Sopa de tortilla – tortilla soup
A tomato broth flavoured with pasilla chilli and epazote, ladled over crisp fried tortilla strips and topped with avocado, cheese, crema and fried chilli. It often starts the midday meal in Mexico; it is also called sopa azteca, and some top it with pork crackling.
- 45 minTime
- 33 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- ≈ $18per portion
- 460kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 6Corn tortillas, ideally a day old
- 2Pasilla chiles
- 3 tbspRapeseed oil, for frying
- 4Tomatoes
- ½Yellow onion
- 2 clovesGarlic
- 1 lChicken stock
- 1 tbspRapeseed oil, for the soup
- 2 sprigsEpazote
- to tasteSalt
- 100 gQueso fresco
- 1Avocado
- 100 mlMexican crema
Method
- Cut the tortillas into strips 1 cm wide. Remove the stems and seeds from the pasilla chillies and snip them into rings.
- Heat plenty of oil, about 2 cm deep, in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the tortilla strips in batches for 2–3 minutes, until golden and crisp, and drain on kitchen paper. Finally fry the chilli rings for just a few seconds, without letting them burn.
- Blend the tomatoes with the onion, garlic, half the fried chilli and a little of the stock until smooth.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan, pour in the tomato mixture (careful, it spits) and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes, until it has darkened.
- Pour in the rest of the stock, add the epazote, season with salt and simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the cheese and avocado into small cubes.
- Divide the tortilla strips between deep bowls and ladle the hot soup over them. Top with avocado, cheese, crema and the rest of the chilli.
The cost is estimated from average prices in Mexico (PROFECO, Quién es Quién en los Precios (datos abiertos), 2026-07).
