You know you’re Mexican if you grew up eating Sopa de Conchas.
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After a long day of adding and subtracting, Mexican kids are often greeted by a bowl of this yummy shell pasta soup.
It goes right up there with other classic recipes like Sopa de Fideo and Frijoles de la Olla.
Table of Contents
🐚 Ingredients
- Roma tomatoes
- onion
- garlic
- chicken bouillon
- conchas pasta
- oil
- water
This is a basic recipe for Sopa de Conchas. You can add more ingredients if you like. Some moms add a pinch of cumin and a pinch of oregano. Sometimes potatoes and veggies are added too.
👩🏼🍳 Step-By-Step Instructions
Rough chop the tomatoes before adding them to the blender. These are Roma tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes and beefsteak work just as well.
Add tomatoes to a blender. Look for ripe tomatoes for best flavor.
Also add the onion and garlic to the blender. Some people will dice up the onions and cook them with the shells. Either way works fine.
Add water to the blender. We’re creating a basic tomato sauce.
Blend everything until smooth. Set aside until ready to use. You can totally bypass this and go straight for a can of tomato sauce. That works just as well, but be sure to add water to thin it out.
Heat up the oil in a large stock pot. Don’t skimp on the oil. We are about to “toast” our pasta. To make this soup, use a big pot.
The star of the show is this conchas pasta, or pasta shaped like shells. It is commonly found in the Hispanic aisle at the grocery store. Or, you can purchase it online. If your store carries fideo pasta, it more than likely will sell this pasta.
Once the oil is nice and hot, add the conchas. Get out your spatula and start stirring.
🔥 Be Careful!
You don’t want this to burn. If you end up burning it, you will have to start all over again. That’s not fun. My advice is to stir, stir, stir, and keep stirring.
You gotta be on the lookout for when the pasta starts to toast. That’s the time to add the rest of the ingredients.
Look at these golden beauties. A few of them are really toasted. As long as they aren’t burnt, it’s all good in the hood.
Now add the rest of the water. Some people will use chicken broth, and if you have it, awesome! If you opt use chicken broth, don’t add the chicken bouillon.
Time for the tomato mixture. Pour all of it in. I like to leave one cup of water to get all the tomato sauce out of the blender. However you do this is fine too.
Chicken bouillon is a common ingredient in our Mexican cuisine. Omit, if you like, and use chicken broth or vegetable stock instead. Both work well when making this Sopa de Conchas recipe. Or, use salt and add water.
Lastly, cover up the pot for 20 minutes. Check the pot at around 18 minutes. All you want is to make sure the pasta is soft and fully cooked. The shells will puff out, almost 3 times bigger than their dried version.
If the soup is dry and the liquid has evaporated, add 1 cup of chicken broth 2 minutes before serving.
🍲 More Mexican Soup Recipes
- Sopa de Coditos
- Caldo de Albondigas
- Sopa de Pollo con Fideos
- Menudo recipe
- Sopa de Letras
- Caldo Tlalpeno
Serve your soup in a large bowl. I call this Mexican comfort food. It warms your belly and your soul. Childhood memories swarm with each spoonful and many more to be had. Hope you enjoy!
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Sopa de Conchas
Ingredients
- 2 Roma tomatoes chopped
- ¼ onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup water + 4 cups water divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 16- ounce package of conchas
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
Instructions
- To a blender, add tomatoes, onion, garlic clove and 1 cup of water.
- Blend until smooth.
- Set aside until ready to use.
- Heat oil in a large stock pot.
- Add package of conchas pasta.
- Stir frequently until golden brown.
- About 5 minutes.
- Do not let this burn, or you will have to start all over again.
- Add 4 cups of water, tomato mixture, and chicken bouillon.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover and bring to a low simmer.
- Cook for 20 minutes, or until pasta is soft and the conchas have puffed up.
- Serve and enjoy
Thank you for sharing this recipe! We’re a military family and my boys are missing my mom’s cooking. They approved!!!
So glad the boys approved! Thank you!
It was simple & easy. I blended zucinni w/the tomatoes & onion to have a veggie & added ground chicken to it. All in 1 meal!
So creative! Love the veggie addition.
True to tradition. So good on a cold winter’s day in the Midwest. Thank you!
Thank you. So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I have a question the ingredients say 16oz concha’s but I only found 7oz?
Use two packages of the 7 ounces. Then add a little more chicken broth – about 1/4 cup more. Taste it for salt and adjust, if needed.
My Comfort food
This is one of my favorite sopitas. Your recipe is delicious and full of flavor. Thank Maggie! Salió deliciosa.
Comfort food vibes! So happy you found this Sopa de Conchas recipe to your liking.
THANK YOU for posting this recipe! My mom has always made it this way and whenever I’ve looked up the recipe online it’s made with canned tomatoes and chicken broth.
My mom taught me with Roma tomatoes and bouillon cubes. It just tastes so much better when it’s made with fresh ingredients, so yummy!
Thank you for your kind words and super happy to hear that this recipe aligned with the way your mom has always made it. Enjoy!
What I love most about this dish is how comforting and satisfying it is. It is the perfect meal on a cold winter day and leaves you feeling warm and nourished.
Totally agreed! Sopa de Conchas is a perfect dish for a cozy and comforting meal on a chilly day.
Such a great and wholesome dish! Perfectly cozy for the last of these cool and rainy days.
It’s great to hear that you enjoyed it. This soup is definitely a comforting and satisfying meal, especially on chilly days.
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe. I’m a bit under the weather today and I’m sure this Sopa De Conchas is going to make me feel better 🥰
This soup will hit the spot. Hope you feel better!
This seriously could not be any easier to make. Using fresh tomatoes and onions instead of canned stuff just makes it that much more flavorful. Loved it!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Using fresh ingredients definitely adds more flavor to the dish.
Looks yum and its unique to me. I am so intrigued to try this. Can’t wait to make it over the weekend.
That’s great to hear! I hope you enjoy making and eating this Sopa de Conchas. Let me know how it turns out!
I made this soup for dinner last night and it was incredible! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Glad to hear that you enjoyed this Sopa de Conchas recipe! Hope you make it again soon.