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Let's be honest for half a second. One of Mexico's most beloved home-style soups, sopa de fideo is just noodles and tomatoes. That's it. And somehow, this recipe takes those two things, plus some hints of ancho and coriander, and manages to make them nothing reminiscent of canned tomato soup or SpaghettiOs and more dialed-in than the usual pot you've had maybe a zillion times before.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Swap in rice vermicelli or a GF fideo style noodle. They won't toast up the same as wheat fideo, but still make a great brothy soup.
Roast the onion, tomato, garlic and chile under the broiler instead of on the stovetop, cuts the roasting time way down.
Skip the store-bought broth and use a homemade vegetable stock instead, way cheaper and puts kitchen scraps to good use.
Beans stirred in add protein and fiber, and turn this into more of a full meal.
Can't find dried ancho chile? A couple teaspoons of smoked paprika gets you a somehwat similar smoky flavor, no specialty shop visit required.
Pale, greasy noodles equal boring soup, period. Likewise, don't get these too deeply brown or they will not swell up correctly as you simmer them in the stock.
We're roasting the dried ancho with the veggies to toast it up. But because we don't want it to burn, it's nice to place some of the Roma tomato pieces on top of the chile to provide a wee bit of moisture as the pan roasts.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
All legit sopa de fideo recipes agree on the same sacred rules and yes, we're following them, if not bending them a tiny bit. Because chicken stock, or chicken bouillon? Honestly, I like to leave chicken broth where it belongs, inside the chicken who is safely being left alone in a field somewhere while it drinks lemonade and wears a hat with its friends.
The noodles get toasted first. This is not a suggestion. Skipping it is how disappointment enters the chat. You know how else things get lame? By trying to use tomato sauce in place of a roasted fresh tomato-based broth. I mean sometimes that happens in Mexican households to save a tiny bit of time, but we just aren't gonna do that.
The tomato base gets blended smooth too. No room for chunkiness up in this. It's not sopa de lentejas, pozole verde, or pozole rojo.
I tried it many different ways, and while roasting the veggies adds a few minutes of extra passive waiting time, it really makes the broth taste quite a bit more sophisticated without relying on more and more ingredients that will be a pain to find and will def piss you off.
Go ahead and grab your soup pot and let's get you looking competent AF in the kitchen.
Really good! Flavorful, comforting. A very doable after-work soup, and roasting the tomatoes means that you can amp flavor out of grocery store winter tomatoes and get a premium result. All of the timing guidance in the recipe was right on. I never would have thought about putting coriander in a Mexican recipe, but it was perfect. I probably halved the salt, which worked well for us - and we added some slow-cooked cranberry beans to leftover soup the next day, and that was a hearty addition.
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll adore this vegan fideo soup recipe
🔥 Toasted Noodle Plot Twist: Toasting the fideo changes everything and I mean everything. Skip it and the soup is fine. Do it and suddenly you're like wait hold on why is this better.
⏱️ Cooks Before You Lose Patience: With under 15 mins of actual prep time, and most of the cooking time spent waiting for it to do its thing, this is a great soup when you are multitasking in the kitchen or just need something that doesn't demand your whole afternoon.
🛒 No Grocery Store Side Quest: This soup relies on just a handful of pretty basic ingredients you already recognize and trust. No frantic Googling in aisle 7. No "I'll never use this again" purchases.
Tested Worldwide: Like all my vegan recipes, this recipe was tweaked and adjusted to perfection with feedback from hundreds of recipe testers from all over the world. No cap. 🧢
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🍲 Sopa de Fideo Ingredients
Roma Tomatoes
Romas are great for roasting, and stay fairly consistent in size, so they are great for recipes like this. I also use them in salsa ranchera, mole poblano and my vegan torta adobada recipe, because unlike other tomatoes they aren't that watery.
That being said, if you cant get Romas, most are between 2-4 ounces (57-113 grams), so feel free to use that weight as a guide to figure how many of a different kind of tomato to substitute.
Dried Ancho Chile
Roasted ancho chile adds a fruity, subtle smoky essence to the broth without blowing out the spice level. If you can't find ancho, guajillo is a good swap, or use a couple of teaspoons of smoked paprika instead.
If you get a whole bag and don't know what the heck to do with the rest of 'em, rock them in my vegan carne asada, chile de arbol salsa, or vegan tamales.
Ground Cumin
I grind my own cumin from the best cumin seeds I have ever tasted. I am talking about the wild mountain cumin seeds from Burlap and Barrel. Of course, any old cumin will work, but I am just letting you in on what I do, because I think it's just wayyyy tastier!
Get my fave cumin seeds for free!
Using this link, add the wild mountain cumin to your cart, spend at least $15 on some of the other absurdly good spices from Burlap & Barrel (they all seriously slap) and the bottle of this bangin' wild mountain cumin becomes FREE, and you will love it so much.
Fideo Noodles
These thin noodles are a little thinner than spaghetti, but not as thin as angel hair pasta. They come pre-broken into lille 1-inch sections. Thin durum wheat vermicelli snapped into short pieces is the closest substitute.
Vegetable Broth
The only reason I am bringing this up here is that my recipe relies on fully unsalted vegetable stock. If you can only find salted, or low sodium, just back off on the amount of salt you add to this soup accordingly. Some salted vegetable broths are so salty, I'd recommend adding no extra at all.
Vegan Sour Cream (Optional)
Some folks like some sour cream on their sopa, and they aren't committing any kind of crime here. This is a safe space. Especially if you use my super-easy vegan sour cream recipe!
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make this vegan sopa de fideo recipe
Sure, you can sprint straight to the recipe card if hunger is screaming, or stick around for the step-by-step hand-holding that prevents you from staring into the pot whispering "interesting" when things go sideways.
Step One
Veggie Miller:
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Add the onion, tomatoes, garlic, ancho chile, and olive oil to a medium bowl and toss until everything is evenly coated.
Step Two
Roastbusters:
Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking pan. Roast for 25-28 minutes, flipping once at the 15-minute point, until soft with light charring, then remove and let cool for 5 minutes.
Step Three
Blend It Like Beckham:
Place the roasted vegetables and chile into a blender and process until completely smooth. Set the mixture aside.
Step Four
I'm Cumin Out. I Want the World to Know:
Warm olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. After 90 seconds, once the oil is hot, add the cumin, coriander, oregano, and black pepper, stirring constantly for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Step Five
Fideo Killed the Radio Star:
Add the fideo noodles and stir to coat them evenly in the oil and spices. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until lightly golden brown.
Step Six
Sim Simmer. Who's Got the Keys to My Bimmer:
Pour in the vegetable broth, blended tomato mixture, and salt. Stir well, bring to a steady simmer over medium heat, then lower to medium-low and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender.
Step Seven
Fideo (not the secret password in Eyes Wide Shut):
Serve hot on its own or topped with white onion, fresh cilantro, vegan sour cream, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
💡Serving Ideas
So many killer 'Merican meals are made even better with some soup!
Serving this with vegan carnitas tortas, lion's mane fajitas, vegan tostadas, or tofu chorizo stuffed vegan taquitos.
Some tortilla chips with jalapeño salsa, salsa macha, or roasted habanero salsa on the side are pretty much nonnegotiable.
👉 Top tips
- Toast the Fideo Until Lightly Golden: Pale, greasy noodles equal boring soup, period. Likewise, don't get these too deeply brown or they will not swell up correctly as you simmer them in the stock.
- Prevent the Ancho Chile From Drying Out: We're roasting the dried ancho with the veggies to toast it up. But because we don't want it to burn, it's nice to place some of the Roma tomato pieces on top of the chile to provide a wee bit of moisture as the pan roasts.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Sopa de fideo starts with toasted noodles, which adds depth and keeps the broth from tasting flat. Most noodle soups, including my vegan chicken noodle soup skips that step and lean entirely on the liquid for flavor.
It should be brothy but not watery. The noodles absorb some liquid, but there should still be enough broth to comfortably spoon.
❄️ Refrigeration
Let the soup cool completely, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The noodles will keep absorbing liquid, so expect it to thicken.
🧊 Freezing
If you plan on freezing this soup, try to undercook the noodles a little so they aren't too beat up by the time they freeze, thaw and reheat. Freeze the soup in a freezer-safe container with a little headspace. It keeps well for up to 3 months, though the noodles may soften slightly.
🌡️ Thawing
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat gently from frozen on the stovetop with extra broth to loosen it.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating
Warm over medium-low heat. Heat for 4-5 minutes just until warmed through to avoid overcooking the noodles.
✌️You'll also love these vegan Mexican recipes:
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Sopa de Fideo Recipe
Ingredients
For roasting:
- 1 medium white onion peeled and quartered
- 4 roma tomatoes quartered
- 6 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 dried ancho chile stem and seeds removed
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 7 oz fideo noodles or thin vermicelli noodles
- 8 cups unsalted vegetable broth
- 2 ¼ teaspoons salt or to taste
Optional Toppings:
- 2 tablespoons white onion diced
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- ⅓ cup vegan sour cream
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Place the onion, tomatoes, garlic, ancho chile and olive oil in a medium bowl and toss until all veggies are coated in oil.
- Spread into a single layer on a parchment-lined baking pan and roast for 25-28 minutes, turning the vegetables once at the 15-minute mark, until softened and lightly charred in spots. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the roasted vegetables and chile to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the cumin, coriander, oregano, and black pepper. Stir constantly for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the fideo noodles and stir to coat evenly in the oil and spices. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until the noodles are lightly toasted.
- Add the vegetable broth, pureed roasted vegetables and salt. Stir thoroughly, bring to a steady simmer over medium heat, then reduce to medium-low heat and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until the noodles are tender.
- Serve hot on its own or garnished with white onion, cilantro, vegan sour cream, and lime wedges.
Notes
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Sally says
Really good! Flavorful, comforting. A very doable after-work soup, and roasting the tomatoes means that you can amp flavor out of grocery store winter tomatoes and get a premium result. All of the timing guidance in the recipe was right on. I never would have thought about putting coriander in a Mexican recipe, but it was perfect. I probably halved the salt, which worked well for us - and we added some slow-cooked cranberry beans to leftover soup the next day, and that was a hearty addition.
hg says
Another soup that made my soup rotation list. Kind of like a Mexican tomato noodle soup. Simple, with exotic flavors . Very comforting.