Sopa De Tortilla (Sopa Azteca)
Authentic Sopa De Tortilla (also known as Sopa Azteca) is made in a delicious broth seasoned with tomato and pasilla pepper. Topped with baked tortilla strips, avocado and crumbly cheese.
This recipe is low-fat, gluten free, vegetarian with plant-based & vegan options.
***This post was originally published on June 2019. It has been updated to be more helpful.
Healthy Tortilla Soup
Who says that Mexican food is fattening? As a matter of fact, most foods in Mexico are rather healthy!
I took this recipe even further and made it healthier than normally: 1) baked the tortilla strips instead of frying them in oil, 2) using low-fat vegetable stock and 3) only adding 1 tablespoon of oil to sauté the vegetables
You really don’t need more oil than that to get the veggies nice and crispy. Amazingly, the flavors in this healthy Tortilla Soup are not compromised. It’s all about the spices!
Ingredients
- Roma tomato diced
- Chicken broth or vegetable stock preferably homemade
- Pasilla chile or chile ancho – This chile is not spicy at all but it gives a dark, rich color and smoky flavor. It is delicious and used in many Mexican recipes.
- Mexican oregano
- Vegetable oil
- Carrot
- Onion chopped
- Fresh ground pepper and kosher salt
How To Make Sopa De Tortilla
You’ll find the process of making an authentic Sopa De Tortilla at home super easy! There is nothing more satisfying that making your own favorite Mexican dishes!
Let’s dive in:
- Make the tomato-chile puree: Place the tomato, vegetable stock, pasilla chile, and oregano in a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside. Note: you may need to make this in two separate batches so that your blender does not overflow.
- Make the soup: Place a saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Add the carrot and onion and saute until lightly browned.
- Add the tomato-chile mixture, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more if needed.
- Simmer slowly for about 10 minutes to develop flavor.
- Serve hot and garnish with the tortilla strips, avocado & cheese. Squeeze some lime juice (highly recommended)
Corn Tortilla strips: I make my own baked tortillas since that cuts a few hundred calories without compromising any flavor. When selecting the corn tortillas, look for the lower calorie ones. The ones I use are 50 calories each. But if you’re pressed for time, you can use quality store bought tortilla chips.
What you want to do is slice the tortillas into thin strips, then slice in the other direction to get about 1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide strips.
Frying the tortillas? Add some oil to a pot on the stove (enough to cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/2 inch layer).
- Once it’s hot, throw in the strips and let fry for a few minutes on each side until crispy. It helps to do this in small batches so the tortillas aren’t all on top of each other and crowded.
- Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Top with a few cracks of salt.
Ladle soup into individual bowls; top with tortilla strips. Sprinkle with pasilla chilies.For the meat lovers, you can add some cooked shredded chicken to your soup!
Toppings for Sopa De Tortilla
The toppings are as important as the broth is in this soup. They add so much depth and flavor that I recommend you don’t skip any of them! Besides the tortilla strips, here are a few suggestions.
The Cheese: Keep the cheese at minimum since it doesn’t need much of it. I recommend crumbled panela cheese or queso fresco (found in most grocery stores). Mexican crema will work well too.For plant-based option cheese, store bought vegan mozzarella will work in this case.
The Veggies: These are MUST toppings that will add so much flavor to your Tortilla soup: sliced avocado, chopped cilantro sprig and a dash of fresh lime juice.
What to serve with Tortilla Soup
Serve your Sopa De Tortilla with your favorite tacos, these Taquitos, Molletes, or Chipotle Pork Tortas.
Chef’s Tips and Notes
- Storing: Once prepared, this recipe will store in the fridge for 3-5 days. Store in an airtight container and reheat on the stove for best results.
- Freezer Friendly? Yes please! This soup freezes with ease. Simply cool completely, store in an airtight container and freeze for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and gently rewarm on stovetop.
- Make it Vegan! Traditional tortilla soup calls for queso fresco, cotija or panela cheese. For a dairy free and vegan soup, don’t add any cheese or share it with vegan feta cheese. The taste and consistency resembles the Mexican cheeses and can be interchanged.
- Can’t Find Pasilla Pepper? Replace it with half of a chipotle pepper or a whole one for a spicier version.
Enjoy…
More Mexican Soups
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Print Recipe:
Authentic Sopa De Tortilla (Sopa Azteca)
Equipment
- Blender
- Medium saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 cup roma tomato diced
- 6 cups vegetable stock preferably homemade
- 1 pasilla chile, stemmed
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup carrot (about 1 carrot) julienned
- 1/4 cup onion chopped
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 baked corn tortillas cut into strips
- 1 avocado peeled & diced
- ½ cup plant-based queso, panela, queso fresco or cotija cheese crumbled
- lime wedges
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Place the tomato, vegetable stock, pasilla chile, and oregano in a blender. Puree and set aside. (see note #1 below)
- Place a saucepan or stockpot over medium heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Add the carrot and onion and saute until lightly browned.
- Add the tomato-chile puree, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more if needed.
- Simmer slowly for about 10 minutes to develop flavor.
- Serve hot and garnish with the tortilla strips, avocado & cheese. Squeeze some lime juice to taste if desired.
*Ana’s Notes:
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
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NUTRITION
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
How do you get the red color? I followed the instructions and the color was more green due to the pepper and chicken stock. I had to add tomato paste to get it more reddish brown. Have you considered tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes? When I ate this in Guadalahara it was thicker and much more tomato forward. Thanks
Is yummy yummy 😋
Ana! I couldn’t wait to try this recipe and was wanting something flavorful and simple as my appetite has been gone jut getting out of hospital! This is it!!!
I had all of he ingredients and didn’t waste any time getting it going!
It is wonderful. I used the hand blender and it worked beautifully!
Another terrific Muy Delish recipe!
Thank you!
P. S. I saw that the lady I met at grocery store here signed on to you and left a message. A chance encounter and she was great!
❤️😘
Hello Ana. I’ve actually never made chicken tortilla soup until now and this is going to be the only way I will make it! The veggies in the base are incredible… it has so much flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
Hi Michael! I’m so thrilled to know you really enjoyed this Sopa De Tortilla! The veggies had so much for texture to it too. Thanks so much for the feedback and I hope you have a great day! Ana
Hoy va a ser mi cena!!! Gracias Ana!!!
Gracias Malena! Espero que te haya gustado mucho esta sopa de tortilla!
This soup is so comforting and delicious, and I love that it’s also lean and healthy!
I love that this soup is so comforting, and healthy at the same time!
I love a great soup recipe and this chicken tortilla soup looks amazing! I’d eat a few bowls of this in one day!
Love the pasilla chili flavor! Comforting and light which is perfect for the new year weight goals!
This is a beautiful and flavorful soup. I love a good tortilla soup recipe and this one is my new staple!
This has become on of our new favorite soups! I love the roasted pasilla! It gives it such a nice flavor!
This looks great! If I wanted to make this for a work potluck, how would you work this so I could make it in a crock pot?
Thank You!
Thanks Kyla! I have never used the crock pot for this but I don’t see why not! The only thing you’ll have to do is sear the veggies first then transfer to the crock pot. Let me know how it turns out! You gave me a great idea for my next potluck! Thanks!
Thanks Kyla! I have never used the crock pot for this but I don’t see why not! The only thing you’ll have to do is sear the veggies first then transfer to the crock pot. Let me know how it turns out! You gave me a great idea for my next potluck! Thanks!
Your recipe was great! It was so good I’m doing this third pot for friends! Everyone loved it! Thanks for recipe posting!
Yay! I’m so happy you made it and enjoy it Rosalind! I read your comment to my husband and now he’s asking me to make it again lol!
I just made this tonight and it was really good! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
That’s fantastic Laura! I’m so glad you liked it. Have a fantastic weekend! 🙂