These authentic and irresistible Mexican Sopes can be layered with all of your favorite toppings like chicken, beef, beans, lettuce, cheese, and salsa. Made with only 4 ingredients, you can bake or fry them to perfection in only a few minutes!
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It’s hard not to love these Mexican Sopes. Made with 4 simple and budget-friendly ingredients, these small corn masa cakes are just like a corn tortilla but with a rim all around the edge. They’re the perfect base for all of your favorite toppings, like refried beans, carnitas, and salsa.
You can bake or fry this Mexican dish to the right amount of crispiness. When they’re done, store the sopes in the fridge for up to a week so you can have sopes whenever you want! All you have to do is reheat and then layer on any toppings you desire.
Serve your sopes with eggs and chorizo for a fun breakfast or with refried beans and cheese for a quick and easy snack. There is never a wrong time to enjoy them!
What are sopes?
Sopes (pronounced soh-pez) are a thick corn tortilla-like masa cake made from masa harina, water, salt, and oil. They originated in central Mexico and act as plates for an abundance of toppings, like chicken, vegetables, and salsa.
Sopes are also considered antojitos (meaning “little cravings” in English), which are appetizers or snacks that are popular late at night or as street food. Chilaquiles, elote, and tostadas are all examples of delicious antojitos!
These corn cakes are almost exactly like gorditas, which are made from a similar dough. The only difference is gorditas puff up and are stuffed on the inside rather than layered on top.
Ingredients You Need
- Masa harina: The base of plenty of delicious Mexican recipes, masa harina is made from dried maize corn. This ground corn flour is used to make corn tortillas, atole, tamales, and more.
- Oil: You’ll need olive oil to add moisture to the dough as well as vegetable oil if you plan on frying the sopes.
- Salt: For flavor and balance in the dough.
- Water: A simple mix of hot water, oil, masa harina, and salt is all that’s needed to form the sopes dough.
How to make sopes
Make the dough: Whisk the masa harina and salt together in a bowl. Pour in the hot water and olive oil and mix until the liquid is absorbed. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball, then cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into balls: Divide the rested dough into 14 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball using your hands and place them back in the bowl. Keep the bowl covered so the dough can stay moist.
Press each ball of dough: Open a gallon-sized zip-top bag and cut the seams on each side so that it makes one large rectangular piece of plastic. Lay the plastic on the inside of a tortilla press. Place one dough ball in the middle, close the top, and gently press to flatten.
Form and cook the sopes: Cook each flattened piece of dough on a hot griddle or skillet like you would a corn tortilla. Cook each side for around 30-45 seconds until they have beautiful brown marks. Then, fry the formed sopes in a skillet with vegetable oil for about 2 minutes until crispy and light golden brown. Transfer the fried sopes to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack to drain off any excess oil.
All that’s left to do is serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy! See below for suggested toppings.
Can you bake sopes?
If you’re not a big fan of frying, then baking is the way to go! It’s my family’s preferred cooking method, so I can attest to how crispy baked sopes really are (plus, you get to consume less oil). Here’s how to bake them:
- Prepare the dough, flatten, and form each piece as normal.
- Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
- Transfer the formed sopes onto 2 large baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes.
Helpful Tips
- When flattening the dough, make sure the dough is thicker than a regular corn tortilla. If you over-flatten the dough, simply gather the dough, roll it into a ball, and try again.
- The dough should be firm and springy when touched, not dry or super sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add more water in small amounts until the dough is springy and holds together.
- I prefer to use a gallon-size zip-top bag or parchment paper rather than plastic wrap when flattening the masa balls. Plastic wrap tends to stick to the dough and the tortilla press. A zip-top bag or parchment paper is hassle-free!
Toppings for sopes
Keep things simple with a generous helping of refried beans, queso fresco, shredded chicken, barbacoa, or carne asada, chopped lettuce, thinly sliced cabbage, and chile de arbol salsa on top of your sopes.
They’re also great topped with any Mexican leftovers you have in the fridge! Just garnish it with a little cilantro, diced onion, and your favorite hot sauce, and dig in.
Making ahead, storing, and reheating
To make ahead of time, prepare the ball of dough as normal and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. You can keep it in the fridge for a few days or before forming the sopes. Alternatively, fry all of the sopes, store in the fridge, and then reheat to serve later.
To store, keep the cooked sopes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can also freeze them for up to a month. Leave the frozen sopes to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
To reheat, pan-fry or bake the sopes for a few minutes or until they’re back at the desired level of crispiness.
More Mexican Recipes
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 ½ cups warm water, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon olive oil or lard, optional
- 1-2 cups vegetable oil, only if frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the masa harina and salt. Stir in the water and oil until a dough forms.
- Using your hands, knead the dough until it fully comes together and all the water is absorbed, about 3 minutes. To make sure it’s ready, grab a small piece and roll it into a ball. Press down on it with a finger. If the edges of the dough crack, the dough is too dry. If the dough sticks to your skin, it’s too wet. Add more water or masa harina as necessary.
- Divide the dough into 14 equal portions, then roll each into a ball. Cover them with a clean damp cloth or plastic wrap to keep the dough moist while you press and make the sopes.
- Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. While the griddle is heating up, cut the seams off of a large resealable plastic bag so that it makes one large rectangular piece of plastic. Alternatively, you can use parchment paper instead.
- Lay the plastic or parchment paper on the open tortilla press and place 1 dough ball on the bottom half. Fold the other side of the plastic or parchment paper over the dough and gently close and press the upper portion of the tortilla press to flatten it out. Open the tortilla press, carefully peel back the plastic or parchment paper, and transfer the dough to your hand. It should be slightly thicker than a typical corn tortilla.
- Cooking 1 or 2 at a time, place the dough on the hot griddle and cook for 15 to 20 seconds. Flip and cook the other side for 15 to 20 more seconds. Both sides of the dough should looks cooked and lightly seared. You don't want to cook it all the way through like a corn tortilla.
- Transfer the dough to a plate and let it cool for about 30 seconds. When cool enough to handle, pinch the edges around the entire dough using your thumb and index finger to create a rim. (see photos in post for examples)
- Cover the sope with a towel and repeat until all the sopes have been formed.
- To bake: Preheat oven to 400°F. Transfer the sopes to 2 large baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes to fully cook the sopes.
- To fry: Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the sopes 2 or 3 at a time, flipping frequently, for about 2 minutes until light golden brown. Drain the sopes on paper towels or a wire rack.
- Serve the sopes with desired toppings like beans, cheese, ground beef, shredded chicken, shredded lettuce, salsa and enjoy!
Video
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
This post was updated in February 2021 with new photos and slightly modified recipe instructions.
Can’t wait to try some recipes, everything looks amazing!
This was my first time making Sopes. Wow, were they delicious and easy. And they came out perfectly.
I baked mine. They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Cooked all the way through.
My husband informed me he would like these Sopes every week.
Thanks.
Can I use an air fryer to cook the sopes? Would you brush with a little oil first?
Hi Sarah! Ooh that would be interesting! We haven’t tried this in an air fryer but if you try it let us know how they turn out! Yes I would suggest brushing them with oil first.
So if I wanted to make like 6. When you adjust the count you get .86 cup of masa. How about keeping it to the basic measurements like cup tbls, tsp. If not I’ll have to ask google how much is .86 cup
I use the cooked gorditas, the authentic enchilada sauce using the dried chillis that my mom taught me and her mom before Her. Dip in the enchilada sauce place on a plate top with cheese and onions you can stack them two at a time or single on a plate topped with a fried egg w/ side of rice and beans. Try it!
Hi Debra! That sounds really good! Thanks for the suggestion.
I use a wet/damp cotton kitchen towel, place 2 or 3 masa balls lightly flatten fold length wise over masa and using a smaller medium size dinner plate and gently flatten each one. Uncover place on a plate w/damp paper towel. Environmently friendly. I use that kitchen towel exclusively for that purpose only. Just wash it in sink and dry.
I like Debra’s suggestion about flattening the tortilla ball with a wet/damp towel and a plate. Many people don’t have a tortilla press.
I really enjoyed this sopes recipes. Keep up the good work 🙂
Love your recipes !
After graduating HS In 1980 in Southern California, myself & 2 friends backpacked through Mexico after crossing into Tijuana. We had so much fun, 2 weeks turned into ovet 3 months. We toured the country, not tourist areas. We were invited to stay over night on ranches and they refused to accept our money. We helped with ranch chores, learned real down home Mexican cooking. The people were all so kind & happy that we dared to venture & explore off the beaten path to see how Mexican families really live. They all were all so kind to us. I fell in love with REAL honest Mexican food.
Just made these last night and they were pretty good. The ingredients are really that simple! I didn’t have a tortilla press so I ended up using a large hardcover book and they rounded out well. My boyfriend tried them for the first time and loved them.
what tortilla press do you recommend?
Here’s a link to the tortilla press that Isabel uses: https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-TOR-003-FBA_TOR-003-Tortilla-Press/dp/B00HWEIKZO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=tortilla+press&qid=1600556813&s=home-garden&sr=1-5&linkCode=sl1&tag=shop-isabel-eats-20&linkId=2228374bcf9f6221627fa44eb837307b&language=en_US
Sopes recipe is great!! No deep frying required. They were yummy and easy to make.
I LOVE that these have no added fat!
After I put them on the comma y run them through a an alreadheated pan with oil. That will cook the inside so they are not gooey. It also won’t feel dry. I then set them on paper towels so it absorbs any oil. But I do it for like a minute on each side so y not in oil too much to absorb much.
how do I cook them all the way through of they are thick? the centers are gooey.
Hi Jena, the middle shouldn’t be gooey. You may not be cooking them long enough or they may be a little too thick. Once they’re beautifully browned on both sides and look like they’re cooked, remove it from the griddle and then pinch the sides. It’ll be hot, but just do the best you can. They should be cooked enough by that point.
Hi I was wondering if the Sopas can be frozen?
Yes! I would put them in a freezer-safe bag and remove as much of the air out as possible. Then when you’re wanting to eat them, take them out of the freezer and let them thaw overnight in the fridge. Heat them up on the griddle and eat up!
I love sopes! Here in my town, they’re topped with refried beans, onion, cilantro, and a good hot spicy green salsa!
These look great, Isabel. I grew up eating sopes all the time and can’t believe I haven’t made them at home yet. Just got a tortilla press and will be doing this soon!
These look TO DIE FOR!!! I love Mexican too – the fresh ingredients are definitely the best part! Making these ASAP.
Thanks, Tess! Let me know if you make them. I’d love to hear how they turned out 🙂