Sopaipilla
Fried pastry of Spanish-heritage Americas, with many regional names and forms.
A sopaipilla, also known as sopapilla, sopaipa, torta frita, or cachanga, is a kind of fried pastry and a type of quick bread served in several regions with Spanish heritage in the Americas. The word sopaipilla is the diminutive of sopaipa, a word that entered Spanish from the Mozarabic language of Al-Andalus, with the original Mozarabic word Xopaipa meaning bread soaked in oil, ultimately derived from the Germanic word suppa, meaning bread soaked in liquid. This pastry is traditionally made from leavened wheat dough (or a mixture of wheat flour and masa harina) with shortening such as butter, rolled into a sheet, cut into shapes, and deep-fried, puffing up to form a hollow pocket.
- type
- Fried pastry / quick bread
- origin
- Regions with Spanish heritage in the Americas
- etymology
- Diminutive of sopaipa, from Mozarabic Xopaipa, from Germanic suppa
- key ingredients
- Leavened wheat dough (or wheat flour and masa harina), shortening, oil for frying
- variations
- Yeasted and quick bread; pumpkin added in some batters; regional names include torta frita, cachanga, kreppel, chipá cuerito
- notable regions
- Argentina, Chile, Peru, United States (New Mexico, Texas), Uruguay
Lore & Background
In Chile, sopaipillas have been known to be eaten at least since 1726. Traditional Chilean sopaipillas made in central Chile include cooked ground pumpkin in their dough, though this is not typical in the south. They are served with pebre (a sauce of chili pepper, onion, garlic, and coriander) or boiled in chancaca sauce (a homemade hot syrup with panela, orange peel, and cinnamon), and are also eaten with mustard, ketchup, hot butter, avocado, or cheese. In Chile, they are traditionally homemade and eaten during heavy rain, and are popular as street food in winter; they are round and flat with holes pricked through the center. In the Chiloé Archipelago, sopaipillas have a rhomboid form and are used in reitimientos, a feast related to rendering fats after a pig slaughter.
Reader's Guide
In Peru, the pastry is called cachanga and may be sweet or sour, generally prepared for breakfast, with regional variations including cinnamon; these are larger, thinner, and more rigid than other versions. In the United States, New Mexican sopaipillas are pillow-shaped fried pastry dough, distinct from Latin American variations, similar to Native American frybread, used as bread to mop up sauces or shredded into stews, and also served as appetizers with honey. A relatively recent innovation from northern New Mexico fills them with savory ingredients like ground beef or chicken, covered with chile and cheese, served as an entree, or as a dessert with honey or anise syrup. Tex-Mex sopaipillas are puffed pastry, always served as a dessert coated with cinnamon sugar and honey, and sometimes included in the complimentary 'set-up' at restaurants. Sopaipilla and strudel were together designated as Texas' state pastries from 2003 to 2005. In Uruguay, the variant torta frita is made of flour, salt, water, and tallow, stretched thin, fried in tallow, usually salty but often covered with sugar or quince cheese, and commonly prepared on rainy days.
Did You Know?
- The word sopaipilla derives from the Germanic word suppa, meaning bread soaked in liquid.
- In Chile, sopaipillas have been known to be eaten at least since 1726.
- In New Mexico, sopaipillas are often filled with savory ingredients like ground beef or chicken, covered with chile and cheese, as an entree.
- Sopaipilla and strudel were together designated as Texas' state pastries from 2003 to 2005.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sopaipilla?
Sopaipilla is a golden, deep-fried dough pastry that belongs to the quick-bread family and is enjoyed across many countries with Spanish colonial roots in the Americas. It appears in both yeasted and non-yeasted forms, giving it a slightly different chew or lightness depending on the region.
What is Sopaipilla's true name and where does it come from?
The name is a Spanish diminutive of 'sopaipa,' which traces back to the Mozarabic word Xopaipa meaning 'bread soaked in oil,' ultimately rooted in the Germanic term suppa for bread dipped in liquid. This layered etymology mirrors how the dish traveled from the Iberian Peninsula into the Americas over centuries.
What are Sopaipilla's core ingredients and how is it prepared?
The base is a leavened wheat dough—sometimes blended with masa harina—enriched with a shortening such as butter, then cut into shapes and deep-fried in oil until puffed and golden. In some regional batters, pumpkin puree is folded in for extra moisture and a hint of sweetness.
What aliases does Sopaipilla go by in different regions?
Depending on where you are, you might hear it called sopaipa, torta frita, cachanga, kreppel, or even chipá cuerito. These varied names highlight how the same basic fried-dough concept has been localized across Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and parts of the southwestern United States.
Why is Sopaipilla important to its communities?
As a staple of street food and home cooking in Spanish-heritage regions, it serves as an affordable, comforting treat that links families to centuries-old baking traditions. Its regular appearance at markets, festivals, and everyday meals makes it a small but meaningful thread in the culinary identity of the Americas.
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