Mexican Soups and Stews for Cold British Winters

Mexican Comfort Food for British Weather

There is a persistent myth that Mexican food is all about light, fresh, summer dishes - tacos, ceviche, guacamole. In reality, Mexico has a rich and magnificent soup and stew tradition that is perfect for the kind of weather that Britain specialises in: cold, wet, grey and utterly miserable. Mexican soups are some of the most warming, nourishing, deeply flavoured comfort foods on earth, and they deserve a place in every British home cook's winter repertoire.

What makes Mexican soups distinctive is the layering of flavour. Unlike many European soups, which build flavour primarily through long simmering, Mexican soups achieve complexity through technique - charring, toasting, frying sauces - combined with a tradition of adding fresh garnishes and accompaniments at the table. A bowl of pozole arrives steaming and rich, but it is finished by each diner with shredded cabbage, radishes, lime, oregano and tostadas, creating a dish that is simultaneously warming and fresh, heavy and light, cooked and raw.

Here are six extraordinary Mexican soups and stews, each perfect for a cold British evening.

1. Pozole Rojo (Red Hominy Stew)

Pozole is one of Mexico's most ancient and important dishes - a ceremonial stew that predates the Spanish conquest. It is built around hominy (nixtamalised corn kernels), which are simmered with pork until the kernels are tender and have burst open like flowers, creating a uniquely satisfying, slightly chewy texture that is unlike any other ingredient in Western cooking.

Ingredients (Serves 6-8)

• 1kg pork shoulder, cut into 5cm chunks
• 2 tins (800g) hominy, drained (available from Mexican shops and online - called 'maíz pozolero')
• 6 guajillo chillies, stemmed and deseeded
• 3 ancho chillies, stemmed and deseeded
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 onion, halved
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• Salt

For the table (essential)

• Shredded white cabbage
• Sliced radishes
• Diced onion
• Dried oregano
• Lime wedges
• Tostadas or tortilla chips
• Hot sauce

Method

1. Place the pork in a large pot, cover with 2 litres of water, add half the onion and 2 garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1.5-2 hours until tender.
2. Toast the dried chillies in a dry pan. Soak in hot water for 20 minutes. Blend with the remaining garlic, remaining onion half, oregano and 200ml of the pork broth until smooth. Strain.
3. Remove the pork from the broth. Shred into bite-sized pieces.
4. Add the chilli sauce and drained hominy to the broth. Simmer for 30 minutes. Return the shredded pork. Season generously with salt.
5. Serve in large bowls with all the table garnishes arranged on a plate for each diner to customise their bowl.

Pozole is fundamentally a communal dish - it feeds a crowd and improves as it sits. Make it on a Saturday afternoon and reheat it through the weekend.

2. Caldo de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Soup)

Every culture has its chicken soup, and Mexico's version is one of the best. It is a clear, golden broth loaded with vegetables - corn on the cob (cut into chunks), courgettes, chayote, potatoes, carrots - with whole pieces of chicken on the bone. It is simultaneously light and substantial, brothy and nourishing.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 1.5kg), jointed into 8 pieces
• 2 litres water
• 1 onion, halved
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 corn cobs, cut into 4cm rounds
• 3 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 courgettes, cut into chunks
• 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Handful of coriander
• Salt
• To serve: lime wedges, chopped coriander, avocado slices, rice (served in a separate bowl)

Method

1. Place the chicken pieces in a large pot with the water, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil, skim thoroughly, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
2. Add the corn and carrots. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and courgettes. Cook for 15 minutes more.
3. Season well with salt. Stir in the coriander.
4. Serve each bowl with a piece of chicken, a selection of vegetables, and plenty of broth. Accompany with lime, extra coriander, avocado and a separate plate of rice.

This is the soup that Mexican mothers make when someone is ill, when the weather is cold, or when the family simply needs comfort. It is humble, nourishing and perfect.

3. Sopa de Tortilla (Tortilla Soup)

Tortilla soup is one of the most celebrated soups in Mexican cuisine - a rich, smoky tomato and chilli broth topped with crispy tortilla strips, avocado, cheese and soured cream. The contrast between the hot, flavourful broth and the cool, creamy toppings is magnificent.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 4 tomatoes, halved
• 1 onion, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 pasilla or ancho chillies, stemmed and deseeded
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 tbsp oil
• Salt
• For the toppings: crispy tortilla strips (cut tortillas into strips and fry until golden), diced avocado, soured cream, grated cheese, dried chilli flakes, lime

Method

1. Char the tomatoes, onion and garlic under a hot grill for 10 minutes.
2. Toast the dried chillies in a dry pan for 1 minute per side.
3. Blend the charred vegetables and toasted chillies with 200ml of the stock until smooth.
4. Heat the oil in a pot. Pour in the sauce and fry for 5 minutes. Add the remaining stock. Simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt.
5. Ladle into bowls and let each person add their own toppings.

4. Birria

Birria is a rich, deeply flavoured stew from Jalisco, traditionally made with goat but now more commonly with beef. The meat is slow-cooked in a complex dried chilli sauce until meltingly tender, producing a stew that is simultaneously a soup (the broth, called consomé) and a filling for tacos (the shredded meat). Birria tacos - where corn tortillas are dipped in the rich red consomé and then griddled with cheese and shredded meat - have become a global phenomenon.

The key to great birria is the chilli paste: blend toasted guajillo, ancho and chipotle chillies with charred tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, cloves, oregano and vinegar. Coat the beef (shin or chuck work best) and slow-cook at 160°C for 3-4 hours until falling apart. The resulting consomé is liquid gold - rich, complex, slightly spicy and deeply satisfying.

5. Sopa de Fideo (Mexican Noodle Soup)

A simple, comforting soup of thin pasta noodles (fideo, similar to vermicelli or angel hair broken into short pieces) cooked in a tomato-chilli broth. It is the Mexican equivalent of chicken noodle soup - humble, unpretentious, universally loved. The key technique is toasting the dry noodles in oil before adding the liquid, which gives them a nutty flavour and prevents them from turning to mush.

Toast 200g vermicelli (broken into short pieces) in 2 tbsp oil until golden. Add a blended sauce of 3 tomatoes, 1 garlic clove and ¼ onion. Fry for 2 minutes. Add 1 litre of chicken stock. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until noodles are tender. Season with salt. Serve with lime, coriander and a crumble of queso fresco or feta.

6. Caldo de Res (Mexican Beef and Vegetable Soup)

A substantial, meal-in-a-bowl beef soup loaded with vegetables. Beef shank or short ribs are simmered until tender, then corn, cabbage, courgettes, potatoes, green beans and chayote are added, creating a hearty, nutritious broth that is a complete meal in itself.

This is the kind of soup that feeds a family of six for about £8 - cheap beef cuts and seasonal vegetables become something magnificent with nothing more than time and salt. Serve with warm corn tortillas, lime wedges, salsa and sliced avocado.

Making Mexican Soups Work in Britain

The vast majority of ingredients for these soups are available at any British supermarket. The only items that may require a trip to a specialist shop or online order are dried chillies (guajillo, ancho, pasilla) and hominy. Dried chillies keep for months in the cupboard, so buy a selection once and you are set for the winter. Hominy is available tinned from Mexican shops and Amazon UK.

Accompaniments and Serving Traditions

In Mexico, soups and stews are rarely served as a simple bowl of broth. The accompaniments - served separately and added at the table by each diner - are as important as the soup itself. This tradition of personalisation at the table is one of the most distinctive features of Mexican food culture and one that British cooks should enthusiastically adopt.

The standard accompaniments include: lime wedges (essential - a squeeze of fresh lime juice brightens and lifts every Mexican soup), chopped coriander, diced onion, sliced radishes, shredded cabbage or lettuce, tostadas or tortilla chips, dried oregano (crumbled between your palms to release the oils), and hot sauce. More substantial additions include sliced avocado, soured cream, crumbled cheese (feta works well as a UK substitute for queso fresco) and extra chillies for those who want more heat.

Present these accompaniments on a large plate or in small bowls arranged in the centre of the table. Each person customises their bowl to their taste - some prefer extra lime and oregano, others load up on avocado and cheese, heat enthusiasts add extra chilli. This communal, personalised approach to eating is deeply social and ensures everyone is satisfied.

Freezing and Reheating Mexican Soups

Most Mexican soups and stews freeze exceptionally well, making them ideal for batch cooking. Pozole, birria, caldo de res and black bean soup all freeze for up to three months without any loss of quality. Cool completely before freezing, and use rigid containers rather than bags to protect the ingredients. When reheating, thaw overnight in the fridge and warm gently on the hob - do not boil, as this can toughen the meat. Add fresh garnishes after reheating for the brightest flavour.

For more warming Mexican recipes, explore our recipe collection. For specialist ingredients, check our UK Mexican shops directory. And for a professionally made bowl of pozole or birria, visit our guide to authentic Mexican restaurants near you.