MAIN INGREDIENTS
A traditional dish from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, sopa de lima is a spicy, flavorful chicken and tomato soup, contrary to its name that would make one think limes are the main ingredient in the dish. However, the soup is flavored with unique, bittersweet Yucatan limes and spicy habanero peppers.
Since native Yucatan limes are scattered throughout the peninsula, it is no wonder that they are incorporated in numerous recipes of Yucatecan cuisine. A hearty, healthy soup from a warm climate, sopa de lima is also great as a winter comfort food.
Although the origins of this soup are still a mystery, some food historians claim that it was most likely derived from an ancient Mayan dish.
MOST ICONIC Sopa de lima
View moreCaldo de queso is a simple Mexican soup featuring potatoes, green chilies, chicken broth, and cheese. It is important to add the cheese last in order for it to turn the soup creamy without producing large mounds of cheese in the liquid. The soup is traditionally served with fried corn tortilla chips on the side.
MOST ICONIC Caldo de queso
Tarascan puréed bean soup hails from the Mexican state of Michoacán, home of the Tarascan or Purépecha people — one of the major pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica. Their culture flourished from 1100s to the early 1500s, but by the 1530, Purépecha people had succumbed to the Spanish conquistadors who eventually named them Tarascos, hence the name sopa Tarasca.
Apart from the beans — which are usually cooked together with tomatoes in a simple chicken broth — this dish is a great source of both fresh and dried chili peppers, most of which are native to the New World like the smoked pasilla de Oaxaca, which imparts not only a delicate heat but also adds a nice smoky flavor to this hearty soup.
Pozole is a soupy and aromatic one-bowl stew from Mexico, usually served to crowds on special occasions and celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, or birthdays. Its main ingredient is nixtamal or hominy - large, dried corn kernels that are pre-cooked in an alkaline solution in order to soften them.
The process, known as nixtamalization, makes the solution foamy or potzolli in Nahuatl, which is how pozole got its name. Other ingredients in the dish include a variety of herbs, spices, and meat such as pork, chicken, or seafood, depending on the region.
VARIATIONS OF Pozole
MOST ICONIC Pozole
View moreMAIN INGREDIENTS
Sopa de aguacate is a traditional soup originating from Central Mexico, but it's popular throughout Latin America. Although there are numerous variations, this pale gren soup is usually made with a combination of avocados, chicken stock or caldo de pollo soup, chipotle chili peppers, and fried pieces of tortilla.
The avocados are blended with the stock into a smooth purée, then heated gently so that the mixture doesn't boil. The soup is served immediately, while still warm, and it's topped with the tortilla pieces and chipotle chili peppers torn into pieces.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Pozole is a soupy and aromatic Mexican stew that comes in three versions – red, white, and green, symbolizing the colors of the Mexican flag. Although there are many variations, pozole rojo or red pozole is usually made with a combination of pork, hominy, onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and a thick and spicy red sauce consisting of onions, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, ancho chili peppers, and guajillo chili peppers.
The ingredients are covered with water, simmered until everything is fully cooked, and then mixed with the sauce and simmered for a few more minutes. The stew is served in individual bowls and it's usually garnished with lemon wedges, shredded lettuce, and sliced avocado.
MOST ICONIC Pozole rojo
Caldo de siete mares is a popular Mexican soup featuring seafood cooked in a light broth. The dish is most popular in Mexico's coastal regions, where an abundance of fresh, local seafood ensures that the soup has a unique flavor. When it is ready for consumption, it is often served in large bowls with lime wedges and hot sauces on the side for an extra kick.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Caldo de camaron is a Mexican soup featuring tender pieces of shrimp, chayote squash, and carrots in a broth made with chilis and stewed tomatoes. The dish can be found throughout Mexico, and its origins lie with the ancient Nayarit, who used to prepare a spicy chili-based soup with shrimp.
It is recommended to garnish the soup with chopped avocado and a squeeze of lime juice.
MOST ICONIC Caldo de camarón
It is said that among numerous ways to enjoy tortillas, one of the best is in this aromatic broth, known as sopa de tortilla. Although little is known about its origins, tortilla soup is a specialty of Mexico City, where this golden chicken broth is enriched with onions, tomatoes, chipotle chiles, epazote, and fried pieces of tortillas.
Thick, nourishing, and rich, the combination of those ingredients is elevated by the contrasts in flavors and textures that best characterize typical Mexican comfort food. It is recommended to garnish the soup with avocado slices or grated cheese, and serve it as a starter or as a meal in itself.
MOST ICONIC Sopa de tortilla
Carne en su jugo is a traditional beef soup with bacon, beans, garlic, and onions. The broth can be additionally flavored with chilis and vegetables. The soup originates from Guadalajara, and it was first made in the 1950s in a restaurant called El Gallo, when it was used as a hangover cure in the late hours of the evening.
Today, carne en su jugo is traditionally served in clay plates.
MOST ICONIC Carne en su jugo
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 31 Mexican Soups” list until April 15, 2025, 1,921 ratings were recorded, of which 914 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.