Sopa Azteca Mexican Soup (Printable)

Smoky tomato-chile broth with crispy tortillas, panela cheese, avocado, and cilantro. Vegetarian Mexican comfort.

# Ingredient List:

→ Broth

01 - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
02 - 1 medium white onion, chopped
03 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 4 ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
05 - 2 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
06 - 1 dried guajillo chile, stemmed and seeded
07 - 5 cups vegetable broth
08 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
09 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
10 - 1 teaspoon salt
11 - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

→ Tortilla Strips

12 - 8 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
13 - Vegetable oil for frying

→ Garnishes

14 - 1 ripe avocado, diced
15 - 5 ounces panela cheese, cubed or crumbled
16 - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
17 - 1/2 cup crema or sour cream, optional
18 - 1 lime, cut into wedges

# How To Make:

01 - Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, approximately 3 minutes. Incorporate minced garlic and cook for 1 additional minute until fragrant.
02 - Add chopped Roma tomatoes to the pot and cook until completely softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
03 - While tomatoes soften, toast dried pasilla and guajillo chiles in a separate dry skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant. Do not allow them to burn.
04 - Transfer softened tomatoes, onions, garlic, and toasted chiles to a blender. Add 1 cup vegetable broth and blend until completely smooth.
05 - Return blended mixture to the pot. Add remaining 4 cups vegetable broth, dried oregano, ground cumin, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
06 - Heat approximately 1 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortilla strips in batches until golden and crispy, about 1 to 2 minutes per batch. Drain thoroughly on paper towels.
07 - Distribute crispy tortilla strips among serving bowls. Ladle hot broth over the strips. Top each serving with panela cheese, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, and a drizzle of crema if desired. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • It tastes like restaurant-quality without requiring impossible techniques or rare ingredients.
  • The whole experience comes together in under an hour, which means you can feed people something genuinely special on a Tuesday.
  • Every component sings on its own, but the real joy is watching them converge in the bowl.
02 -
  • If you skip toasting the chiles before blending, the soup tastes flat and one-dimensional—this step takes ninety seconds and changes everything.
  • Adding the tortilla strips too far in advance means they'll soften into mush, so save them for the moment before serving or your guests will be eating chile-flavored porridge.
03 -
  • Always fry tortillas in batches rather than crowding the pan, since overcrowding lowers the oil temperature and makes them greasy instead of crisp.
  • If panela cheese isn't available, queso fresco or even crumbled feta works beautifully, though each changes the flavor slightly in interesting ways.
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