Hola friends! Late last night I flew back home from my vacation in Mexico and I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen today. One of my wonderful readers suggested Sopa de Fideo to me a couple weeks ago and I thought this would be an appropriate time to give it a try (kind of like a final celebration of all the wonderful things I saw and experienced in Mexico).
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What is Sopa de Fideo?
Sopa de Fideo, or Mexican Noodle Soup, is a simple and comforting tomato-based noodle soup. This incredibly easy soup is full of flavor and, of course, inexpensive (hello, budget-friendly). What makes it special is the toasted vermicelli noodles that add a little extra depth of flavor compared to your everyday noodle soup.
Jazz it Up!
There are a million ways to make Sopa de Fideo, so I put my own spin on it with a little cumin, lime juice, and fresh cilantro (because I LOVE lime in soup). If you want to make this soup a little heartier, you can add some shredded chicken, or store-bought rotisserie chicken. If you want to have fun with toppings, try a few chunks of avocado, some crumbled queso fresco, or even a few tortilla chips. I ate mine plain and simple as described below and loved every spoonful!
Try These Traditional Sopa de Fideo Recipes
As with just about everything I post on Budget Bytes, I’ve tweaked this classic recipe to fit my needs and palate. If you want to try the real deal and learn more about this awesome soup, make sure to check out some of these authentic Sopa de Fideo recipes:
- How to Make Sopa de Fideo from Dora’s Table
- Sopa de Fideo from Isabel Eats
- Mexican Sopa de Fideo from Mexico in My Kitchen
Sopa de Fideo
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 medium onion ($0.41)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.04)
- 8 oz uncooked vermicelli noodles ($0.75)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes ($1.39)
- 6 cups chicken broth ($0.79)
- 1 medium jalapeño (optional) ( $0.05)
- 1 medium lime ($0.25)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (optional) ($0.22)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic so they are ready to go when needed.
- Add the vegetable oil to a large soup pot. Break the vermicelli noodles into one to two inch sections and then add them to the pot. Cook the dry noodles in the oil over medium-low heat while constantly stirring for 3-5 minutes, or until the noodles have turned golden brown and are slightly blistered.
- Add the diced onion, minced garlic, and cumin to the pot with the noodles and continue to cook and stir for a few minutes more, or until the onions have softened.
- Add a little of the juice from the can of tomatoes to the pot to stop the browning of the noodles. Use a blender or immersion blender to purée the canned tomatoes along with their remaining juices. Add the puréed tomatoes to the pot with the noodles, along with the six cups of chicken broth.
- If using a jalapeño pepper, add it to the pot whole (this gives a slight jalapeño flavor without too much heat). Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium high, and allow it to come to a boil. Let the pot simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the noodles are soft.
- Add lime juice and roughly chopped cilantro leaves to the finished soup just before serving (I used juice from half the lime, but adjust to your liking).
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Sopa de Fideo – Step by Step Photos
First I diced one onion and minced two cloves of garlic. You can use a white or yellow onion here, whichever you have or prefer. I wanted these to be chopped and ready to go when I needed to add them to the pot. The next step of browning the noodles can go quickly, so you need to be prepared in order to prevent burning the noodles.
Add two tablespoons of vegetable oil to a large soup pot. Break 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) of vermicelli noodles into one to two-inch sections. Add them to the pot and cook while stirring over medium-low heat for a few minutes, or until the noodles are golden brown like this. Aim for about half of the noodles to be browned because they may brown slightly more in the next step.
Once the noodles look brown and a little blistered, add the pre-chopped onions, garlic, and cumin. Continue to cook while stirring for a few minutes more while the onions soften (the cumin will also toast a little in the process). The moisture released from the onions should slow down the browning of the noodles and keep them from going too far.
Next it’s time to purée the canned tomatoes. Why use whole tomatoes if you’re just going to purée them anyway? Rumor has it (that just means I forgot where I heard it) that the better tomatoes are used for “whole” canned tomatoes, while the poorer quality tomatoes are used for diced or crushed tomatoes. I don’t know if that’s true, but we’ll go with it today. Anyway…
Add a little of the juice from one 28-oz. can of whole tomatoes to the soup pot with the noodles to stop them from browning. Then add the rest (tomatoes and juices) to a blender and blend until they are puréed. I left mine just slightly chunky. Add the puréed tomatoes to the pot.
Also add 6 cups of chicken broth. I use Better Than Bouillon soup base to make my broth because it’s less expensive than canned broth and I can mix up any amount that I need. The little jar just sits in my fridge ready for whenever I need broth. (1 tsp chicken base + 1 cup water = 1 cup broth)
Lastly, add one WHOLE jalapeño to the pot. Why whole? It infuses the soup with a little jalapeño flavor without much heat. BUT take that with a grain of salt. Every pepper has its own level of heat, so I can’t guarantee that it won’t be spicy with this method. Just drop the pepper in whole, place a lid on the soup, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let it come to a boil. Let the soup boil for about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through.
Once the noodles are cooked, it’s time to add the final touches. A squeeze of lime juice and some roughly chopped cilantro. I used about half of the lime and 1/4 bunch of cilantro, but you can use more or less to taste.
Stir them in and serve. The longer the soup sits, the more the noodles will absorb the broth and fill up the pot. In this picture, right after simmering, it’s still pretty brothy. After taking all my photographs it was thick and noodly. YUM.
Amazing, simple, and delicious!
Dive in!
Love the recipe! I used a can of fire roasted tomatoes and blended the garlic with it before adding to the soup. This was my first attempt at fideo, and despite the 8 year old saying it was ‘too tomatoey’ it will not be the last!
YUM!!
This is my son’s favorite thing to get when we go out for Mexican food. I can’t wait to make it for him at home!
Can’t wait to hear what you all think Jen!
I’ve tried this recipe and it’s exactly like my mom made it. The only two things I added were potatoes and ground beef added more cumin, salt & pepper. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe.
Thanks for sharing Grace!
Absolutely delicious!! Was craving my mom’s sopa de fideo and ran into this recipe. Will definitely make again!! Easy and fast with avocado and corn chips. Soooo Flavorful !! had to have two big bowls :))
Thank you!!
Loved it was delicious and easy to make great on a cold winter night I give it 5 stars.
Wow this was amazing! I altered it a bit by taking a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 2 small onions, 3 garlic cloves, and a whole jalapeno into a blender. That gave it a really nice spicy taste. I added that to toasted spaghetti noodles. So good! This is just what I needed after a night of drinking lol
I made this today for lunch, what a tasty treat – Thank you, Beth! I followed the recipe for the most part. The only things I did differently was use vegetable broth in place of the chicken, I used a bit more cumin than instructed with an addition of garlic powder, and onion powder, and we like it spicy, so I flame-broiled the jalapeño and chopped it up and threw it in the pot. I’ll be making this ALL the time!!
I just started following your blog, and I have to say… it’s amazing! My question is whether you can make this using a slow-cooker? I know you wouldn’t be able to toast the vermicelli, but other than that, is it possible? Thank you in advance!
Hmm, probably, although you might want to add the pasta at the end so that it doesn’t get mushy.
Thanks for the recipe, it’s been awhile since I haven’t made sopa de fideo.
Delicious!
Needs salt.
This is exactly how my Mexican mother-in-law taught me how to make it 40 years ago. I still make it today and is always requested for all family gatherings. I make it the exact same way, right down to using the Better Than Bouillon, which is always in my refrigerator. I haven’t bought regular broth in years, total waste of money. And the BTB is delicious. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
I have loved Fideo for many years. My favorite toppings are sour cream avocado and a dash of Tejan spice. In fact I cooked this tonight with the cold weather we are having it warms the tummy.
What can I use in place of the canned tomatoes? I have fresh tomatoes and cans of tomato sauce, which is better to use and how much? Thank you so much for the recipe :)
I would suggest blending up enough tomatoes to make about four cups of tomato purée, then add it in like I did the canned tomatoes. You may need to adjust the salt, though.
I have never had sopa de fideo ever, but am a huge lover of Mexican foods. I used a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes instead, and added in two cups of Beth’s chili pulled pork I had stashed in my freezer. I also did add in the jalapeno, perfect amount of flavor!
Sopa de fideo is a HUGE staple in Mexican households! It’s something I love to eat when I’m feeling under the weather or the weather is *literally* terrible.
I recommend adding some cotija cheese (or queso fresco) on top and enjoy alongside with a few rolled-up tortillas to dip in the broth. Yum!
I have so much cooked rice in my freezer that I need to use up! Do you think this soup would do well with rice instead of the noodles?
It would probably taste pretty good. The toasted noodles do have a unique flavor, though!
Fry your rice. The cooking technique reminds me of rice-a-roni. All that is is vermicelli and rice. You just don’t cook it until all the water absorbs. I love fideo. My husband is a vegetarian, so I use veg boullion or sometimes I’ll use a Jumbo cube. Super easy and delicious!