Sopa de caracol is the iconic Garifuna conch soup of Honduras's Caribbean coast, immortalized by Banda Blanca's 1991 hit song of the same name. The coconut-milk base marks it as Afro-Caribbean.
Spoon up sopa de caracol — a fragrant, pale-golden coconut broth with tender conch, soft yuca, and green plantain, scented with culantro and lime. Bite: the conch is springy and sweet-briny, the broth creamy and faintly tropical from coconut, the yuca starchy-soft, the lime cutting the richness. A taste of the Honduran Caribbean — the song you can eat.
Pounding the conch breaks down its tough muscle; adding it late and simmering briefly keeps it tender rather than rubbery. Coconut milk gives the broth its Afro-Caribbean richness; yuca releases starch to lightly body the soup, and lime and culantro brighten the finish.
Variations
With shrimp and fish added (mixed seafood). With ñame or malanga. Spicier with habanero. With a fish-stock base. Thicker with more coconut. Without plantain.
On the Palate
Where Sopa de Caracol sits in the Honduran flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 35 min active + 35 min waiting
- 112 min
Tenderize 500 g cleaned conch by pounding; cut into bite-sized pieces.
- 26 min
Fry 1 chopped onion, 3 garlic cloves, and 1 chopped sweet pepper in oil.
- 34 min
Add 400 ml coconut milk and 500 ml water (or fish stock); bring to a simmer.
- 422 min
Add 300 g yuca chunks and 1 sliced green plantain; simmer 20 min until tender.
Watch outSimmer the yuca and plantain until a knife slides in easily and the yuca starts to soften the broth before the conch goes in.
- 511 min
Add the conch and simmer gently 10 min (do not overcook or it toughens).
Watch outThe conch is done as soon as it firms and turns opaque — pull the pot back the moment it does, before it tightens up.
- 63 min
Stir in chopped culantro, a pinch of cumin, and the juice of 1 lime.
- 72 min
Season with salt and pepper.
- 82 min
Serve hot with extra lime and white rice.
