This Mexican shell soup (or Sopa de Conchas) is quick to make and uses only 6 simple ingredients! The tomato broth is SO flavorful and made from scratch within minutes. Perfect side dish or full meal to make on a weeknight and is naturally vegan.
If you are looking for a new easy and quick weeknight dinner recipe, then you have got to try this Mexican shell soup.
It is also called "Sopa de Conchas" or "Mexican Sopita Shell" and it is one of the most flavorful yet simple broths we have had for a while. It is a classic filling soup part of Mexican cuisine and it is SO delicious!
It consists of toasted shell noodles (conchas or conchitas) simmered in a homemade tomato broth. It carries light aromas of cilantro and garlic and the broth is light and delicate, super satisfying. It really is quite simple to prepare and should be ready within 20 minutes, making it a tasty meal that you can make on busy weeknights and that your whole family will love, even picky kids.
Let me know if you gave it a try! ❤️
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✅ What is a Mexican shell soup?
Mexican shell soup can also be called "Sopa de Conchas" or "Sopita Shells" and is a variation of the popular Mexican recipe "Sopa de Fideo". Both versions are made with a light broth and pasta: fideo includes vermicelli noodles and concha uses shell noodles.
A classic sopa de conchas is more often made using a rich tomato-based broth to flavor the soup and usually also is made using chicken broth, but I obviously used vegetable broth in this case and it worked out perfectly.
It is a very simple recipe that's often served as an appetizer or side dish alongside other Mexican dishes.
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Easy and quick recipe
- Very versatile soup
- Features a homemade and very flavorful rich tomato broth
- Made only with 6 ingredients
- Filling and satisfying
- Budget-friendly recipe
- Fits many diets: vegan, dairy-free and can be made gluten-free easily
🗒 Ingredient notes (+ substitutions)
- Shell pasta (conchas or conchitas): use medium size or mini shells for this recipe, both will work. I used half of a box of 16 ounces. Shell noodles have a cavity that helps hold on to the broth so you have more in each bite. If you don't have shell noodles, then use any short noodles you have, such as macaroni.
- Vegetable broth: use a broth that you already love on its own, the soup is very simple so the flavor from the broth matters! You can use store-bought or make your own vegetable broth!
- Onion: I used half of an onion to flavor the tomato broth without overpowering the taste.
- Garlic: use as much as you want. The garlic is blended with the tomatoes, but you could add extra cloves when toasting the noodles for a stronger garlicky taste.
- Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes work well for this recipe. I used 3 medium-large tomatoes.
- Cilantro: The whole stems are simmered with the broth and then removed, so there are no pieces of cilantro within the soup unless you add some more. The flavor of cilantro is only light and might please even someone who does not like cilantro.
⭐️ Full list of ingredients down below in the recipe card!
📝 Variations to the recipe
You can add so much more to this recipe, such as:
- Vegetables: you can add a ton of veggies, like diced carrots or celery, zucchini, peas or green beans and corn. You can also include leafy greens at the end just so they can wilt.
- Spices: feel free to include more spices, such as cumin, smoked paprika or chili powder to the blender to add more flavor. Dried oregano would also be great.
- Beans: to make this soup more filling especially if serving as a full meal, then simply add a can of black beans, pinto beans or kidney beans.
- Spicy: cayenne pepper and chipotle pepper would add more heat to the broth. Or, you can also include a jalapeño pepper to the blender for a nice kick!
- Smoky: smoked paprika works well to add a nice smoky flavor to the broth, but also, you can also blend a whole chipotle pepper in adobo sauce from a can to really boost the flavor!
- Creamy: to make the broth rich and creamy, then try adding 5.4 oz of unsweetened coconut cream once the soup is all done.
🍽 How to make a Mexican shell soup
Step 1: In a blender, add 2 of the tomatoes, half the onion, garlic cloves and water.
Step 2: Blend on high until smooth. Set aside.
Step 3: Warm up a medium-large pot with a little oil and toast the shells (conchas or conchitas) on medium-high heat until golden brown. Watch carefully and stir often so they don't burn!
Step 4: Then pour the blended tomato broth over with a pinch of salt. You can first turn down the heat before pouring the broth to prevent large splatters.
Step 5: Stir well, bring to a simmer and then cover. Keep cooking on a low simmer for 5-7 minutes watching carefully so it does not stick to the bottom (stir once in a while).
Step 6: Then, pour the vegetable broth over and add the third chopped tomato and cilantro stems. Stir and cover.
Step 7: Bring to a simmer and then, keep simmering until the noodles are done to your liking. Serve the sopa de conchas right away with extra chopped cilantro and lime wedges, if desired. Enjoy!
⭐️ Detailed recipe (+ video) down below in the recipe card!
💡 Cooking tips
- Don't skip on toasting the pasta! It really adds a pleasant nutty flavor to the soup and it only takes 5 minutes to do.
- The pasta shells will burn quickly! Stay around the pot and watch closely while you roast them.
- You can also roast the veggies (tomatoes, onion and garlic) in the oven before blending to add more flavor. Simply place them on a baking sheet and bake at 400ºF for about 20 minutes. Then, keep going with the recipe as described.
🍴 Serving suggestions
For a stronger cilantro flavor, then add some extra chopped cilantro over your bowl at serving. This sopa de conchas also works well with a little zesty lime juice to brighten up the soup, so I recommend to serve with a few wedges of lime.
You can also add all sorts of Mexican toppings when serving, such as:
- Sour cream for a creamy touch
- Fresh green or red onions
- Crushed tortilla chips for more texture
- Mexican-style vegan cheese
💡 Storage tips
Like most soups made with pasta, this recipe is best served right away since the noodles will keep soaking on the broth and the soup will turn thicker.
If you do have leftovers, just keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can add extra broth before reheating in the microwave or on the stove.
I don't recommend freezing this recipe.
❓ FAQs
I think the flavor is best when using fresh tomatoes but yes, you can use canned tomatoes. Blend a 15 oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes for more flavor and keep some of it unblended to add to the soup with the broth later for more texture.
Yes, you can make it GF simply by using GF noodles, such as the chickpea shells from the brand Banza. Make sure not to overcook them!
🌱 More Mexican soup recipes you might like
I hope you like this Mexican shell soup recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!
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📖 Recipe
Mexican Shell Soup (Sopa de Conchas)
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3 Roma tomatoes (or 15 oz diced tomatoes) - roughly chopped (divided)
- ½ yellow or sweet onion - roughly chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup water
- 8 oz pasta shells - medium or mini
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4-5 cilantro sprigs - plus more chopped cilanto for serving, if desired
- ½-1 tsp salt - or to taste
Instructions
- In a blender, add 2 of the Roma tomatoes, the half onion, garlic and 1 cup of water. Blend on high until smooth and set aside.
- Dice the third Roma tomato and set aside.
- Warm up a little oil in the bottom of a pot and then, toast the dry shell pasta on medium heat until golden brown (watch closely so it does not burn!).
- Once toasted, then pour the blended tomato sauce over, bring the a simmer, cover and keep cooking for about 5 minutes stirring often.
- Then, add the 4 cups of vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, sprigs of cilantro and salt. Stir to combine and keep cooking until the noodles are tender to your liking. Taste and adjust salt to preference.
- Serve right away with a side of lime wedges, red pepper flakes and more chopped cilantro, if desired.
Video
Notes
- This soup is best when enjoyed right away since the noodles will soften over time in the broth. If you have leftovers, then keep them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can add more veggies or spices to the recipe, such as carrot, chili powder, cumin powder, etc. Check out the blog post for more ideas!
- Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.
Soo this chopped up tomato that was set aside when does it come into play ???
Hi Kayla! I just added the information in the recipe card, thanks so much for pointing it out! 😊
Délicieuse! Merci Jess!
Oh yay! Contente que tu l'aimes! 😊