel hair pasta or rice vermicelli noodles.

They are called fideo and are the same noodles used in making sopa de fideo — in fact in Mexico at the grocery stores the noodles are also called sopa de fideo.

Some people also call this this Mexican-style pasta or Mexico’s version of spaghetti. The reason being that this dish too is cooked in a tomato sauce.

This type of Mexican pasta dish is very common in the Central regions of Mexico. It’s typically eaten as a main dish, but can also be served as a side.

It’s an incredibly flavorful pasta that is made with a fresh tomatoes sauce or salsa.

Depending on the region, or even family, the sauce can have dried chilies or chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, mixed into the sauce.

Fideo seco or sopa seca is also typically served with toppings.

The most common being Mexican crema (sour cream), crumbled queso fresco, avocado slices, sometimes fried strips of dried chiles may also be used.

Sopa Seca de Fideo

Some people know this dish by either fideo seco or sopa seca. It’s the same dish and they both describe a “dry” sauce or dry noodle soup, as opposed to the “sopa aguada” that indicates a brothy soup.

If you’re at a Mexican restaurant or in Central Mexico and you see sopa seca on the menu, make sure to clarify.

In these regions sopa seca can also describe either arroz rojo (red Mexican rice) or arroz blanco (white rice), so be aware of this.

Is This Recipe Vegan or Vegetarian

Traditionally speaking, not necessarily.

The reason for this is that people will cook the fideo in chicken broth or chicken stock or also chicken bouillon cubes diluted in water.

If you’re eating fideo seco that you didn’t make, be sure to ask about what type of broth was used in making the dish.

How to Make Vegan Fideo Seco

Make sure you use a fideo brand that’s free of any animal products.

Do use vegetable broth to cook the soup. As for the toppings use vegan crema and vegan queso.

How to Make Vegetarian Fideo Seco

You can use a vegan fideo or safe to use one that was made in a factory where dairy products where used — if you’re ok with that.

For the broth also vegetable broth, and you can use regular Mexican sour crema and either queso fresco or cotija cheese for topping.

Fideo Seco with Meat

I didn’t grow up eating fideo seco with meat. But there are people that will cook it with chorizo, chicharron, or some sort of meat.

If you wanted to veganize those traditional meat versions you could use vegan chorizo or vegan chicharron.

Ingredients Needed

The ingredients for fideo seco are so simple, really. You shouldn’t have any problem finding them all year long.

Look for my substitution suggestions too, in case you need them.

• fideo pasta (it’s thin vermicelli pasta)
• olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• fresh roma tomatoes
• white onion
• garlic cloves
• chipotle chile
• salt
• pepper
• vegetable broth

Ingredient Substitutions

Fideo is a pantry staple in Mexican homes, so you shouldn’t have a difficult time finding it at the Hispanic food isle of your local grocery stores.

You can also check get it on Amazon. I personally like to use the Moderna brand, but you can use whichever one you like.

Olive oil is what I use for health reasons but you can use your favorite vegetable oil.

If you can’t get white onion then brown onion or yellow onion is fine. Even shallots would work.

If fresh tomatoes are hard to find then you can use a cup of canned tomatoes or 1/2 cups of tomato puree. Blend with the other ingredients just the same. But do notice that the color will be different.

Instead of the chipotle en adobo, you could use a couple of hydrated guajillo chilies, or ancho chile, or any mild red chile you’d like.

Toppings for Fideo Seco

You can use most traditional toppings or add your own personal touch.

• Mexican crema (either vegan or regular)
• Queso fresco or cotija cheese (either vegan or milk-based)
• chopped avocado or avocado slices
• lightly fried dried chile slices
• lime wedges
• cilantro

How to Make Fideo Seco Pasta

The first thing you need to do is make the tomato sauce. Do so by blending the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle peppers and the salt and pepper. Blend until you have a smooth tomato-chipotle puree.

Next you can use a medium saucepan or a large skillet pan to heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot add the fideo. Stir often and cook until the pasta begins to turn a golden brown color. This step is to give the pasta a delicious nutty flavor.

Next and very carefully you’re going to pour in the tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. Allow to simmer over medium heat until nearly all of the sauce has been absorbed by the noodles. At this time the sauce longer tastes of raw onion.

Now you’re going to pour in the vegetable broth and stir until well combined. Set to a gentle simmer until all of the broth has been absorbed and the fideo is al dente or a bit more tender, it’s up to you.

If needed you can continue to add more broth to get pasta to your desired tenderness.

But remember that this is meant to be a dry soup, not a sopa aguada.

How to Serve This Mexican Pasta Dish

You can serve this topped with crema, queso, avocado, and a few fresh cilantro leaves.

Serve either a large portion as a main dish or smaller portions as a side dish.

This is a great recipe to keep on for busy nights when you want a quick meal. It’s one of those very common Mexican dishes often eaten in Mexican households.

How to Store & How to Reheat

Store leftovers in the refrigerator and consume within 5 days. Pasta can be frozen but you may not like the texture and it tends to absorb most of the sauce.

To reheat you can microwave for 30 seconds or longer, according to the amount of leftovers. You could also reheat in a pan.

More Pasta and Soup Recipes

Below are more delicious pasta meals that are all easy recipes.

• Easy Sopa de Fideo Recipe
• Mexican Shells Soup | Easy Sopa de Conchas
• Mexican Macaroni Salad Recipe | Ensalada de Coditos
• Espagueti Verde (Creamy Poblano Spaghetti) This is a vegetarian recipe that can be made vegan.
• Vegan Lentil Soup | Sopa de Lentejas
• The Best Vegetarian Mexican Albondigas Soup Recipe
• Veggie Loaded Miso and Sriracha Noodle Soup
• Vegan Alfredo Pasta with Broccoli
• Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta (Vegan, Gluten-Free) by Moon and Spoon and Yum

Mexican Fideo Seco Recipe (Sopa Seca de Fideo)

Nancy Lopez & MexicanMadeMeatless.com

Fideo seco or sopa seca is a traditional Mexican dish made with thin fideo noodles and cooked in a tomato sauce. This is an easy to make meal that’s full of rich flavors and quite budget friendly too. Serve it as a main dish or as side dish.

5 from 44 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Main Dish, Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican, vegan mexican

Servings 4 servings

Calories 465 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Fideo Seco Ingredients

• 8 oz fideo pasta (it’s thin vermicelli pasta)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil)
• 3 whole roma tomatoes chopped
• 1/4 medium white onion roughly chopped
• 2 whole garlic cloves
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce more if desired
• 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
• pinch ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable broth

Toppings for Fideo Seco

• 1/2 cup Mexican crema (either vegan or regular)
• 1/2 cup Queso fresco or cotija cheese (either vegan or milk-based)
• 1 whole avocado chopped or sliced
• lightly fried dried chile slices optional
• lime wedges optional
• cilantro

Instructions

 

• The first thing you need to do is make the tomato sauce. Do so by blending the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle peppers and the salt and pepper. Blend until you have a smooth tomato-chipotle puree.
  
• Next you can use a medium saucepan or a large skillet pan to heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot add the fideo. Stir often and cook until the pasta begins to turn a golden brown color. This step is to give the pasta a delicious nutty flavor.
  
• Next and very carefully you’re going to pour in the tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. Allow to simmer over medium heat until nearly all of the sauce has been absorbed by the noodles. At this time the sauce longer tastes of raw onion.
  
• Now you’re going to pour in the vegetable broth and stir until well combined. Set to a gentle simmer until all of the broth has been absorbed and the fideo is al dente or a bit more tender, it’s up to you. If needed you can continue to add more broth to get pasta to your desired tenderness. But remember that this is meant to be a dry soup, not a sopa aguada.
  
• You can serve this topped with crema, queso, avocado, and a few fresh cilantro leaves.
  

Video

Notes

Please note that if you serve as a side dish the nutritional information will differ. Additionally, so will, if you use more the listed amounts for the toppings.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servingsCalories: 465kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 12gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 1295mgPotassium: 404mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 586IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 154mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and tag me on social media @MexicanMadeMeatless or tag #mexicanmademeatless!

Nancy Lopez

Nancy Lopez is a food blogger and author of the cookbook Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Born in Mexico, raised in the US, and currently living in Southern Mexico, she has followed a meatless diet for almost 10 years. It is her passion and mission to share all she has learned about vegan Mexican cooking and vegetarian Mexican recipes. Mexican Made Meatless is a blog dedicated to preserving the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine just without the meat. It’s a place to celebrate Mexican culture and all it’s delightfully delicious traditional foods. Read more…