This Sopes recipe will teach you how to make one of the most popular traditional Mexican antojitos... Let's get started!
Mexican Sopes Recipe
There is an endless list of dishes in Mexico made using corn dough. There are many different shapes and cooking methods, and even the names given to them vary from region to region in the country, but Sopes are a popular and delicious street snack that you can find almost everywhere in Mexico.
Sopes are like small tortillas that are thicker and have a border around the edges. This last part is formed right after cooking the sopes when the texture is soft enough to allow you to pinch the edges to form the border. This border serves as a barrier to contain all the delicious toppings!
Sopes mexicanos
In my hometown, the sopes are small, round, and thick, but in other places, you might find some that are large and oval in shape.
The most popular toppings are shredded beef, pork, or chicken. This includes the traditional smear of refried beans that's usually spread on the sopes before putting the toppings on. After the beans and meat, the sopes are garnished with lettuce (or cabbage), tomato, crumbled cheese, and the salsa of your choice. Other additions include Mexican cream, pickled carrots, diced avocado, chopped onion, radish slices, and many other favorites that vary from town to town. Regardless of how many toppings you add, these sopes are delicious at every bite!
There are many dishes similar to sopes under the antojitos category, like: pellizcadas, migadas, memelas, huaraches, chalupas and many other variations made using fresh corn dough. The sopes are so popular that you can even find them already made at supermarkets in Mexico, you only need to take them home and warm them up.
Pretty convenient, right? The cooks have the option to warm them up in a comal, or lightly fry them in oil or lard. However, if you visit Mexico, in almost every town you go, you can find small restaurants called cenadurias, fondas or antojerias that sell this scrumptious meal. They could be for breakfast, lunch or dinner... any time is a good time to enjoy some sopes!
How to make Sopes Recipe
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Mix Masa harina and warm water in a medium-size bowl, knead the dough until you have a uniform texture. If the dough feels dry, add more water, little by little, spoon by spoon, until the dough is soft and manageable, like play dough. It doesn't have to be sticky. Now, cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel, this will help to keep the dough moist. Always keep a small bowl of water next to your working area to keep your hands and dough moisten. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces of the same size, cover with the kitchen towel.
- Heat the griddle over medium-high heat.
- To form the sopes, cut the plastic bag into 2 squares of about 6-IN each. Place one piece of plastic on the Tortilla press, then put down one of the small balls of dough and cover with the other piece of plastic, close the tortillera and press down gently with the tortilla press handle until you form a medium size thick tortilla.
- Lift the handle and remove the top plastic. Pick up the tortilla, holding with the plastic at the bottom, gently flip the tortilla to unto the palm of your hand. A large part of the tortilla will cover your hand.
If you don’t have a Tortilla Press, use a glass pie dish to press down the dough; I use it all the time and it works wonderfully.
- Place the tortilla on the already hot griddle/comal, this is a fast but gentle move. Turn the tortilla after a minute, don’t let it cook longer or the dough will dry and crack. Turn again after a minute, and the last cooking will take about 20-30 seconds. Remove from the griddle with the help of a spatula. Cover the tortillas with a dry kitchen towel and allow to cool for about 30-45 seconds, and start forming the border pinching the edges with your fingers. Now, the tortillas had become sopes, cover again with the kitchen towel and keep cooking the rest of the sopes.
TO SERVE THE SOPES:
- Heat the oil or lard in a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Place the sopes on the skillet and lightly fry them on both sides. Remove from the heat and place on a plate that has already been covered with paper towels to absorb any excess fat.
- Now is time to spread the refried beans, top with shredded lettuce, beef, chicken, or any other topping of your choice. Serve with salsa.
¡Buen provecho!
Mely,
I hope you liked this Sopes Recipe.
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Sopes
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
- 1-½ cup of masa harina
- 1-¼ cup of warm water
TOPPINGS
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil or lard
- 1 cup refried beans
- 2 cups lettuce finely shredded
- 1-½ cup cooked beef or chicken shredded
- ½ cup Mexican cheese queso fresco crumbled
- ¼ cup white onion finely chopped
- ½ cup Mexican cream
- Spicy salsa of you choice
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
- ⅓ cup radishes thinly sliced
- 1 avocado sliced or diced
- ½ cup of tomato diced or sliced
- Pickled jalapeños and carrots.
Instructions
- Mix Masa harina and warm water in a medium-size bowl and knead until you have a uniform texture. If the dough feels dry, add more water, little by little, spoon by spoon, until the dough is soft and manageable, like play dough. It doesn’t have to be sticky. If you live in a place with lots of humidity, the dough won’t need too much water. If that's not your case, make sure the dough has enough moisture to avoid any cracking on the sope's surfaces. Now, cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel; this will help to keep the dough moist. Always keep a small bowl of water next to your working area to keep your hands and the dough moist.
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces of the same size, cover with the kitchen towel.
- Heat the griddle to medium-high heat.
- To form the sopes, cut the plastic bag into 2 squares of about 6-IN each. Place one piece of plastic on the Tortilla press, then put down one of the small balls of dough and cover with the other piece of plastic, close the tortillera and press down gently with the tortilla press handle until you form a medium size thick tortilla. of about 4-½ inches.
- Lift the handle and remove the top plastic. Pick up the tortilla, holding with the plastic at the bottom, gently flip the tortilla to unto the palm of your hand. A large part of the tortilla will cover your hand.
If you don’t have a Tortilla Press, use a glass pie dish to press down the dough; I use it all the time and it works wonderfully.
- Place the tortilla on the already hot griddle/comal, this is a fast but gentle move. Turn the tortilla after a minute, don’t let it cook longer or the dough will dry and crack. Turn again after a minute, and the last cooking will take about 20-30 seconds. Remove from the griddle with the help of a spatula. Cover the tortillas with a dry kitchen towel and allow to cool for about 30-45 seconds, and start forming the border pinching the edges with your fingers. Now, the tortillas had become sopes, cover again with the kitchen towel and keep cooking the rest of the sopes.
TO SERVE THE SOPES:
- Heat the oil or lard in a skillet or griddle at medium heat. Place the sopes on the skillet and lightly fry them on both sides (about 30 seconds each side will be enough time to fry them and give them a little golden color). Remove from the heat and place on a plate that has already being covered with paper towels to absorb any excess fat.
- Now is time to spread the refried beans, top with shredded lettuce, beef, chicken, or any other topping of your choice. Serve with salsa.
Chanté
Are they freezer friendly?
Mely Martínez
Hello Chanté,
They can easily break if you store them in the freezer.
Jason Burton
Can I buy pre made sopes from the Mercado and air fry them?
Jason Burton
Shells*
Mely Martínez
Hello Jason,
Yes, you can, They are a little thick compared to regular sopes, just make sure you do not let them too long to fry or they will be hard to eat.
Ruth
These are our favorite food when we eat at Mexican restaurants. Tonight, my first try, I made these and they were perfect! Thanks for the great recipe and easy instructions!
Tessa C Schack
Can I put shredded parmasan cheese in the sopes? Kinda like AREPAS RELLENAS DE QUESO? 😅
Mely Martínez
Hello Tessa,
Yes, you can. I know not everyone can have access to Mexican cheese and that could be a substitute.
Dana Kenney
I do not eat much fried foods. Can these me made in an air fryer? Thank you.
Mely Martínez
Hello Dana,
You do not need to fry them if you do not want to. Many times, I just cook the sopes and warm them up in the grilled before adding the toppings.