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This caldo de camarón is a Mexican shrimp soup made with a homemade broth from the shrimp shells, a toasted chile sauce, juicy shrimp, carrots, and potatoes. It’s full of flavor and easier to make than it looks.
A Note from Isabel
My parents are from central Mexico, where fresh seafood was hard to come by. It just wasn’t something we ate a lot growing up. Now that I’m an adult, I love trying all kinds of Mexican seafood recipes, so the first time I heard about caldo de camarón, I knew I had to make it.
I was a little intimidated at first. I’d never made broth from shrimp shells before. But I knew it was the same idea as using bones to make chicken or beef broth, so I went for it.
And it was incredible. Those shells made the most flavorful seafood stock, and it goes perfectly with the toasted chile sauce you pour into it. If you’ve never made your own broth and feel a little nervous, give it a try. It’s what makes this soup so good.
What is Caldo de Camaron Mexicano?
Caldo de camaron is a traditional Mexican soup made with fresh shrimp, potatoes, and carrots cooked in a homemade shrimp broth flavored with toasted chiles and other Mexican spices. It’s delicious, healthy, and full of flavor.
There are several variations of this recipe, with some using different chiles or adding different vegetables, but the base of the recipe is very similar.
The secret to this ultra-flavored soup is making a homemade broth using shrimp shells, celery, carrots, and other seasonings. It’s easier than it sounds and is worth the task for that extra depth of flavor!
Ingredients in Caldo de Camaron
- Fresh shrimp: I used medium shell-on deveined shrimp. You can use any size shrimp; just make sure they still have the shells attached to use in the broth. If your shrimp don’t come deveined, you will need to cut a small slit on the top and remove the veins.
- Celery: I used three stalks of celery to add flavor to the shrimp broth.
- Carrots: Carrots are used to flavor the shrimp broth and are chopped and stirred in the soup for extra flavor and texture.
- Garlic: Garlic is used throughout the cooking process for this soup. I recommend using whole garlic cloves and not pre-minced garlic or garlic powder since it’s easier to incorporate into the broth and sauces.
- Olive oil: Olive oil is used to saute various ingredients throughout the soup. You can also use avocado oil or your favorite neutral-tasting oil.
- Water: Warm water is used to make the broth and to rehydrate the dried chiles.
- Potatoes: I used Yukon gold potatoes for a touch of sweetness, but you can use russet or red potatoes.
- Dried chiles: I used a combination of guajillo and pasilla chiles. For a smokier flavor, you can swap the pasilla chiles for dried chile ancho.
- Seasonings: Lots of flavor comes from the homemade broth and the toasted chile sauce, so only simple seasonings like bay leaf and kosher salt are needed to bring out all those flavors. With salt, I recommend adding a teaspoon at a time until it’s to your liking.
- Tomatoes: I used Roma tomatoes for the toasted chile sauce. You can cut them in half to help them soften faster.
- Onion: I used white onion in this recipe, but you can also use yellow onion.
- Herbs: I used a mixture of epazote leaves and cilantro sprigs to add some freshness and herb flavor. You can adjust this to your liking.
How to Make Caldo de Camaron
1. Make the homemade shrimp broth. Start by peeling the shells off of the shrimp and reserving them in a separate bowl. Return the peeled shrimp to the refrigerator.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add shrimp shells, salt, celery, garlic, and bay leaf into the pot and saute until the shells turn pink and the ingredients are fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Add water and cover. Bring the broth to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes.
4. Strain the broth into a large bowl and reserve. Discard the strained ingredients.
5. Make the toasted chile sauce. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add guajillo chiles, pasilla chiles, tomato, garlic cloves, half a white onion, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
6. Saute the toasted chile sauce ingredients until lightly toasted and the tomatoes begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
7. Add water and cover. Bring to a simmer and simmer the ingredients until the dried chiles are softened, about 10-15 minutes.
8. Transfer all the toasted chile sauce ingredients, including the cooking liquid, into a blender and blend until smooth. Set toasted chile sauce aside.
9. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in the same pot used for the shrimp broth. Add chopped onion, celery, potatoes, and remaining kosher salt. Saute until the carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
10. Strain the toasted chile sauce over the stock pot. Discard any excess pulp. Add the reserved shrimp broth and stir to combine all the ingredients.
11. Cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer the caldo for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes and carrots are soft and tender.
12. Add shrimp, epazote leaves, and cilantro to the stockpot. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the shrimp are fully cooked. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.
13. Serve immediately in bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro, chopped onion, and lime juice.
Receta De Caldo De Camaron Tips
- Short on time? Homemade shrimp broth adds a lot of flavor, but store-bought seafood or vegetable broth works too.
- Strain the chile sauce. Pour it through a strainer into the pot. It catches the bits of chile skin and keeps the broth smooth.
- Add the shrimp last. Shrimp only need about 5 minutes. Wait until the potatoes and carrots are tender, then add them so they don’t turn rubbery.
- Head-on shrimp work too. Just remove the heads and eyes, then make the recipe as written.
Variations for Caldo de Camarón Recipe
Once you’ve made this soup a few times, it’s easy to change it up. Here are a few swaps I recommend.
- No epazote? It can be hard to find. Leave it out or add a little extra cilantro instead.
- Make it smokier. Swap the pasilla chiles for ancho chiles. You can also blend 1 or 2 chipotle peppers in adobo into the chile sauce.
- Add more heat. Toast 1 or 2 árbol chiles along with the guajillos and pasillas. If you want it mild, stick with the recipe as written. Guajillo and pasilla chiles add a lot of flavor but not much heat.
- Add fish. Chunks of cod or catfish are great in this soup. Add them with the shrimp so they don’t fall apart.
- Change the vegetables. Corn and zucchini both work well with the carrots and potatoes.
How to Serve Receta De Caldo De Camaron
Add even more flavor to your caldo de camaron by garnishing with things like diced avocados, chopped onions, cilantro, and fresh lime juice
Pair your caldo de camaron with Mexican favorites like homemade corn tortillas, homemade tostada shells, and bolillo bread. And consider washing it down with a michelada!
How to Store This Caldo de Camaron Recipe
- To store, place the soup into a large airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, pour the caldo de camaron into a large pot and heat over medium heat until warm and bubbling.
More Mexican Soups and Stews
Receta De Caldo De Camaron
Ingredients
For shrimp stock
- 1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, deveined and shells on
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cups water
For caldo de camaron
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 5 guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
- 2 pasilla chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
- 4 large Roma tomatoes, halved
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 white onion, halved, one half roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 epazote leaves
- 4 cilantro sprigs (optional)
Toppings
- Chopped onion
- Chopped cilantro
- Diced avocado
- Lime juice
Instructions
- Make the shrimp stock. Remove the shells from the shrimp and reserve them in a separate bowl. Return the peeled shrimp back to the refrigerator.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the shrimp shells, celery, carrot, garlic, and salt to the pot.
- Sauté the ingredients until the shells start to turn pink and are fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes.
- Strain the stock over a large bowl and reserve the broth. Discard the shells and vegetables.
- Make the soup. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat in the same pot or Dutch oven. Add the guajillo chiles, pasilla chiles, tomatoes, garlic, one half of the white onion, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Sauté the ingredients until the chiles are lightly toasted and fragrant, and the tomatoes start to soften, about 5 minutes. Pour in the water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes until the chiles have softened and rehydrated. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Carefully transfer everything to a large blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- In the same pot, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the remaining half of chopped white onion, potatoes, carrots, and remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Sauté for 5 minutes until the carrots begin to soften.
- Strain the chile mixture into the pot or Dutch oven using a fine mesh strainer. Discard the chile pulp.
- Add the reserved shrimp stock into the pot or Dutch oven and stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are soft and tender.
- Add the peeled shrimp, epazote leaves, and cilantro sprigs to the pot. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the shrimp are fully cooked. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
- Serve immediately in bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro, onion, avocado, and lime juice.
Notes
- Using homemade shrimp stock adds lots of flavor, but if you’re short on time you can use store bought broth or vegetable broth.
- You can omit the cilantro sprigs if you prefer.
- You can use shrimp with the head on, just remove it and the eyes and prepare this recipe as directed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in August 2024 and has been updated with more helpful tips to help you make the best recipe possible on the first try.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
Is there a substitute for episote?
Thanks
can’t wait to try this!
Yes! Epazote can be hard to find. If you can’t track it down, you can just leave it out or add a little extra cilantro instead. It won’t be exactly the same, but the soup will still be really flavorful. Hope you love it!
This sounds amazing however I cannot handle heat. What chili would be mild, to add spice but not a lot of heat? Thank you
Great question! Guajillo chiles are actually pretty mild and mostly add a rich, slightly smoky flavor without a lot of heat. The pasilla chiles are mild too. So if you stick with just those two and skip any additions like chile de arbol or chipotle, you should be totally fine.