Sopas y caldos
Mexican soup names
Pozole, menudo, birria, caldo. Mexican soup names are blunt and descriptive: menudo means "the small things", the offal that goes in it, and pozole comes from a Nahuatl word for foam, describing how the hominy blooms open as it cooks.
18 soups and stews, with meanings
- Caldo tlalpeñoSoup or stew
Tlalpan-style broth
KAL-doh tlal-PEH-nyohSpanishSpanish caldo+tlalpeñoMexico City - Sopa de tortillaSoup or stew
tortilla soup
SOH-pah deh tor-TEE-yahSpanishSpanish sopa+de tortillacentral Mexico
Every name in one table
| Name | Means | Built from | Language | Say it | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birria | worthless thing, a mess | Spanish birria (junk, something of no value) | Spanish | BEE-ryah | Jalisco |
| Caldo de res | beef broth | Spanish caldo+de res | Spanish | KAL-doh deh RES | northern Mexico |
| Caldo tlalpeño | Tlalpan-style broth | Spanish caldo+tlalpeño | Spanish | KAL-doh tlal-PEH-nyoh | Mexico City |
| Chileatole | chile maize gruel | chīlli+ātōlli | Nahuatl | chee-leh-ah-TOH-leh | Puebla |
| Chilpachole | tangled chile stew | chīlli+patzolli | Nahuatl | cheel-pah-CHOH-leh | Veracruz |
| Cocido | cooked one | Spanish cocido (cooked, boiled) | Spanish | koh-SEE-doh | northern Mexico |
| Consomé | clear broth | French consommé (consummated, reduced to completion) | French | kon-soh-MEH | nationwide |
| Fideo | thin noodle | Spanish fideo (noodle), from Andalusi Arabic fidáwš | Spanish | fee-DEH-oh | nationwide |
| Menudo | small things, the offal | Spanish menudo (small, minute; in the plural, offal) | Spanish | meh-NOO-doh | northern Mexico |
| Mole de olla | pot stew | mōlli (sauce, stew) + Spanish de olla (of the pot) | Spanish | MOH-leh deh OH-yah | central Mexico |
| Mondongo | tripe | Spanish mondongo (tripe, entrails) | Spanish | mon-DON-goh | Yucatán |
| Pancita | little belly | Spanish panza+-ita | Spanish | pan-SEE-tah | Mexico City |
| Pozole | foamy maize stew | pozolli (foamy thing, from tlapozonalli, boiled or frothed) | Nahuatl | poh-SOH-leh | Jalisco |
| Puchero | cooking pot | Spanish puchero (earthenware pot) | Spanish | poo-CHEH-roh | Yucatán |
| Sopa azteca | Aztec soup | Spanish sopa+azteca | Spanish | SOH-pah as-TEH-kah | central Mexico |
| Sopa de lima | lime soup | Spanish sopa+lima | Spanish | SOH-pah deh LEE-mah | Yucatán |
| Sopa de tortilla | tortilla soup | Spanish sopa+de tortilla | Spanish | SOH-pah deh tor-TEE-yah | central Mexico |
| Sopa seca | dry soup | Spanish sopa+seca | Spanish | SOH-pah SEH-kah | nationwide |
3 of these names were formed in one of Mexico's indigenous languages rather than in Spanish. See how Nahuatl builds words.
Back to all Mexican food names.