Sopa Aguada (Mexican Pasta Soup) Recipe

By
Robin Grose
Robin Grose
Food writer who lived in Mexico City for 20 years, learning key flavors and techniques to create Mexican food recipes.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/10/23
Simple Sopa Aguada (Pasta Soup)

The Spruce / Loren Runion

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 6 servings

This soup’s name in Spanish means "watery soup," which make us English-speakers wonder—isn’t all soup liquid and watery? In Mexico, it’s not! The term sopa doesn’t necessarily denote a liquid dish; it can just as often refer to the course that a dish is served in. The soup course in a dinner can be composed of a brothy soup and/or a moderate portion of a non-liquid rice or pasta dish.

Be that as it may, this dish is a major Mexican comfort food prepared is most every home all over the country. It is almost always served in bowls as a meal’s opening dish—sometimes as often as several days a week—and it’s often the first thing a Mexican young person will learn to cook. The ingredients are so simple and ordinary that one wouldn’t expect anything special to come out of them, but this humble soup is fragrant and comforting like no other.

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

  • 1/4 medium onion

  • 1/2 clove garlic

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or pork fat

  • 7 ounces (200 grams) angel hair, alphabet, or similar small pasta

  • 6 cups (1 1/2 liters) chicken broth, homemade, from a jar, or made with bouillon cubes or powder

  • 3 limes, halved

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Simple Sopa Aguada (Pasta Soup) ingredients

    The Spruce / Loren Runion

  2. Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and salt into a blender and process well.

    Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and salt into a blender

    The Spruce / Loren Runion

  3. Heat the lard or oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Pour the pasta directly from its packaging into the hot fat. If the pasta is long, break it up somewhat with your hands as you are doing this.

    oil and pasta in a saucepan

    The Spruce / Loren Runion

  4. Fry the pasta, stirring continuously until most of it has turned light brown in color. It’s easy to burn pasta, so make sure you are giving it your full attention during this step.

    fry the pasta in a saucepan

    The Spruce / Loren Runion

  5. Add the chicken broth and tomato mixture and allow your soup to boil gently for 15 or 20 minutes. Taste your liquid soup and add salt, if necessary. Provide lime halves so that each person can squeeze juice to taste into the bowl.

    cook the soup in the saucepan

    The Spruce / Loren Runion

Recipe Variations

  • Add chopped vegetables (carrots, squash, celery, turnips, corn, peas, green beans, cabbage, etc.) to this soup to make it heartier and more nutritious.
  • Make tiny little meatballs and add those—just a few if you plan to use the soup as a starter or light dish, many meatballs, and some veggies to make it the main course.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
415 Calories
21g Fat
38g Carbs
20g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 415
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g 27%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 13mg 4%
Sodium 24403mg 1,061%
Total Carbohydrate 38g 14%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 20g
Vitamin C 28mg 142%
Calcium 220mg 17%
Iron 2mg 11%
Potassium 640mg 14%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)