This is my kid’s absolute favorite dish. This is what they request even for their birthday meal. It’s Mexican comfort food. It was one of my favorites growing up and still is. I often get requests for the recipe. It has evolved somewhat over the years. This is how I make it now:
2 packages La Moderna pasta 7 oz. each (These are from Mexico found in most grocery stores in the Mexican food aisle.)
2 (8 oz) cans of tomato sauce
4 table spoons chicken bouillon (Knorr for the authentic flavor)
Oil
I like to spice it up a little more with a couple dashes of Fajita Seasoning and a dash red pepper flakes
Fry the pasta with about two table spoons of oil until the pasta is very brown.
Carefully add the tomato sauce and 6 cans of hot water.
Stir in the buillon and spices.
Bring to a boil then let simmer for about 10 min. or until al dente.
Squeeze a half of a key lime (I love my lime squeezer!) into your bowl and enjoy!
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The soup looks really yummy! Frying the pasta first is an interesting step though. Is it a traditional method of cooking pasta?
Its to get it more soft and flavor
This is really good:) Im gonna make it for my kids not only me:):)
This is actually a double recipe. I had to make more for the family or I would eat it all myself! lol
This looks and sounds delicious, and the alphabet pasta is wonderful! No wonder your kids like it so much!
Makes me hungry just looking at it! For anyone who hasn’t tried it, you can’t just imagine it. It’s kind of like guacamole–you have to like it before it looks good to you.
Frying the pasta is a must! It tastes completely different if you don’t! 🙂
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Have a wonderful day!
It looks really good, I think I will add it to our menu and see what the boys think. Thanks for sharing, I’m always on the hunt for new recipes!!
I will MOST DEFENITELY be making this dish in the near future! Looks delicious!
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Have a fantastic night!
Billie Jean
http://www.theunexpectedmother.net
I’m so glad you posted this recipe! My husband”s grandparents are Hispanic and they love to eat this. Only, they don’t write down their recipes, it’s more like “a dash of this” and “dump until it looks right”. Haha! Now I have a better idea how to make it.
That looks like food my mom made while we were growing up.
She’s always telling me to make that for my boys- she thinks they’ll love it.
Maybe now I should- looks yummy!
I haven’t made this in so long! It brings back so many childhood memories!
OK. I made this for lunch today, and let me tell you it was a HUGE hit. I completely forgot about the lime, but it was delicious anyway. I can only imagine with the lime juice on top how much more we would like it (if that’s possible). Also, this was super easy and made a giant pot which should last awhile. I agree that frying the noodles made all the difference. SO good!! Thanks for sharing.
I havent had this since I was about 6 years old. I used to have a hispanic babysitter who made it all the time! It was the best soup I have ever had. Im very glad i thought to look this up.
This soup is something I will be making shortly. It sounds especially good on snowy days.
Stopping by after reading Milk and Cuddles blog post. I’m glad I did, this recipe looks so awesome. I love when it’s healthy, inexpensive, and easy to make all in one!
My mom is from Mexico, and this is the way she makes it. Frying pasta is essential (like you do for Mex rice) because it give it real flavor. W/out frying, very bland, no matter the seasoning! My secret ingrediant is Mrs. Dash as you are preparing the broth…just a few shakes..a few more if you like the taste. So easy to make, and my kids love it!!
I tried out your way and thought it was pretty good… Next time try this:
Ingredients:
2 roma tomatoes (large)
1/4 onion (diced)
1 clove of onion
1 pack of your prefered soup pasta
3 table spoons knorr chicken bullion
I also like to fry/sautee the pasta in either corn or EVO oil till it has a nice golden brown. Then I blend the tomatoes, onion, and garlic till its puree and I also fry this after the pasta is done.
Then add wated about 8 cups add the knorr and brind to a boil.
This is the part that my mother does almost same way.
Except I believe she also adds garlic.
Thanks for the additional information.
So I got the ingrediants, and i am sooo stoked about making this but im nervous lol… i know its not going to taste the same as i remember, though it was 15 years ago, i can still smell fried pasta!
Oh man, this looks amazing! Must try it!
Interesting! I’ve never heard of frying pasta. I’m not surprised it brought you the most search engine traffic.
Awesome coverage of a Mexican classic, pretty much the exact recipe of what we all grew up with. I used to hate this I must say!, I was FORCED by my grandmother to eat this at least twice a week (because star-shaped pasta or seed-shaped pasta would sometimes replace the alphabet!). I started appreciating it when she replaced the tomato sauce with Knorr tomato cubes (which I’ve never seen in the US by the way). Now that I’m an adult, I just HAVE to eat this regularly.. it’s delicious and very much about comfort. I fry the pasta w/ a clove of garlic and a bit of onion, add temperature water once the pasta’s taken a more white-ish tone (it gets a little too pasty if you add hot water), add two cubes of tomato stock, let it boil for a few minutes, serve, sprinkle some lemon and you’re set.
I’ve always loved and appreciated this as a kid, and make it for my own children who love it just as much. However, I make this meal with a variety of different pasta from Fideo to Macaroni Noodles to Sea Shells. As my children got older I needed more than the small alphabets to feel them up. This meal is best with beans and tortillas. 🙂
I haven’t made this in years! My mom is coming for dinner and asked me to make it. It’s one of her favorites!
Thank you this helped a lot me and my brothers were starving and I decided to cook this but I didn’t know how so thank you for this!
my mom used to make this for us she now makes it for my kids but her being in Argentina makes it hard for me to get a hold of her for the recipe and my kids are asking for it right now lol so off to make it I go …thank for the recipe ……something so simple yet so delicious
Is the pasta boiled before frying or right our of the box?
@Donna, fry the pasta right out of the package.
Why does my soup not look as liquid as yours? My alphabets soaked up all the broth and got huge lol did miss a step? Please help! Lol
Hmm. Try adding an extra half cup. I often will run a little hot water in the pan before adding the tomato sauce. The pan is so hot it evaporates right away, but then the tomato sauce doesn’t splatter. Also we eat it as soon as it’s done. That’s when it’s best. If it sits in the pot the pasta does soak all the water. If I have left over sopa, I top it with cheese and heat it in the microwave. That’s about the only way we will eat it left over. Hope this helps!
My husband actually found this recipe and made it for us for dinner tonight. It’s something he used to eat as a kid, he was so excited to make it. I love it!! Such a fun meal 🙂 Thanks so much!
Oh how fun! Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I grew up eating it to and have never stopped making it. My dad called me the pasta kid. 🙂
Can i add hamburger? Or some kind of meat?
I have never EVER had sopa de fideo with meat in it, but you could try it! Let me know how it comes out! 🙂
My mom used to make us this soup. I decided to make it for the first time and it tasted just how she would make it. I love it. I will be making this now more often. Thanks so much for sharing. I did cook it with pieces of beef sirloin, it was really tasty.
Oh I’m so thrilled you liked it! I’ve never added meat, but I should totally try it. Thank you!
I’m glad to see you using the Knorr chicken powder ,instead of cans of chicken broth like most recipes.
My mother still uses tomatoes and refuses to use the canned type. Unfortunately for me, she doesn’t make it as often and I don’t know how to since there’s no recipe. She’s a “dash of this ” type and won’t write everything down for me.
Apart from the pasta type, isn’t this the same recipe for fideo?
Yes it’s the exact same thing as fideo!
My family has a similar recipe. We use lard instead of oil and use garlic and onions in it as well as one can of el pato and one can of regular tomato sauce.
This should be sopa de letras. Letras are the alphabet pasta. Fideo is like vermicelli that can come as nests or pre-cut. Thanks!
This is true! I use the same recipe whether it’s fideo, letras, or estrellitas. 🙂