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Home » Recipes » Sopa de Letras + VIDEO

Sopa de Letras + VIDEO

October 9, 2018 By Maggie Unzueta 6 Comments

This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sopa de Letras, or Mexican Alphabet Soup, is ready in minutes and perfect for picky eaters.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Sopa de Letras, or Mexican Alphabet Soup, is ready in minutes, quick lunch idea, and perfect for picky eaters. Watch the VIDEO or follow the step-by-step pictures. By Mama Maggie's Kitchen

Sopa de Letras, or Mexican Alphabet Soup, is a childhood favorite. This Mexican food classic is comforting, delicious, and educational. Watch the VIDEO or follow the step-by-step photos below to recreate this dish.

Spoon holding ABC over a bowl full of Sopa de Letras, or Mexican Alphabet Soup.

When I was kid, my brother and I would get home from school, throw our backpacks down, and eat a big bowl of Sopa de Letras. We would spell our names. It’s how all Mexican kids learned the alphabet. lol.

Package of alphabet pasta on a wooden surface.

It’s a simple recipe that involves very few ingredients and very little prep. It helped us get ready for future Scrabble matches and spelling bees. How many words can you spell with Q? …. Que paso. Queso. Quiero Queso. Querido Queso. ¿Quien quiere queso? Question: Where’s the queso? Queen of Quesos. Quest for Queso. Can you tell I like queso? 🙂

Alphabet pasta spelling out "SOPA" or "soup" in Spanish.

You will need alphabet pasta from the pasta aisle at the grocery store. Sometimes, it’s little hard to find. They come in tiny packages. You can usually get three for $1. If you can’t find it, look for it in the Hispanic aisle next to the fideo and the conchas.

Chopped tomatoes and chopped onions in a blender.

Blend tomatoes, onion, garlic, and water in the blender until smooth. No chunkiness allowed. Stay smooth, my friends.

Blender with tomato sauce inside.

Then set the tomato sauce aside until ready to use. You can also use a can of tomato sauce and skip this step, but I wanted to give the “from scratch” recipe. See how vibrant red it is? That’s because the tomatoes have not yet been cooked. I love this color! It reminds me of bullfights I never saw.

Alphabet pasta in a metal stock pot.

Add oil in a large stock pot. You will need a pot big enough to handle the Sopa de Letras. Time for the pasta. Don’t go far away, or they will burn. Toast the alphabet pasta well. It will only take few minutes. Toasty is tasty.

If the pasta burns, you need to throw away the pasta. Wash the pot and start all over again. I repeat: Don’t go far from the pot when toasting the pasta!

Pouring tomato sauce into the stock pot with the alphabet pasta.

Now add the tomato mixture to the pot with the toasted pasta. Stand back! This will splatter, and no one likes to get burned. The letters may look small, but the letters expand with the liquid… and so will your smarts.

Water pouring into the metal stock pot with the tomato mixture and pasta.

Water goes in next. I don’t add a lot of water because the letters are easier to find. Fishing has never been my sport. If you want a thinner soup with more broth, add more water.

Hand holding a cube of chicken bouillon.

Chicken bouillon gives the soup a lot of flavor. It also salts the liquid. If you are not interested in using chicken bouillon, you can use chicken broth instead and omit the water. For my vegetarian readers, you can use vegetable broth.

Pot of soup with the lid on sitting on the stove.

Give everything a good stir. Cover with a lid. Let this cook for 20 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. It renders some deliciousness. Sopa de Letras brings back some great childhood memories. Some of which I remember.

White bowl with Mexican Alphabet Soup inside with a checked towel on the side.

Sopa de Letras, or Mexican Alphabet Soup, is a Meal of Fortune. Can I buy a vowel? haha! After a long day of hanging out with the nuns at our little Catholic school, one of my favorite things to do was to get come to a bowl of this soup. Hope you enjoy this Mexican childhood favorite.

Watch VIDEO

Spoon holding ABC over a bowl full of Sopa de Letras, or Mexican Alphabet Soup.
Print Recipe

Sopa de Letras

Sopa de Letras, or Mexican Alphabet Soup, is ready in minutes and perfect for picky eaters.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time25 mins
Course: Recipes
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 347kcal
Author: Maggie Unzueta

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 alphabet pasta
  • 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 alphabet pasta. 
  • Stir frequently until golden brown. 
  • About 4-5 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

Notes

Don't like chicken bouillon? Omit water and chicken bouillon, and use chicken broth or vegetarian broth instead.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Sopa de Letras
Amount Per Serving
Calories 347 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 165mg7%
Potassium 235mg7%
Carbohydrates 61g20%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 11g22%
Vitamin A 172IU3%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 19mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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More Mexican Soups & Stews


Birria de Res, or Mexican Beef Stew
Mexican Fish Soup, or Caldo de Pescado
Pozole Rojo
Roasted Poblano Corn Soup
Mexican Lentil Soup, or Sopa de Lentejas
Mexican Star Soup, or Sopa de Estrellitas
Caldo de Verduras, or Mexican Vegetable Soup
Caldo de Pollo, or Mexican Chicken Soup
Caldo de Camarón – Mexican Shrimp Soup
Caldillo Durangueño, a Traditional Beef Stew from Durango, Mexico
Sopa de Conchas

Filed Under: Mexican, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: easy meals, easy recipe, kids food, lunch, meatless, Mexican, Mexican food, vegetarian

About Maggie Unzueta

Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.

Comments

  1. Arya says

    June 17, 2019 at 6:56 am

    This reminds me of when I was a kid! So much fun 😉

    Reply
  2. Claire Lee says

    June 17, 2019 at 10:59 am

    Haha this is so cute!! Good to know more about sopa de letras! I’d love to try the soup someday too!

    Reply
  3. Nati says

    June 17, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    Awesome! this brings memories! we also had sopa de letras in Argentina! but the broth was done a bit differently 🙂

    Reply
  4. Fatima Torres says

    June 18, 2019 at 5:07 am

    Sopa de Letras is one of the dishes I loved as a kid. Seeing the chicken flavored cubes brought back memories.

    Reply
  5. Kalyan Panja says

    June 18, 2019 at 8:35 am

    The Mexican soup looks perfect for any occasion. You have done a fabulous job preparing it and you surely enjoyed the soup to the fullest.

    Reply
  6. Bella and Dawn at Dear Mummy Blog says

    June 18, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    I love Alphabet Shapes! But never tried Mexican Soup before and the flavours sound wonderful!

    Reply

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