Authentic Fideo Mexican Pasta Recipe
Authentic Fideo Mexican Pasta Recipe
I’m about to share grandma’s old authentic Fideo Mexican Pasta recipe with you! You are in for a treat! This recipe is amazing. Every time I make it, I have people tell me they have never tasted this flavor anywhere and it should be in a restaurant. I laugh because it noodles only cost between 25¢ and 33¢ a bag. It’s one of the most frugal recipes I know and love.
Fideo is pronounced fi-de-0. It’s a Spanish word for noodles. Head over to this Spanish translation page and click on the audio symbol next to the word Fideo to hear it for yourself.
You can make Fideo as your whole meal or you can make it as a side dish. We love adding seasoned ground beef or left over chicken to this recipe for some one pot meal ideas.
Fideo Mexican Pasta Tips and Techniques
There are a few secrets to this dish. First, always use fresh ingredients. Use fresh tomatoes, fresh onions and fresh garlic. It won’t taste the same if you use the canned stuff. Fresh is always better in my opinion. Next, the technique that makes this recipe special is the fact that you actually fry the raw noodles before you add the water. You will fry the noodles (Fideo) in a little bit of oil that covers all the noodles evenly. You have to be careful though because they can change colors to being done to almost burnt in just a minute or two. It can be tricky. Don’t let it sit there on the stove. You will have to constantly stir it. I promise it’s worth it though. The last trick to this recipe is the seasoning I use. I use the Knorr’s Caldo de Tomate or the Knorr Caldo de Pollo. This is the tomato bouillon or chicken bouillon seasonings. You can use any seasonings you want but I swear, these are the best.
Authentic Fideo Mexican Pasta Recipe and ingredients:
Authentic Fideo Mexican Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil or more if needed Enough to fully coat the noodles (I always find a great deal on Amazon)
- 2 small bags of Vermicelli Fideo noodles (there are two kinds: Large or Small Noodles. I prefer the small noodles.
- 3 to matoes - diced or 1 large can of diced tomatoes drained I find the fresh ingredients always tastes better
- 1 small onion or more if you like onion
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of seasoning season to taste (I prefer to use Knorr’s Caldo de Tomate which is Tomato bouillon with chicken flavor. I think this is the secret ingredient that makes the noodles taste the best! I’ve also used the Knorr Caldo de Pollo too!)
- 2 to 4 cups of water
- 2 cups Chicken or hamburger meat already fully cooked optional – I only add meat when I have leftovers
Instructions
- In a large frying pan on medium heat, add 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil and the Vermicella (Fideo) noodles. Make sure you have enough oil to cover all the noodles.
- Once you’ve mixed the noodles in the oil, add the onion.
- Fry the noodles (without water) until the noodles turn a golden brown as you continue to stir them. Be careful not to let them sit there because they will burn easily.
- Keep your water close by because when you see the noodles hit the golden brown stage you will immediately add the water to stop the noodles from frying. You may need to continue to add water as it cooks. The amount of water you add will depend on the consistency you are going for. If you like your Fideo more Soup like, then add more water.
- After adding the water, add the tomatoes and garlic (and Chicken or other meat your prefer)
- Let simmer until all the water is almost fully evaporated. Taste the noodles and if they still have a small crunch to them, add another cup of water. Repeat this process until the noodles are soft.
- Voila! You’re done! Serve warm and enjoy!
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy.
It was nice to see a nice simple recipe for fideo. My mom had 10 kids and we ate this all the time and you kind of take it for granted you forget about it. It’s delicious I’m making it for my Grand kids. Again, thank you for the reminder and great simple recipe.
I’ve been using this recipe for at least 5 years. It is so easy and tastes great. I made it again today and discovered that I didn’t have fresh tomatoes. I used drained Rotel tomatoes and it was excellent.
Thanks Jennifer. I had seen the technique before and was looking for it again and found yours. It turned out excellent. I always have three of the Knorr flavors on hand, and I used the tomato.
I’m so excited to be making authentic Mexican foods again. I say learning because in California my girlfriend used to make most of it, I just ate! Lol. I am learning a lot! Tortillas,corn and flour. Pork carnitas etc. Yum! Making sopa con fideo manana! Next up after that pork tamales! Have a good recipe for that? Por favor!?
Excellent!!!!!!!😳 Fideo.
It always taste better when you cook it. I like mine with chopped Bell pepper n Serrano pepper😁
This looks and sounds delicious! I went to the store and bought all of the ingredients, just as you mentioned. I love authentic Mexican dishes, and I already had the Knorr Caldo de tomate that I use when making Mexican rice. Thank you for this recipe!!
take the ads off your site, I could barely get through reading the recipe without them going off randomly. I finally closed the page when all 3 played at once.
So sorry. The ads help me pay for the expensive hosting and allows me to keep the site free for everyone to use. I’ve tracked down this issue with the auto playing of the ads though and I have corrected that issue. That bothered me too. Thanks for visiting!
Jennifer.. my Mom always, always added a tsp & 1/2 of cumino powder but, actually the seeds which she and I use a mocajete (a mortar with stone rock); with the tomatoes, garlic .. I know it’s a bit.. but my point is the cumino (cumin) but I’m certainly going to make this without and I bet it’s gonna be yummy good!! Thank and I’ll get back okay?
If you want it a little hot you can add some canned chipotle pepper and as dressing sour cream, and if you make it as soup you can add to the broth some cilantro and it’s delicious! Some people use mayonnaise or sour cream or lime juice as dressing, sounds weird but trust me, I’m Mexican
Great job! This is the way we make it 🙂 I’m Mexican, and those are the exact ingredients we use. I just like a little more water or broth so we served as soup. Oh and be careful with the knorrtomate , if you add too much the soup will be too salty 🙂 (it happened to me last week).
I like adding bits of pork (diced pork chop) to mine. I remember my mom used to use tomato paste to give it a more intense flavor
oh! btw, the easy way to pronounce it is “fee-THEY-oh”
Yes!! This is how I was taught to make fideo. I’m impressed, this is authentic Mexican food.
My kids love this recipe. It’s one of the best frugal recipes I’ve ever tasted. I’ve even had friends wish that this recipe was made in restaurants. Too funny.
I have been looking for this recipe for a long time. Thank you so much…:)
This recipe is spot on. Easy and authentic to south Texas. Thanks.
This looks good! Think I’ll make it for my Mexican boyfriend, who misses his mother very much (she used to make this for him).
Has anyone tried this with shrimp in it?