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Chiapas Bread and Chilli Soup

Name: Chiapas Bread and Chilli Soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 2 cloves Garlic; 0.5 tsp Ground cinnamon; 100 ml Soured cream; 300 g Egg bread; 2 Cloves; 1 Onion; 3 Guajillo chillies; 1.2 litres Chicken stock; 2 Tomatoes

60 min (25 prep + 35 cook) Medium 6 servings Chiapas

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 24 Mar 2026 · Updated: 30 Mar 2026

Chiapas soup of dried egg bread with guajillo chilli and warm spices.

About this recipe

Traditional Chiapas soup made with dried egg bread, guajillo chilli, tomato and spices. A comforting and deeply flavoured dish from San Cristóbal de las Casas.

History & Origin

Bread and chilli soup is one of the hidden gems of Chiapas gastronomy, especially rooted in San Cristóbal de las Casas and the highlands communities of Chiapas. This dish was born from the ingenuity of Chiapas cooks who found in dried egg bread - a traditional sweet bread of the region - the perfect base for a hearty, flavour-packed soup. The soup has roots in colonial culinary traditions, when using stale bread was an everyday necessity. The nuns and cooks in San Cristóbal's colonial houses created this preparation by combining dry bread with local chillies and spices to produce something entirely new. The result faintly recalls European bread soups but has a thoroughly Chiapas character thanks to guajillo chilli, roasted tomato and cinnamon. What makes this soup special is its texture: the bread absorbs the spiced broth and transforms completely, surrendering its structure to thicken the soup and give it body. The spices - cinnamon, cloves, pepper - lend an aromatic complexity evoking the Arab-Spanish influence on colonial Mexican cooking. Today the soup is served especially at festivities and family gatherings in the highlands of Chiapas - a dish that speaks of identity, ingenuity and the ability of popular cuisine to create something extraordinary from simple ingredients.

Estimated cost

£4.50

Total cost

£0.75

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

280

Calories

Protein

43g

Carbohydrates

Fat

Fibre

520mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Break 300g dried egg bread (or stale sweet bread) into pieces and toast in the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes. Set aside.
💡 If you have no egg bread, use brioche or stale white bread.
2
Toast 3 guajillo chillies, 2 tomatoes and 1/4 onion on a griddle. Soak the chillies in hot water for 15 minutes. Blend everything with 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 cloves and salt.
💡 Strain the sauce for a smooth texture.
3
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pot. Fry the strained sauce over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until it darkens.
4
Add 1.2 litres hot chicken stock to the fried sauce. Bring to the boil, adjust salt and cook 10 minutes.
💡 Homemade stock gives better results.
5
Add the toasted bread pieces to the broth. Cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes until the bread absorbs the broth and thickens the soup. Stir gently.
💡 The bread should not dissolve completely; it should keep some texture.
6
Serve with soured cream, crumbled fresh cheese, toasted dried chilli and pickled red onion.