This sopa de coditos is extra-cozy, satisfying, and seriously flavorful! Packed with ground beef, vegetables, and a hearty tomato broth. A warm and comforting elbow soup perfect for those cozy family dinners or when you want to show a little extra love to your loved ones. It’s simple, it’s wholesome, and it’s a little taste of home & love!
Sopa de coditos is a Mexican recipe made of elbow macaroni pasta, tomato sauce, and vegetables. Sometimes it might contain meat such as ground beef, pork, or chicken.
This macaroni soup is a comforting and budget-friendly meal that belongs to the category of sopas aguadas which are various types of pasta soups from Mexico. The most popular recipes are sopa de fideo and conchitas soup.
Ingredients
- Coditos pasta: Known in English as elbow macaroni, there are various sizes in the market, use a small one if possible.
- Ground meat: You can use ground beef, pork, chicken, or even turkey for a change.
- Mixed vegetables: Use fresh or frozen vegetables like carrots, zucchini, celery, potatoes, peas, green beans, spinach, corn, etc. Add anything seasonal available to you.
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes or swap for 1 can of tomato sauce.
- Onions: Use any type of onion available.
- Chipotle peppers (optional): This is an optional ingredient, if you want to serve sopa de coditos to children I suggest leaving it out. You can also swap it with your favorite chili pepper or with chili powder for some heat.
- Seasonings: Garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Cilantro: This is also optional, you can blend it into the sauce or add it chopped or whole to the soup.
- Oil: I prefer using olive oil, but feel free to swap for your favorite vegetable oil.
How To Make Sopa de Coditos
Start by making the tomato sauce. Place tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chipotle peppers (optional), and garlic cloves, in a blender.
Add 1 cup of water and blend until smooth. You can strain the sauce if you want for a smoother and clearer broth or leave it like it is if you don’t mind a little bit of texture.
Set aside the tomato sauce aside and continue with the recipe.
Heat about 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and fry the elbow pasta until nicely browned.
Top Tip: Make sure you stir continuously when frying the pasta so that it will get a nice and evenly golden color.
Remove the pasta from the pot with a slotted spoon and place it in a bowl or plate. Remove also as much oil as you can leaving only about 1 tablespoon to cook the meat.
Add ground meat to the pot and season with salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.
Break the meat with the back of a spoon and cook over medium-high heat until slightly browned.
Stir in the vegetables and cook for one minute. Add the tomato sauce and 6 cups of water.
This is a brothy soup, so you need that much liquid to cook the vegetables and pasta, AND to end with lots of delicious broth!
Bring the liquid to a boil. Return the elbow coditos pasta to the pot and season with a sprinkle of salt.
Cover the pot and cook everything for about 10 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables are nicely tender.
Adjust seasonings to taste and turn off the heat. Serve your sopa de coditos immediately.
Tips & Recipe Notes
- I don’t find it necessary to add stock to this soup because it gets its flavor from ground meat and vegetables, but this is a personal preference. Feel free to swap water with beef stock, or vegetable/chicken stock if you want.
- If you want to cut down on the calories in this recipe, do not fry the pasta, just add it to the broth when it starts to boil and cook as regular pasta. Take in mind you’ll need more liquid to cook it.
- If you want to add a smoky flavor without adding the chipotle chilies, roast the tomatoes, onions, and garlic before blending.
How To Serve Elbow Soup
You can serve sopa de coditos as it is with just a squeeze of lime, or you can add some toppings like:
- Mexican crema. Add a nice creamy touch, or you can add regular cream or sour cream if you want.
- Queso fresco. Or you can add other types of cheese like Feta, Paneer, or farmer’s cheese.
- Avocado. Add it sliced or cubed.
- Lime juice. It is a must!
- Pickled peppers. Chiles en vinagre are a popular topping for sopitas, try them.
- Chopped cilantro. For more freshness, not a typical topping but if you love the flavor, why not?
Store And Reheat
Allow to cool down completely and store sopa de coditos leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing it as the elbow pasta will become mushy after defrosting.
For reheating, add the soup to a saucepan or small pot with a splash of water and reheat over medium heat. You can also use the microwave in 1-minute intervals until heated up.
Note: Sopa de coditos tends to absorb lots of liquid as it sits. Take this in mind and always try to make only the amount you intend to eat in one meal.
FAQ
What is a Mexican sopa made of?
Mexican sopas, or soups, come in a wide variety of flavors and ingredients, reflecting the rich culinary diversity of Mexico’s different regions. In the case of sopas aguadas, they are made with short pasta simmered in a tomato broth and often served as an entrée or main meal, especially if they include vegetables and meat.
Is this recipe customizable?
Yes! The Sopa de coditos recipe is highly customizable. You can use any type of minced meat besides beef, such as pork, chicken, or turkey. You can also many types of vegetables, opting for fresh or frozen vegetables depending on the season or availability.
Is sopa de codito healthy?
Yes, but pay special attention to the ingredients used. Opt for lean ground beef and use various fresh vegetables. Don’t add chicken stock, there’s no need as the meat will add tons of flavor and you don’t need extra sodium from store-bought beef stock!
Then, make sure to drain well the pasta after frying it — or don’t fry it at all, and remember to go easy on toppings, with diced avocado for healthy fats, a squeeze of lime, and homemade salsa. Last, avoid cream and cheese to keep your sopa de coditos on the healthy side.
More Mexican Soups
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Sopa de Coditos (Mexican elbow soup)
Ingredients
- 1 -7 oz package coditos pasta (elbow macaroni)
- 1 pound ground beef (or pork, chicken, turkey.)
- 3 ½ cups mixed vegetables (carrots, zucchini, potatoes, peas, etc.)
- 3 medium tomatoes (cut into quarters)
- 1 small onion (halved)
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil (as needed)
- 2 chipotle in adobo peppers (optional)
- 1 small bunch cilantro (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
- powdered cumin (to taste)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Place tomatoes, chipotle peppers (optional) onion, cilantro, and garlic cloves in a blender.
- Add 1 cup of water and blend until smooth. Strain and set aside.
- In a large pot heat the olive oil and fry the elbow pasta mixing continuously until nicely browned.
- Remove the pasta from the pot with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
- Add ground meat to the pot and season with salt, pepper, and cumin to your liking.
- Break the meat with the back of a spoon and cook until slightly browned over medium-high heat (8-10 minutes).
- Stir in the vegetables and cook for one minute.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, cook for one minute, then add 6 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil and then return the elbow pasta to the pot. Season with salt and cover the pot.
- Cook everything for about 10 minutes or until pasta and vegetables are nicely tender.
- Adjust seasonings to taste and turn off the heat.
- Serve immediately with a squeeze of lime.
Notes
- Feel free to swap water with beef stock, or vegetable/chicken stock if you want.
- If you want to cut down on the calories in this recipe, don’t fry the pasta. But take in mind it will slightly change the soup texture.
- Make sure you stir continuously when frying the macaroni, so it will get an even golden color.
- This is a brothy soup, so you need lots of liquid to make it like that.
- If you want to add a smoky flavor without adding the chipotle chilies, roast the tomatoes, onions, and garlic before blending.
Nutrition Information
Maricruz Avalos Flores is a Mexican cook and photographer living in Italy where she shares authentic Mexican & Italian recipes that can be easily made at home using easy-to-find ingredients.
Sopa de Coditos is pure comfort in a bowl! The blend of tender elbow pasta, savory ground beef, and hearty veggies in a rich tomato broth is simply divine. My family and I loved it!
I just whipped up some sopa de coditos! The elbow pasta swimming in that delicious, flavorful broth was pure comfort food. Perfect blend of veggies, meat, and spices. A go-to dish for chilly nights or whenever I need a big, warm hug for my belly. Yum!
I love Sopa de Coditos because it is very cheap to make and it’s so nutritious! Perfect for us who are on a budget but still want to serve our family a delicious but healthy meal. My Sopa de Coditos turned out so flavorful!