Mexican Shell Soup (Easy Sopa de Conchas Recipe)
This Mexican shell soup, or sopa de conchas, uses simple ingredients to make a hearty, filling, budget friendly meal that the will become a family favorite – yes, even picky eaters will love. Serve it for lunch, dinner or as an entrée, it’s delicious every way.
What is Sopa De Conchas
Sopa means soup in Spanish, and conchas means shells – and in this case shells as in pasta shells. Some people also call it sopita or sopa aguada.
Amigos, this Mexican shell soup is made with a flavorful tomato broth made using fresh tomatoes, toasted shell noodles, and simmered in vegetable broth.
Sopa de conchas is one of the more popular options in Mexican cuisine and though it’s simple ingredients, it’s packed full of delicious flavor.
This, just like sopa de fideo, is a classic soup we all grow up eating. It’s ultimate comfort food for Mexicans and it spark wonderful memories of our mamás or abuelas serving us a big bowl of this sopita.
Other Mexican Sopita with Pasta
This Mexican shell pasta soup isn’t the only type of sopita or Mexican pasta soups that we eat.
This soups is also categorized as a “sopa aguada” which means a brothy soup. There are many varieties of shapes of pasta range and with other type of pasta shapes and all made with a tomato-based broth.
There is sopa de fideo made with thin and short vermicelli noodles, there’s estrellita which is star pasta, coditos which is elbow macaroni, letra which is alphabet pasta, moño which is bow ties …just to name a few.
We Mexicans eat sopita all year round, doesn’t matter if it’s cold outside or if it’s hot…sopas and caldos are served.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• This soup can be served as a side dish or main dish.
• Makes a quick and easy weeknight meal ready in about 20 minutes.
• It’s a light, filling, and satisfying soup.
• This is a budget-friendly recipe.
• Made with pantry staple ingredients and can be made with different pasta shapes in the Mexican food isle.
Mexican Shell Soup Ingredients
These simple ingredients are pantry basics so you should always have them available in your kitchen. A great thing about this easy recipe is that they are all budget friendly items and you can make a big pot of this to feed quite a few people.
Check the bottom of this post for ingredient links as well as more Mexican noodle soup recipes.
Pasta Shells
You can find conchas pasta at any Mexican food store, on Amazon, or at a regular grocery store. Choose dry shell pasta that is small so it works best with the other ingredients called for. If you can’t find this then use small elbow macaroni, like the one pictured here.
The pasta is semolina and durum wheat and, at least the one I use and linked to above, uses no animal products, so it’s vegan! To make it gluten free then simply use your favorite gluten-free pasta but read the instructions carefully.
Roma Tomatoes
In Mexican cooking you always want to use fresh roma tomatoes. We don’t use canned tomatoes, tomato sauce — and in fact tomato paste is incredibly difficult to find. There’s nothing wrong with these ingredients, they just have a very different taste that is not typical of authentic Mexican dishes.
We don’t want our sopa to taste like tomato soup, so try to use fresh tomatoes if possible. I do understand that not everyone has access to fresh year round, so check the recipe card below for tips for making this using a can of tomato sauce.
White Onion and Garlic Cloves
These two ingredients are absolutely vital to the recipe. They lend such deliciousness so don’t skip them. Do use fresh for both instead of powder or ground, again it’s just a different taste not to mention that this recipe has not been tested using ground garlic or onion.
Water and Broth
You’ll need a little bit of water to get the blender going and the broth you’ll need to cook the shell soup.
Traditionally chicken broth is what’s used, but we are going to use vegetable broth instead to make this sopa a vegan one. (Be careful with this when you go out to eat, more often than not it’s chicken stock that they’ll use.)
If you don’t have vegetable broth you can mix the cups of water with vegetable bouillon powder or vegetable stock cubes or a vegan base like Better Than Bouillon, just follow the package instructions.
Salt and Fresh Cilantro
The seasonings for this soup are so basic. Most of the flavor will come from the tomato sauce and a good veggie broth. But salt and cilantro also play their part in the flavor profile.
Can you Add Vegetables
Yes you can, it’s not necessary but some people do like to add veggies for a heartier soup.
Let me point out that if you add vegetables to the recipe below, then you’ll need to add more vegetable broth. Also if you’re going to add veggies then make sure they are chopped into very small pieces.
You can use your favorite veggies but some common vegetables you could use are small pieces of green beans, carrots, peas, chayote or zucchini. Do keep in mind that chopping the vegetables will add additional prepping and cooking time to the recipe.
Can You Add Other Spices or Ingredients
You could if you’d like. But the sopita recipe I’m providing is the method most commonly used for this traditional Mexican soup.
I did a quick search and apparently some people use epazote instead of cilantro. For the spices some suggested additional ingredient variations of oregano, cumin for a smoky touch. But again, these extra ingredients will add a different flavor.
If you wanted to add a touch of heat you could add a serrano or jalapeño pepper to the pot. Just rinse and slice in half to add the spicy touch.
Additionally I saw a recipe that called for adding ground beef, but I don’t know about this because my mom never used it…so I don’t know if it’s authentic or not. More importantly, we wouldn’t be doing this in a plant-based sopita recipe anyway.
Is The Oil Necessary
This step is quite a similar recipe to when making Mexican rice. The pasta needs to be toasted until slightly golden brown.
The oil is used to toast, or brown pasta shells, until golden and it’s because this gives the shells a slight nuttiness to them and makes for a more flavorful broth and soup.
If you skip the oil and toasting step then the texture of the shells will be different. It’ll still taste good…just not as good, in my opinion.
How to Make Sopa de Conchitas
One of the most beautiful things about this soup is that it’s so easy to prepare. Unlike other recipes that use salsa, in this one you’ll never have to boil or roast the tomatoes before blending to make the salsa.
Step 1: Make The Tomato Sauce
Place the roma tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, salt, and a little bit of water in the blender cup. Blend until completely smooth then set aside for a few minutes.
Toast the Shells
Warm up the olive oil (or vegetable oil) in a medium-large pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat, Then once hot carefully pour in the dry pasta shells. Stir often and allow to toast evenly.
Keep a close eye on it so the pasta doesn’t burn. It should turn a light golden brown color.
Step 3: Add The Tomato Sauce
Next, carefully, pour in the blended tomato sauce over the shells. Stir until well combined and allow to simmer for over medium heat for about 6 minutes, or just until the sauce thickens up. Stir now and then and don’t let it burn.
Step 4: Add Broth and Simmer
Next carefully pour in the vegetable broth and drop in the cilantro sprigs. Give the pot a good stir, partly cover, and allow to low simmer over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until you have al dente or tender pasta shells.
Check on the sopa now and again so it doesn’t burn or overcook and turn soggy.
Test for doneness and also seasoning, adjust seasoning if desired by adding more salt and a pinch of black pepper if desired.
How to Serve Sopa de Conchas
This soup is incredibly flavorful and delicious just on it’s own right out of the pot but you could also serve it as a side dish to any appetizer.
But garnishes such as queso fresco, some lime wedges or even lemon wedges, a little bit of sour cream, chopped avocado, all make a delicious addition to the soup.
If serving as a main dish you could serve with warm tortillas, I like corn best. If serving as an entrée then this would be great with just about any main dish. The day I made this sopa recipe I served some tacos de bistec as the main dish and the sopita as the entrée, it was delicious!
How to Store
This soup, like my fideo recipe and other pasta soups, is really best enjoyed the day you make it. The reason being that the pasta keeps absorbing the tomato broth and it gets starts resembling a pasta dish instead of soup.
However, you can allow leftovers to come to room temperature, place into an airtight container, then store in the fridge and eat within a few days for the best flavor and texture.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing because again the pasta will absorb too much liquid and the texture will change. Freezing pasta holds up better when it’s just the noodles and no sauce or liquid.
How to Reheat
Reheat your leftovers in a medium pot, over low heat on the stove top for about 8 minutes or until warmed through. In the microwave it takes only a couple of minutes.
Is Sopa de Conchas Vegan
Yes, this sopa de conchas recipe is 100% vegan!
The pasta shells are made without any egg or animal products and the rest of the ingredients are naturally vegan. Please read the package to find the exact ingredients in whatever brand you use.
Mexican Shell Soup Recipe
You simply have to make this popular recipe that is a favorite in most Mexican homes. This simple Mexican soup recipe uses staple ingredients that are budget friendly, it has great flavor, can be made with different types of pasta, and I promise your whole family will love it.
Ok amigos, thanks for stopping by and I truly hope you give this recipe a try. Below you’ll find the printable recipe or you can click on the heart to save it and come back to it anytime you want.
Below the recipe you’ll find some affiliate links to Amazon so you can get things you’ll need for this recipe. Remember that I make a small commission from sales and that is invested right back into making new recipes for you. Gracias!
Gracias
I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
More Mexican Sopa Recipes to Try
Don’t miss any of these yummy Mexican recipes!
- Easy Sopa de Fideo
- Tortilla Soup (30-Minute Recipe)
- Vegan Lentil Soup | Sopa de Lentejas
- Instant Pot Menudo Made Vegan
- How to Make Vegan Pozole Rojo
- Sopa de Habas or Fava Bean Soup
- Vegan Menudo
- Corn and Poblano Pepper Soup with a Touch of Curry Powder
Mexican Shells Soup | Easy Sopa de Conchas
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- 3 whole Roma tomatoes cut into quarters
- ½ cup chopped white onion it's about half a medium onion
- 2 whole cloves garlic
- ¾ cup of water
Soup Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil
- one 8 oz dry shell pasta small conchitas
- 5 cups vegetable broth store bought or homemade
- 2 sprigs cilantro optional
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste keep in mind the saltiness of the broth you use
Topping Options
- 1 teaspoon sour cream*
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons avocado
- 1 Tablespoon crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese*
- 1 Pickled jalapeños
Instructions
Tomato Sauce Instructions
- Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic and water into a blender. Blend until smooth then set aside. (If using canned tomato sauce use 1 cup or 8oz then add the onion, garlic, and water to the blender cup.)
Soup Instructions
- In a large stockpot and over medium heat, warm up the oilve oil or vegetable oil. Then once hot carefully pour in the dry pasta shells. Stir often and allow to toast.You need to keep a close eye on it so the pasta doesn’t burn.
- Next pour in the blended tomato sauce over the shells. Stir until well combined and allow to simmer for over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes or just until the sauce thickens up.
- Now you’ll carefully pour in the broth and drop in the cilantro sprigs. Give the pot a good stir, partly cover and allow to simmer over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until the shell pasta is tender. Check on the sopa now and again so it doesn’t burn or overcook.
- Taste and adjust salt if desired. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Top with you favorite garnishes and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
(Please notice that this article contains Amazon affiliate links, which may earn us a small commission if you make a purchase through them. Your support helps us continue to provide valuable content.)
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…
I love the simplicity of this soup, just the homemade broth and the shells. I have to pin this so I don’t forget this recipe.
Yes it’s incredibly simple but somehow so full of flavor. Enjoy!
I can’t thank you enough for this great recipe! My picky eater daughter loved it!
So happy to hear this Natalie, thank you!
This Mexican Shells Soup was the perfect comfort meal! So easy and delicious!
Thank you Kayla!
wow this soup was so flavourful! It was easy to make for a busy weeknight meal too
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, thank you Nancy!
This looks delicious. I love that you use fresh tomatoes. I can’t wait to try this.
Fresh tomatoes are a must 🙂 Thank you Andrea!
This soup is so simple and yet the flavors are so complex! definitely adding this one to the dinner rotation!
Yes exactly, thank you Jill!
I was looking for an easy soup recipe like this! I love adding all the toppings too, just for a little something special at lunchtime. Delicious!
So glad you found it, thank you!
Oh that’s great and you are welcome!
I really like your suggestion of adding sour cream to this pasta soup. Great combination!
It gives it a creaminess to the broth, really yummy. Thank you Leslie!
That’s wonderful to hear, thank you Gwen!
This was so easy to make, and the best part was that I already had all the ingredients in my pantry!
Thank you Peter!
We loved the Sopa de Conchas. I served it for lunch yesterday and it was so delicious and flavorful. Thank you for this great recipe.
Thank you so much Michele, happy to hear it!
Had these once at a resturaunt…needed to make these at home!
I hope you try the soup soon, enjoy!
I love how this soup came out. It was so simple to make, but had so much flavor. The broth was delicious.
So happy to hear this, Katie. Thank you!
I love the simplicity of this Mexican Shells Soup recipe, yet it is so flavorful. We will be making this on repeat for sure now!
It’s so simple and delicious, happy you enjoyed it. Thanks!
It just gies to show you how simple grwat ingredients can give a wonderful end result like this soup! I can only imagine how flavorful this is!❤️
Yes, exactly! Wish I could send you a big bowl.
Yum
Excellent!! I saw your post on Instagram and with it being rainy today it seemed like a perfect day to make this. Coziness in a bowl. Will absolutely make again
Thank you Heather! Sopita always hits the spot on a rainy day. 🙂