Sopa de Verduras (Mexican vegetable soup)

Sopa de Verduras (Mexican Vegetable Soup) is nutritious, fulfilling and so easy to make. Loaded with fresh vegetables flavored in a hearty broth, this soup is perfect for a light meal or as an entrée for main dishes.

What is sopa de verduras?

Sopa de verduras is a comforting, nutritious, and flavorful soup made with vegetables simmered in a delicious tomato broth called recaudo.

This delicious soup is made with any vegetable available in the country. From Mexican squash (calabacitas), fresh corn, chayote, tomatoes, and other common vegetables in Mexico, to other easy options such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

In Mexico, you’ll find this soup served as a starter of comida corrida in many home restaurants called fondas, or as a quick, delicious, and budget-friendly meal in many households.

If you loved our Albóndigas con caldo and Sopita de Fideo, you gonna love this recipe!

The Ingredients Needed

The vegetables:

You really can use many types of vegetables to make this soup, and that’s the beauty of this recipe. Here are some suggestions:

• Watery vegetables: Mexican squash (or zucchini), chayotes, celery, cauliflower.
• Leafy vegetables: Spinach, kale, cabbage, collard greens, or even microgreens.
• Starchy vegetables: Potatoes, green beans, corn, carrots, peas, turnips, or sweet potatoes.
• Herbs: You can use cilantro, parsley, epazote, or spearmint.

Make sure you cut them in the same bite size so that they will cook evenly. I used celery, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and green beans.

For the broth (recaudo):

• Tomatoes. Use fresh tomatoes or 1/2 cup of canned tomato sauce.
• Onion. Any type of onion is fine.
• Garlic. For flavor.
• Chipotle pepper. We also added one chipotle pepper, to give a nice smoky touch and some heat, but without being too spicy. I just love the flavor!

How To Make It (step-by-step recipe)

Step 1: Clean and wash all your vegetables, then cut them into small bites. Since you don’t need to cook them separately, you can place them all in one large bowl until you need them.

Step 2: Next, cut tomatoes and onions into big chunks and add them to a blender. Add one garlic clove (peeled) and add one or two chipotle in adobo peppers (this is optional).

Step 3: Pour into the blender 2 cups of water and blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes or until you’ll have a smooth sauce.

Now, you can strain the sauce if you want or use it as it is.

Step 4: Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the tomato sauce and let it cook for 2 minutes.

Step 5: Add 6 cups of water, cilantro, vegetable bouillon, salt, and pepper. Then bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 6: Add the vegetables and mix well. Bring to a simmer and cover loosely the pot.

Step 7: Cook for 15 minutes mixing one or two times in between. Adjust salt to taste and serve the Mexican vegetable soup as suggested below or allow it to cool down and store for later.

Recipe Notes

• The light broth used for this soup is called recaudo and is widely used in Mexican cooking as the base for many other recipes, such as arroz rojo or caldo de pescado.
• You can also swap chipotle pepper with paprika powder or other types of hot chili if you want.
• Or add other types of chiles such as jalapeño or serrano peppers, chile de árbol, chili powder, Hatch, or Anaheim chilies, to name a few.
• For a lighter broth, strain the tomato sauce (recaudo). If you want some texture, add it as it is.

DID YOU KNOW? – Mexican vegetable soup is also a staple meal during the lent season (Cuaresma) when is customary to eat less or no meat and more vegetarian/vegan dishes.

How To Serve

You can serve sopa de verduras with a squeeze of lime if you eating it as a simple entree. Or, if you want to eat it as a light lunch or dinner, you can add:

• Avocado cut into cubes.
• Queso fresco.
• Croutons.
• Tortilla chips.
• Chopped cilantro and onions.
• Cilantro lime rice.
• Basmati rice.
• Plain noodles or any type of pasta.

How To Store And Reheat

Sopa de verduras is the perfect prep meal, it can be made ahead and freezes wonderfully. I love making a double or triple batch of this recipe, dividing into containers, and freezing it for quick meals.

The soup lasts about 5 days in the fridge stored in airtight containers, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

For reheating, just thaw it overnight and reheat it in a small stockpot on the stovetop. Or place it in a microwave-proof container and reheat it at 1-minute intervals.

More easy Mexican soups

• Sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup with chicken, cheese, and cream).
• Tesmole (chicken soup with corn dumplings).
• Lentejas (lentil soup with chorizo).
• Sopa de elote (Authentic Mexican corn soup with roasted poblano peppers).

I hope you liked this sopa de verduras casera. Please don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave us your comments below. And…

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