Easy Sopa de Fideo Recipe
Sopa de fideo is Mexican noodle soup cooked in a light tomato broth. It’s Mexican comfort food that is inexpensive, quick and easy to prepare. You can have it on the table in about 30 minutes.
What is Sopa de Fideo
Sopa (pronounced soh-paw) means soup in Spanish. Fideo (pronounced fee-deh-oh) means noodles. Sopa de fideo!
This is one of those dishes that every Mexican grows up eating. Mexican moms often serve it for lunch. It may even make an appearance at the dinner table on chilly nights.
This is one of the most basic and popular Mexican recipes. The soup is so easy to make because the ingredients are few and they won’t break the budget!
Another name for this is sopa de pasta.
Other Sopita Version
If you’re looking for a similar soup but with shell pasta, then make my Mexican sopa de conchas. Sopa de letras also uses all the same ingredients and these are just as easy to make as fideo soup.
Why You Should Make Sopa de Fideo
This is one of those Mexican soups that the whole family will love. It uses simple ingredients that aren’t difficult to find and don’t cost an arm and a leg.
It may use simple ingredients but the depth of flavor is incredible. Serve it with some toppings and warm corn tortillas to created and delicious meal.
Definitely make a large pot to feed many people or to keep enjoying throughout the week.
Vegan Sopa de Fideo Ingredients
To make this soup you only need about 8 ingredients. Isn’t that great?!
Yes of course there’s variations to the recipes. But these are the most basic and commonly used ingredients.
- fresh tomatoes (preferably roma tomatoes)
- onion (white is most common in Mexico)
- garlic
- fideo noodles
- salt
- water
- vegetable broth (or a bouillon cube or bouillon powder)
- oil (I like to use olive oil but you can use vegetable oil instead)
Additional ingredients like spices or herbs like fresh cilantro may also be added, you can also sprinkle in some ground black pepper if desired.
Is Sopa de Fideo Vegan
Traditionally, sopa de fideo tends not to be vegan.
The reason is that unlike my recipe where I’m using vegetable broth (or vegetable stock), other cooks and restaurants will use chicken broth instead.
So be aware of this when eating out!
To be sure just make my sopa at home and you’ll be guaranteed it to be 100% vegan!
What are Fideo Noodles
Fideo is a very thin Mexican pasta noodle that is quite small and short noodles.
They are like thin spaghetti or vermicelli noodles but made of durum wheat instead of rice.
You can find fideo at the Mexican or Hispanic food aisle of any grocery stores. (Look in the pasta aisle of your grocery store first.) You can also find them on Amazon. This is the brand that I use.
If you can’t find fideo pasta then you can use angel hair pasta which are also very thin noodles. Any brand that has thin pasta like these will work.
By the way if you like the pot I use, it’s an Amazon Basics Dutch oven and it’s under $50. You can click here to go check it out, they have blue and a few other gorgeous colors.
Other Ingredients You Can Add to Fideo
If you’d like to make the soup a bit heartier you can add some frozen mixed vegetables.
Some people like to add albondigas or meatballs and potatoes.
Occasionally I’ll add frozen peas or homemade chickpeas or a can of garbanzo beans, drained of course.
How to Make Sopa de Fideo
It’s and incredibly easy soup and a classics of Mexican soup recipes.
- The tomato, onion, garlic and water are blended to make the tomato mixture to create the sauce.
- The fideo is lightly toasted until golden brown.
- The blended tomato puree is added then allowed to simmer with the vermicelli.
- Next the broth, salt and any additional herbs are added and soup simmered until the fideo is tender or al dente.
- Now you’re ready to enjoy!
Why is The Pasta Cooked in Oil
First thing you need to know about this is not to skip this step!
So the reason for cooking the noodles like this is to lightly toast or brown them. For the best results, toast noodles but keep and eye on them that they don’t turn dark brown and burn.
This helps prevent the noodles from getting mushy once simmered with the tomato sauce and water.
Additionally this step adds a hint of nuttyness to the soup. It’s delicious, trust me!
How to Serve Sopa de Fide0 (Vegan and Vegetarian Options)
You can give your sopa an additional boost of flavors with toppings and sides.
For vegan toppings you can add avocado slices, pickled jalapeños, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Vegetarian topping options are sour cream and queso fresco or cotija cheese. You could add these plus the vegan toppings for a burst of flavors.
If you want crema but want a vegan option you can make my Mexican crema recipe.
If you’d like you can also serve warm corn tortillas on the side.
You can serve this savory soup as a side dish, a main or just a quick lunch. I do think it’ll quickly become one of your favorite soups.
How to Store Fideo Soup Leftovers
You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator. First allow the soup to come to cool down before pouring into an airtight container.
Leftovers will keep fresh for days. But because this is pasta you really don’t want to let it go past 3 days before they noodles absorb all of the broth.
Tips to Make The BEST Sopa de Fideo
To make perfect fideo soup every time you really just need to follow the recipe as written.
Don’t skip on browning the fideo. This not only adds flavor but also prevents the noodles from going mushy.
You may be tempted to add more tomatoes for a stronger tomato taste — please don’t. Doing so will make your soup thicker, and you want some broth in it.
Also if you can try to use ripe tomatoes. Ones that are bright red and a bit soft. If possible avoid hard and dull tomatoes. They’ll not give enough flavor to the soup and won’t blend as well.
9 Vegan Mexican Soup Recipes to Try
- The Best Vegetarian Mexican Albondigas Soup Recipe
- How to Make Vegan Pozole Rojo
- Vegan Pozole Verde Recipe (2 Ways)
- Instant Pot Menudo Made Vegan
- Corn and Poblano Pepper Soup with a Touch of Curry Powder
- Mexican Sopa de Conchas or Shell Pasta Soup
- Frijoles Charros | Mexican Charro Beans Recipe
- Vegan Mexican Lentil Soup | Sopa de Lentejas
- Easy Mexican Fava Bean Soup
Sopa de Fideo Recipe
This is one of the easiest soups you’ll ever make, the traditional recipe is easy to follow and all of the details are in the recipe card.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Otherwise enjoy my Mexican sopa de fideo recipe.
Sopa de Fideo Recipe
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- 3 whole Roma tomatoes cut into 1/4ths
- ½ cup white onion chopped
- 2 whole garlic cloves
- ¾ cup water
Soup Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
- one 7.05 oz pack of fideo
- 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
Vegan
- 1 whole Pickled jalapeños
- 1 teaspoon vegan sour cream
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons avocado
Vegetarian
- Any of the above but use regular crema fresca instead of vegan
- 1 Tablespoon crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese
Instructions
Tomato Sauce Instructions
- Place the tomatoes, onio, garlic and water into a blender. Blend until smooth then set aside.
Soup Instructions
- Over medium-low heat, heat the oil in a large pot, once warm add the fideo noodles. Stir to coat the fideo with the oil. Keep stirring and allow the noodles to toast or begin to brown. Don’t walk away, you don’t want the noodles to burn!
- Once toasted add the tomato sauce — be careful it may splutter from the heat. Quickly stir until everything is well combined. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 8 minutes. The tomato sauce needs to thicken a little bit and turn a darker red color.
- Next pour in the vegetable broth, add the cilantro if using and the salt, mix until well combined. Partially cover the pot and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the noodles are soft and tender but now mushy!
- Taste and adjust salt if desired. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Top with you favorite toppings and enjoy!
Nutrition
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 grew up with this soup but never got the recipe from my mom. Thank you will be making it for lunch this week
Thanks, Arely and enjoy your soup!
I’ve always wanted to make this. It’s been a traditional sopa in New Mexican homes for several generations so I see it a lot, just have never made it. I love your recipe. Thanks!
Hi MJ!
I had not idea it was also traditional in New Mexican cuisine, how neat! Enjoy your sopa 🙂
I grew up with this soup! I made it today when I saw Mexican made meatless’s post on it. It came out delicious!!!
Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for the great review. Enjoy your sopa!
So happy you enjoyed it, thank you Georgina.
This looks so good! What a great recipe to make on a weekday or for guests!
Thank you Suzanne and yes perfect weekday meal. Enjoy!