This traditional Puerto Rican sopa de fideo con pollo recipe features tender chunks of chicken, vibrant carrots, and the rich aroma of homemade sofrito. The short noodles add a delicate texture, while fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime elevate the taste to perfection.
If you're wondering if this is the same as chicken noodle soup, the answer is nope. The flavor profile is very similar, but this fideo soup recipe is more delicate in taste and texture than the hearty and familiar chicken noodle soup that's made with egg noodles.
Jump to:
What is fideo?
Fideos are thin golden noodles that resemble vermicelli noodles. You can either find fideo noodles sold in nest-like bundles or as fideo corto which are short noodles.
When the nest-like fideo cook they will separate into separate strands that are perfect for soup! A good rule of thumb is to use 1-2 nests per person.
Learn Spanish: Fideo is the Spanish word for noodle.
Where can I find a package of fideos?
Sometimes finding fideo pasta noodles can be difficult. I suggest looking for Latin markets near you or the pasta aisle of your grocery store.
If you're in a pinch, you can always use angel hair pasta! Just cut the angel hair pasta down into one inch pieces before adding it to the soup.Â
Fideo Substitutions
This recipe calls for fideo noodles, but if you can't find fideo noodles, these are great thin pasta substitutions:
- angel hair pasta
- vermicelli pasta
- spaghetti pasta
Just be sure to cut spaghetti or pasta into short 3-4 inch pieces.
Fun fact: Pasta color is naturally determined by the source of wheat that's processed (durum wheat is amber colored and gives off a golden color, whereas pasta made from common wheat are white).
Of course, added ingredients such as egg, artificial and natural dyes affect the color as well. Also, did you know drying time can affect the color of noodles? The quicker the drying process, the darker the noodles!
Notes on Ingredients
Chicken Seasoning Ingredients:
- Boneless chicken: You can use breast, tenderloin, or any cut of chicken. If you're short on time, you can even shred rotisserie chicken to add at the end! The key is to cut your chicken into 1-inch pieces.
- Oregano: Contributes a warm, earthy, and slightly bitter flavor to your sopa de fideo. I also like using Mexican oregano or Dominican oregano.
- Salt: Enhances overall flavors by adding a savory and balanced taste. It helps bring out the natural flavors of other ingredients in the noodle soup.
- Black pepper: Adds a gentle kick to your chicken.
- Cumin: Adds a warm, earthy, and slightly nutty flavor.
For making the Puerto Rican noodle soup:
- Olive oil: A heart healthy oil, this oil has a nice fragrant aroma. You can replace with a neutral oil if desired.
- Red bell pepper: The red bell pepper enhances the overall sweetness and color of the soup.
- Onion: This is optional. You can add a yellow onion or shallots, cut into smaller pieces. Onions caramelize well and add a subtle yet strong flavor that also is sweet.
- Sofrito: A cornerstone ingredient in Puerto Rican cooking, sofrito is a fresh blend of pureed bell peppers, yellow onions, garlic, and cilantro.
- Sazon seasoning: Used to add a beautiful orange hue to the sopa de fideo. You can also use turmeric or achiote oil (instead of olive oil) in it's place to add color.
- Tomato sauce: Tomatoes add a sweetness to the broth and a nice color to the noodle soup.
- Bay leaves: Imparts a subtle herbal and slightly floral flavor to the broth. Use only 1 or 2, if you use more it can lead to a medicinal flavor.
- Celery: Provides a subtle, savory flavor and a refreshing crunch. Celery adds depth to the overall profile of the soup.
- Chicken broth: You can use your favorite chicken broth, chicken stock, vegetable broth, or even powdered Knorr caldo de pollo (chicken bouillon). Personally, I love to use Better Than bouillon's chicken flavor for my chicken broth.
- Carrots: Adds a sweetness, color, and has a great crunch.
- Tip: For quicker cooking, soak carrots in water for an hour to help soften the carrots. Also, when you cut the carrots into smaller pieces, the quicker the cook time will be.
- Fideo (noodles): Thin golden noodles that can be replaced with angel hair pasta.
- Cilantro: When added right at the end, it adds a depth of freshness with a citrusy note.
- Fresh lime: A squeeze of lime juice adds a bright and tangy note, balancing the richness of the soup. This adds such a nice depth of flavor! I love adding a lime juice to most soups.
How to make sopa de fideo
- Finely chop your vegetables into smaller pieces and set to the side. Cut your chicken into 1-inch pieces and place it into a bowl.
- Season chicken with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons of oregano.
- Warm oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and then add in chicken and cook for about two minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add celery, onion, and red pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
- Adjust heat as needed to ensure that it's not too hot. You want your vegetables to soften, but you don't want to brown your chicken.
- Lower heat to medium and add in sofrito and seasonings. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring once or twice, then add in tomato sauce and bay leaves, and allow the sauce to reduce for about a minute.
- Pour in chicken broth and higher heat to medium-high. Once the broth reaches a boil, add in the carrots, stir the soup, and reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
- Cook for 20-30 minutes, or until carrots are fork tender.
- Add the fideo to your soup and cook until noodles are al dente, about 6-9 minutes.
- Once the fideos are cooked, taste and adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add lime juice to taste and garnish with cilantro.
Recipe Variations
There are countless variations of sopa de fideo. Here are just a few:
- Vegetarian Version: Omit the chicken and chicken stock. Use vegetable broth and your choice of a vegetarian friendly protein. Add potatoes to make a sopa de fideo con papa!
- Add a Kick: Chopped jalapenos, chipotle peppers, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or even cayenne pepper will make a great spicy fideo soup.
- Protein Options: Make this a sopa de fideo with albondigas (meatballs) with ground beef meatballs. You can also use shrimp for a seafood soup version.
- Gluten-Free: There are plenty of gluten-free thin noodle options out there to make this a gluten-free sopa de fideo recipe.
Mexican Sopa de Fideo vs Puerto Rican Sopa de Fideo
One of Mexico's most classic soup recipe is sopa de fideo. A simple dish of noodles can be transformed in different ways by just changing a few ingredients and using slight change in cooking methods.
Mexican noodle soup recipes:
- Fideo corto is the noodle of choice. They also toast fideo with oil over medium heat until it's a golden brown color.
- A tomato mixture is made with either fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes that is mixed together in a blender with vegetables and spices such as cumin or chili powder to create a tomato broth.
- Mexican soups are typically topped with queso fresco and served with warm corn tortillas or tortilla chips.
Note: Typically, a Mexican noodle soup recipe is a simple comforting dish where the noodles are the star of the show. Not everyone adds meats or veggies like carrots or celery to their fideo soup recipe.
Puerto Rican noodle soup recipes:
- Nest-style fideos are a popular choice. We add it at the end, once the broth is boiling and after vegetables are cooked.
- Puerto Rican soup recipes usually use a sofrito base where we add a small amount of tomato sauce or tomato paste.
- Toppings such as avocado slices, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice is our go to. We also like to serve sopa de fideo with tostones or bread to soak up the broth.
Both versions of sopa de fideo are equally good savory soups! In the Mexican cuisine, I usually taste a stronger smokey taste due to cooking methods and from the spices used. Whereas, in the Puerto Rican cuisine, the flavors are typically brighter.
Feel free to give Dora's Table authentic sopa de fideo a try and let us know in the comments below what differences you taste between the similar dishes!
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerating Instructions
To store your sopa de fideo, it's best to first allow your soup to get to room temperature, then place it into an airtight container and refrigerate it up to three days.
Reheating Instructions
To reheat your sopita, you can either place the desired amount into a pot over medium-low heat until it's warmed through or into a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for 2-3 minutes, or until it's your ideal temperature.
Due to the thickening that can occur during the cooling process, you may have to add additional water or chicken broth to your sopa de fideo when reheating it. It's up to you and your preference on how thin you want your fideo soup to be on how much water or chicken broth you add to it.
Freezing Instructions
Freezing noodles in soup is not recommended. Your noodles will be mushy when reheated.
More Puerto Rican Soup Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
Fideo in English means "noodle", but it's referring to a specific kind of noodle. Just like linguine is pasta, fideo is a specific kind of pasta. Fideo is a short cut, thin golden noodle that either comes packaged in small nest-like bundles or fideo cortos, which is short cut noodles.
Thinner than spaghetti noodles, fideo noodles have a stronger resemblance to angel hair pasta and vermicelli noodles.
If you've ever tried Lipton's boxed Soup Secrets Noodle Soup, it's the same kind of noodles.
You can use cut spaghetti in place of fideos, but it's going to be a heartier soup compared to the delicate texture that fideo offers.
The golden color of fideo noodles may give off the impression that it contains eggs, but fideos are egg free noodles. The reason fideos are golden is because fideos are made using semolina that is processed from the amber kernels of durum wheat.
Since fideos are made using the semolina of durum wheat instead of the common regular wheat, it has a lower glycemic value which is better for our bodies.
According to WebMD a cup of pasta made out of durum wheat semolina packs 21 grams of protein, 6.5 grams of dietary fiber, iron, fat, and folate. Some fideos are enriched, so you will need to check your package of fideos for specific nutritional values.
Sopa de Fideo : Noodle Soup Recipe
Equipment
- stove
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 packet of sazon or 1 teaspoon of turmeric for color
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ cup sofrito
- 4 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 whole red pepper chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 celery stalks peeled and chopped
- 64 oz chicken broth or water and chicken bullion
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
- 5 oz fideo short cut noodles, like angel hair
- fresh lime juice for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl season chicken with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons of oregano.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for two minutes before adding the onions, celery, and peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften stirring often to keep from browning. Reduce the heat if needed. (You want to sweat the onions, but not brown the chicken.)
- Stir in sofrito and remaining seasonings, and allow the sofrito to cook for about a minute before adding in the tomato sauce. Mix and let ingredients infuse for about 30 seconds (again, adjusting the heat as needed) before pouring in the chicken broth.
- Raise the heat to high and stir everything together until the broth comes to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-high so it cooks at a steady yet gentle simmer. Add in the carrots and cook your soup uncovered until carrots are fork tender. This can take anywhere between 20-40 minutes, depending on how thick the carrots are. Stir occasionally and adjust the heat as needed.
- Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning to add more salt and/or pepper, if desired. Lower your heat to medium-low and add in the fideos. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Connection Time
Let's keep the conversation going! Let us know in the comment section below, which type of fideos will you be cooking with: corto (short) or will you choose the nest-like noodles?
Be sure to join us over in our private Facebook group that has over 160,000 members that share their favorite recipes, ask questions, and together we've created a community with a love for Latin meals!
