Colombians love to eat soup all day every day, including for breakfast. Changua is one of those breakfast soups. It’s a milky soup from the Andean parts of Colombia containing eggs, melted cheese, bread, scallions, and cilantro. Changua is soft, hearty, cheesy, heartwarming for cold mornings, and a must-try of Colombian cuisine.
Jump to RecipeHaz clic en Changua Colombiana para la receta en español.
Colombian Soups
In Colombia, you can eat soup at every moment of the day. The most famous Colombian soups are sancocho (vegan version linked) and ajiaco (vegetarian version linked). But almost every meal is accompanied by some kind of soup, such as lentil-, chicken-, vegetable- or plantain soup. Even after a night of partying it is common to eat soup, often a strong, fatty, and meaty beef and potato stock (caldo) which is considered a hangover cure. Soups are also common for breakfast, like the recipe of this blog post: a milk and eggs breakfast soup called changua.
Colombian Milk and Eggs Breakfast Soup (Changua)
Changua is a traditional breakfast soup from the departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca, in the Andean region of Colombia. It consists of a milk base, in which eggs are sloppily poached. And the best thing is, they don’t have to look like pretty poached eggs! Added are usually (stale) bread, some slices of cheese, chopped scallions, and cilantro. Changua is a hearty soup, combining ingredients together that are very common for breakfast, but in a different and creative way. It is a heartwarming breakfast for the colder days.
Ingredients
Instructions
1. Place milk, salt, and scallions in a boiling pot and bring to a boil. When using whole milk, add 2/3 milk and 1/3 water 2. Tear up almojábanas (or bread) and cheese into bite-size pieces and place them in a soup bowl. 3. When milk is boiling, turn low and add the eggs one by one. 4. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes (depending on how cooked you like your yolk) until the eggs are cooked. Add cilantro and adjust the seasoning. Divide eggs and soup over the bread and cheese in the soup bowls.
Why you’ll love this changua
- It is such an easy way of preparing a different breakfast. Don’t be afraid of the poached eggs, they are supposed to look ugly and fall apart a bit. Just chuck them in and ready you are
- It is an inexpensive recipe with easy-to-find ingredients
- For this version, I use stale almojábanas (Colombian Cornmeal Cheese Bread), but you can use any type of bread. Perfect for using up those old pieces of bread
- If you are not familiar with soup for breakfast it might seem weird but I urge you to give it a chance. Changua is hearty, cheesy, delicious, and will warm you up during cold mornings
Variations
This recipe uses almojábanas, which is a hearty and slightly sweet cornmeal cheese bread. You can use any other type of (stale) bread you have, such as white bread.
You can serve arepas (Colombian Corn Cakes) to go with the soup.
Other breakfast recipes you might like
Huevos Pericos (Colombian Scrambled Eggs)
Almojábanas (Colombian Cornmeal Cheese Bread)
Arepas Colombianas (Colombian Corn Cakes)
Vegan Colombian Breakfast Calentado
Other soup recipes you might like
Ajiaco Vegetariano (Colombian Potato Corn Soup)
Green Plantain Soup (Sopa de Plátano Verde) with Plantain Chips
Do you love this recipe? Give it a 5-star rating below and leave me a comment! Or tag @vecinavegetariana on Instagram. You can also pin this recipe now and make it later!
The inspiration to add almojábanas to the changua comes from the Bogotan panaderia Golconda.
Colombian Milk and Eggs Breakfast Soup (Changua)
Ingredients
- 3 cups semi-skimmed milk (711 ml; when using whole milk use 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of water)
- 1 scallion, chopped finely
- 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
- 2 almojábanas (see link below) (or replace with other bread of choice)
- 2 big slices of cheese (doble crema in Colombia, mozzarella in US)
- 4 eggs
- 1 heaped tablespoon of chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place milk, salt, and scallions in a small to medium boiling pot and bring to a boil
- Tear up almojábanas (or bread) and cheese into bite-size pieces and divide them over the soup bowls
- When milk is boiling, turn low and add the eggs one by one. Easiest is to break the eggs into a bowl and pour them one by one from the bowl into the pot
- Let simmer for 5-10 minutes (depending on how cooked you like your yolk) until the eggs are cooked. Add cilantro and adjust the seasoning
- Divide eggs and soup over the bread and cheese in the soup bowls. Serve immediately