Sopa de Fideo (Mexican Noodle Soup)
Sopa de fideo is a Mexican noodle soup made with a tomato-based broth that’s savory, flavorful, and comforting. Plus, it only takes 30 minutes to throw together! This is the perfect soup for family dinner (kids love it, too!) and always what I crave when I’m under the weather.
“This was very easy and super delicious! It’s definitely going in the rotation. The noodles absorbed some water overnight, but didn’t become soggy, and the leftovers were still really good.” – Lauren (So Much Food reader)
Table of Contents
What is Sopa de Fideo?
Sopa de Fideo is a brothy tomato and noodle soup with cultural roots in Mexico, Spain, and the Philippines. Fideos means “noodles” in Spanish. But the word actually refers to a particular kind of noodle — short and golden, with vermicelli-like thinness. The thin noodles are toasted prior to simmering, which is a benchmark characteristic of this soup.
Growing up with a hispanic parent means that so much good food was woven into my childhood. Whether it was my dad’s red chile chicken enchiladas, albondigas soup, or whole pollo asado, there was always something good cooking.
Sopa de fideo is an extremely simple recipe, but it’s one steeped in comfort and nostalgia. In the same way that a lot of folks long for tomato soup, sopa de fideo is that soup for me!
The whole soup takes less than 30 minutes to throw together and can be topped in a variety of ways! My favorite way to serve sopa de fideo is topped with onion, cilantro, and crema with warm tortillas on the side for dipping.
What You’ll Need for This Recipe
Jenny’s Tip: The beauty of this dish is that there are so many versions. Depending on how you grew up, your parents likely have a different recipe and method and that’s okay! This is my version of the classic Mexican fideo soup.
- Vermicelli for fideo. This is a specific kind of vermicelli noodles that’s cut down into small pieces. You can find it dried in the pasta aisle, or in the hispanic foods aisle of your grocery store.
- Tomatoes. I use roma tomatoes for this recipe for flavor. Any fresh tomato will do, including cherry tomatoes.
- Tomato paste. Tomato paste bolsters the flavor of the fresh tomato salsa.
- Onion. White onion is best here, but any onion will work. Save some diced white onion for topping the soup.
- Garlic. Roasting the garlic with the tomato makes the flavor base for this soup.
- Chicken broth. Use quality chicken stock or broth (homemade is preferable!) but you can use boxed chicken or vegetable broth.
- Spices. Cumin and oregano add classic Mexican cooking flavors.
- Olive oil. Olive oil is my go-to but any neutral oil will do.
Tools Needed
How to Make Sopa de Fideo (Like My Dad Does!)
Jenny’s Tip: When making sopa de fideo, and as with all my soups and braises, I highly recommend investing in a dutch oven. It’s a total workhorse in my kitchen and gets used almost daily.
- Roast the tomatoes. I quarter my tomatoes to speed up the roasting process (no need to peel), and toss them in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper for flavor. Keep the garlic cloves whole so they can roast without burning.
- Blend the roasted tomatoes. Add everything from the roasting sheet into a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Toast the fideo. Working in your dutch oven now, toast the fideo noodles in some oil until they’re golden brown. This will take around 3 minutes, so stir them constantly to prevent burning.
- Simmer until the noodles are tender. Add the remaining tomato paste, blended tomatoes, and spices to the pot and simmer just until the noodles are tender.
Jenny’s Tips for Making This Mexican Noodle Soup
- Always toast the fideo noodles. This is essential to making good sopa de fideo! It keeps the noodles from sticking together and becoming sticky and waterlogged.
- Start with fresh tomatoes. I know buying a can of tomatoes seems easier, but they won’t replicate the same fresh yet slightly caramelized flavor of actual roast tomatoes.
- Season to taste. The beauty of this soup lies in its simplicity. If your batch of soup tastes at all flat, it likely just needs more salt and pepper.
Tempted to Freeze the Leftovers? Don’t!
If you find that you have leftover Sopa de Fideo, it’s easy to store!
- Roasted tomato sauce: Can be stored in the freezer for 3 months or in the fridge for 3 days.
- Leftover soup: Let it come to room temperature before refrigerating for up to 5 days.
- To reheat: This is one soup that’s best reheated over medium-low heat on the stove. The soup will get thicker as it sits, so add broth when reheating to thin it out.
I don’t recommend freezing the soup because the noodles don’t hold up very well when defrosted.
Serving Suggestions
You can enjoy this tomato noodle soup as an appetizer or side dish for your favorite Mexican entrees, or you can slurp it down as a main dish soup. Try serving it with the following Mexican-inspired dishes:
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More Mexican-Inspired Soups to Try Now
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Sopa de Fideo Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 roma tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons olive oil , divided
- 3/4 white onion , diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 8 oz fideo noodles
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper
Fideo Toppings
- 1/4 white onion , small diced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 4 tablespoons Mexican crema
- 1 lime , cut into wedges
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 400ºF. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the tomato sauce. Quarter the tomatoes and add them to the tray with the whole garlic cloves. Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes.
- Blend. Transfer the roasted tomatoes, garlic, and any juices from the baking sheet to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Toast the fideo. Heat the remaining olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the dry fideo vermicelli to the pot and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes until the noodles are golden brown. Add the diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
- Add the tomato sauce and paste. Once the onions are soft, add the tomato paste and blended tomato sauce to the pot and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cumin, oregano, and broth to the pot and season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve Sopa de Fideo topped with diced onion, cilantro, crema, and with lime wedges on the side.
Notes
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Rate & Review This Recipe
This was very easy and super delicious! It’s definitely going in the rotation. The noodles absorbed some water overnight, but didn’t become soggy, and the leftovers were still really good.