Tortilla soup
Sopa de tortilla
Chicken broth blended with charred tomato, onion, garlic and pasilla chilli, poured over fried tortilla strips with avocado, cheese, crema and lime.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Sopa de tortilla.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Sopa de tortilla is a tomato and chicken broth, red-brown from dried pasilla chilli, poured over a pile of crisp fried tortilla strips at the table. The base is made by charring tomato, onion and garlic in a dry pan, blending them with a fried pasilla and frying the purée in hot oil before the stock goes in. That frying step is where the flavour comes from, so do it properly. The garnishes do the rest: diced avocado, fresh cheese, crema, crumbled fried chilli and lime. Fry the tortillas on the day, or they go stale.
What you'll need
12 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Soup
- To serve
Ingredients
Soup
- Corn tortilla, day-old, cut in 1 cm strips8
- Neutral oil, for frying; 1 tbsp is kept for the base200 ml
- Dried chilli, pasilla, stemmed and seeded; one is for garnish3
- Tomato4 medium
- Onion, in a thick slice½ medium
- Garlic, unpeeled3 clove
- Chicken stock1½ l
- Salt, plus a pinch for the strips4.9 ml
To serve
- Avocado, diced1
- Queso fresco, crumbled or cubed100 g
- Sour cream, Mexican crema, or sour cream thinned with a little milk59 ml
- Lime, in wedges1
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oil to 180°C in a small frying pan, where it should be about 1 cm deep. Fry the tortilla strips in batches for 1 to 2 minutes until golden and crisp, then lift out with a spider, drain and salt. Fry the pasillas in the same oil for about 10 seconds until puffed and fragrant, and drain. Keep 1 tbsp of the oil.
12 min180°C
Watch: Dried chillies burn in seconds. Pull them out as soon as they puff.
Step 2
Char the tomatoes, onion and garlic on a dry comal or heavy pan over high heat, turning, until blackened in patches and the tomatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Peel the garlic.
10 min
Step 3
Blend the tomatoes, onion, garlic and two of the fried pasillas with 250 ml of the stock until completely smooth.
2 min
Step 4
Heat the reserved oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour in the purée, which will spit, and fry, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes until thick and darker. Add the rest of the stock and the salt and simmer 15 minutes. Taste for salt.
22 min
Tip: If you have epazote, add a sprig for the last 5 minutes.
Step 5
Put a handful of tortilla strips in each bowl and ladle the hot soup over at the table. Top with avocado, cheese, a spoon of crema and the last pasilla crumbled over, and serve with lime.
3 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 466 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 48.3 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Saturated fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 9.9 g
- Sugar
- 9.3 g
- Sodium
- 1966 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Pasilla chilli → Ancho chilli
Ancho is sweeter and less dark and bitter. Use two in the base.
Chicken stock → Vegetable stock
Makes it vegetarian. Fry the base a little longer to make up the depth.
Tips
- Unsalted shop-bought tortilla chips are an acceptable shortcut for the strips.
- The soup base freezes well. Make a double batch, freeze half, and fry fresh strips when you use it.
History & culture
It is a Mexico City staple at home and in restaurants, a usual first course of the comida corrida set lunch, and what people make when there are stale tortillas and a pot of stock. In much of the capital it is called sopa azteca. Everyone adds their own garnishes at the table, and it should be eaten before the strips go soft.
The soup is probably a 20th-century dish built from much older parts. Tortillas, tomatoes and dried chillies were all in use before the conquest, and frying a blended salsa in fat is a long-standing Mexican technique. The name sopa azteca probably comes from restaurants in the capital that liked to name dishes after the Aztecs. There is no evidence the Aztecs ate anything like it.
Traditional — A sprig of epazote in the simmering broth is usual in central Mexico and gives a resinous, slightly medicinal note. Leave it out if you cannot find it rather than substitute. Some cooks add chicharrón or shredded chicken at the end.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Tortilla soup take?
55 min all in — 15 min prep, 40 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Gluten-free, Nut-free.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan, Spider or strainer, Comal or dry skillet, Blender, Saucepan.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp (plus a pinch for the strips).
What can I use instead?
Pasilla chilli → Ancho chilli. Ancho is sweeter and less dark and bitter. Use two in the base. Chicken stock → Vegetable stock. Makes it vegetarian. Fry the base a little longer to make up the depth.
What should I watch for?
Dried chillies burn in seconds. Pull them out as soon as they puff.
Any tips from this recipe?
Unsalted shop-bought tortilla chips are an acceptable shortcut for the strips. The soup base freezes well. Make a double batch, freeze half, and fry fresh strips when you use it.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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