Sopa de letras is a delicious and hearty homemade Mexican alphabet soup. It’s one of my favorite soup recipes! It’s a warming childhood favorite made with homemade broth consisting of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chicken broth and contains classic alphabet pasta.
Why I Love This Recipe
- This recipe is so simple and easy to make. It only has a few ingredients, and they’re all ubiquitous. Literally, anyone can make this recipe and make it well!
- Sopa de letras is exceptionally kid-friendly! What kid doesn’t love alphabet soup? My daughter loves it, and my inner child is secretly happy whenever we make it for her.
- Perhaps most importantly, it’s fast! This recipe takes 20 minutes to complete from start to finish, making it perfect for a weekday lunch or dinner.
What Is Sopa de Letras?
Very simply, sopa de letras is Mexican alphabet soup! It is a hearty, warming tomato soup made from a blended base of Roma tomatoes, white onion, garlic, and chicken broth.
For many Mexicans, it’s a dish that reminds them of their childhood. Even as adults, this is our go-to feel-good dish when we’re sick, right up there with any classic chicken noodle, or better yet, caldo de pollo.
Ingredients
- The Base: The base for this soup is made from broth, Roma tomatoes, white onion, chicken bouillon, and garlic. It’s a hearty and fantastic broth blended together and then simmered briefly to marry the flavors and then used to cook the pasta. All of the elements in this dish can be tweaked or substituted if need be, and you’ll still end up with a delicious final product. Feel free to use whatever tomatoes you have lying around, and the same with your choice of broth. You could even use red onions in a pinch and still have a delicious soup.
- The Pasta (alphabet pasta): I used the classic letras shapes, but you can again feel free to substitute other types of pasta if that’s what you have around the house. In my recipe, we start by toasting the pasta, which adds a slightly nutty flavor that helps this recipe stand out from the standard canned alphabet soup you find in stores. There are similar variations of this recipe that use conchas (shells) or fideos (bite-sized spaghetti noodles).
How to Make Sopa de Letras
Add 1 cup of broth, the tomatoes, onion, bouillon, garlic, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the alphabet pasta and stir to coat it evenly with oil. Toast for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is golden brown.
Pour in the blended tomato mixture and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes until the mixture darkens. Stir in the remaining 5 cups of broth, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes or until the pasta is tender and cooked. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. Serve immediately.
Tips
- Broth: I used chicken broth for this recipe, but you can substitute vegetable or beef broth.
- Bouillon: I used chicken bouillon for this recipe, but you can substitute beef or tomato.
- Add vegetables by adding 1 cup of frozen vegetable mix into the sopa de letras when adding the remaining broth and boiling the pasta.
- If you prefer a smooth broth, strain the blended tomato sauce through a fine mesh strainer and into a bowl to remove any solids.
- Make this recipe vegan and vegetarian-friendly by swapping the chicken broth and bouillon for vegetables.
Suggested Toppings
- Avocado
- Queso fresco
- Lime juice
- Black pepper
- Oregano
- Cilantro
Recommended Tools
- Dutch oven. This is easily the tool I use most frequently in my kitchen. My husband and I always use it to make soups and braise meats. They’re just the most versatile pot you can buy.
- Blender. Similar to the Dutch oven, I use my blender all the time. This one is the one I use at home, and it works great for a litany of recipes.
- Stainless steel ladle. There’s no better way to serve soup than with a ladle. You think your big spoon at home is doing just fine, but let me tell you, it’s not. Ladles are the way to go.
Storing and Reheating
Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
You can reheat in the microwave, but reheat slowly on the stovetop over low to medium heat until the soup is warmed through for better results.
More Mexican Soups
Sopa de Letras
Ingredients
- 6 cups broth, divided (vegetable, chicken, or beef)
- 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered
- ½ medium white onion
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (vegetable and tomato also work)
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 7 ounces alphabet pasta
- Optional toppings: Avocado, queso fresco or cotija cheese, lime juice
Instructions
- Add 1 cup of broth, the tomatoes, onion, bouillon, garlic, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the alphabet pasta and stir to coat it evenly with oil. Toast until golden brown for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the blended tomato mixture and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes until the mixture starts to darken.
- Stir in the remaining 5 cups of broth, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 more minutes or until the pasta is tender and cooked through.
- Taste and adjust salt if necessary. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Add vegetables by adding 1 cup of frozen vegetable mix into the sopa de letras when adding the remaining broth and boiling the pasta.
- If you prefer a smooth broth, strain the blended tomato sauce through a fine mesh strainer and into a bowl to remove any solids.
- Make this recipe vegan and vegetarian-friendly by swapping the chicken broth and bouillon for vegetables.
Nutrition Information
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
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