Chicken fideo, also know as chicken sopita, is a delicious Mexican soup perfect to serve as a main meal. The recipe features fideo pasta simmered with chicken in a light tomato sauce and vegetables. This is an easy prep meal, budget-friendly, nutritious, and can feed a large family.
What is chicken fideo soup?
This soup is a delicious and more complete version of the traditional sopa de fideo (fideo soup) with the addition of chicken and vegetables to the mix that makes it more complete, nutritious and of course, delicious.
Mexican sopas aguadas (brothy soups) are a comfort food prepared daily in almost every Mexican home. Normally are served as an opening for comida corrida (mexican menu). But when its made with some protein, such as chicken, beef or pork is served as a main meal.
This recipe is know with different names, such as sopita con pollo, fideos con pollo, sopa de pollo con fideos, to name just a few. In english you can find it as Mexican fideo with chicken, fideo chicken soup or chicken sopita. All names refers to this delicious recipe.
The Ingredients
- FIDEOS – Also know as Mexican noodles. They’re basically thin spaghetti broken into small pieces. Angel hair pasta is also a good option.
- CHICKEN – I am using chicken cut into pieces for this recipe. Some recipes calls for shredded chicken and is actually a nice shortcut because you can use a rotisserie chicken or even turkey leftovers!
- RECAUDO – A light sauce made with fresh tomatoes, onions and garlic. You don’t need to add so much tomatoes, if you do so, you’ll end with a simple pasta with tomato sauce, while sopa de pollo con fideo is more on the brothy side. We also added a chipotle in adobo pepper to the mix for a nice smoky touch, but this is totally optional.
- CHICKEN STOCK – We are using the broth from cooking the chicken, but if you’re using chicken shredded leftovers, just use granulated chicken bouillon + hot water. Knorr Suiza is a seasoning widely used in the Mexican cuisine.
- VEGETABLES – Used fresh carrots, potatoes and peas. My recommendation is to use whatever you have available, either fresh vegetables, frozen, or even canned. Other options of veggies are celery, zucchini, cabbage, green beans, to name a few.
Chicken Fideo Recipe (step by step)
Place chicken in a large stock pot and cover with water. Add garlic, onion, oregano, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, low the heat to medium and cook until chicken is tender (about 30 minutes).
Remove chicken from the pot, strain the broth and set everything aside.
Roast tomatoes and onions until charred. Place all in a blender, add chipotle pepper and garlic. Pour 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth and blend for 1 minute.
Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the fideo pasta and stir for a couple of minutes until golden browned. Pay attention to this step as you need to stir all the time or the fideo won’t brown evenly.
Pour in the tomato sauce and mix, allow to cook for one minute then pour in about 4 cups of chicken stock. Add cilantro and the vegetables too.
Return chicken to the pot, and bring to a gently boil. Cook for about 10 minutes or until fideos and vegetables are cooked through. Adjust with salt to taste and serve your chicken fideo with warm corn tortillas and a squeeze of lime.
Twist it!
- Add your favorite seasonings. A pinch of cumin, freshly ground pepper or even a teaspoon of smoked paprika can bring so much flavor to this chicken fideo.
- Make it creamy. Add 1 cup of heavy cream at the end of cooking. Make sure the cream is not cold from the fridge.
- Turkey fideo. Got some turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving? Use that to make this sopa de fideo con pollo!
Storing & Reheating
- To store this chicken fideo, keep the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe.
- To reheat, microwave in 45-second intervals until warmed through or place leftovers in a sauce pan and add a splash of chicken broth before heating over medium heat.
Watch How To Make It
If you liked this soup, try: Caldo de albóndigas – Sopa de conchitas – Caldo de queso – Lentil soup with chorizo.
Chicken Fideo
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb chicken pieces (or 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken)
- 11 oz Mexican fideo pasta
- 1 cup fresh diced vegetables (carrots, potatoes, peas)
- 6 cups chicken broth (from cooking chicken)
- 3 cilantro sprigs (optional)
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- salt (to taste)
For recaudo
- 2 small tomatoes (cut into quarters)
- ½ small onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (optional)
Instructions
- In a large stock pot add chicken and cover with water (read note 1).
- Add garlic, onion, oregano, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, low the heat to medium and cook until chicken is tender (about 30 minutes).
- Remove chicken from the pot, strain the broth and set both aside.
- Add tomatoes, onion, chipotle chili, and garlic in a blender, pour in 1 cup of chicken broth and blend until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the fideo pasta and stir for a couple of minutes until golden browned (read note 2).
- Add the tomato sauce and stir, allow to cook for half a minute.
- Add about 5 cups of chicken broth, cilantro sprigs and vegetables.
- Return chicken to the pot and bring to a gently boil.
- Cook for about 10 minutes or until fideos and vegetables are cooked through.
- Adjust with salt to taste and serve.
Notes
- You will need about 6 cups of chicken broth, so for cooking the chicken add at least 7 cups of water.
- Pay attention when frying the fideos, as you need to stir all the time or the fideo won’t brown evenly.
Nutrition Information
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How much oregano and salt is needed to cook chicken
This recipe is amazing—the notes above the recipe is a flavor-rewarding read. I usually skip the paragraphs above the recipe because they contain whimsical and anecdotal b.s.
Substituted tajin for salt in chicken prep and Pato (still added fine chopped onion/garlic) for recaudo in first make.
Thank you!
I just made this for my wife who has no knowledge of Mexican sopa. she liked it and gave her a different style of cooking her beef, veggie soups. I was aweswome.
Love the way you present steps in that quickie little video off to the side. I don’t have a lot of time. This is just what I needed! And the dish…I’ll know in about 5 min. Smells awesome.
This made with some chicken breast would be perfect for these cold autumns days. I might add some extra veggie and cut down on fideo, I need to keep a close eye on these quarantine pounds that don’t want to go away. Thanks for the inspo, Maricruz!
I made it and it was delicious! Used regular spaghetti and it was perfect because they cooked just right, I just wish there was a way to save your recipe like in other websites because this is a keeper!