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Caldo de Res, or Mexican beef soup, is a healthy and budget-friendly soup made with a flavorful beef broth and squash, corn, carrots, cabbage and potatoes.
It’s caldo de res season, friends!
There’s nothing more comforting than a big bowl of this brothy veggie-filled soup on a chilly day. Filled with hearty vegetables and made with bone-in beef shank, this soup is filled with vitamins and nutrients, along with lots of great flavor!
What is Caldo de Res?
Caldo de Res is a Mexican beef soup made with a flavorful beef broth and filled with lots of vegetables such as squash, corn, carrots, cabbage and potatoes. This soup uses bone-in beef shank, giving the broth a great layer of flavor from the marrow and tender beef.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bone-in beef shank: Caldo de Res traditionally uses bone-in beef shank, or chamberete, because of it’s use of meat, bone, cartilage, and connective tissue, all of which add great vitamins and nutrients to the bone broth. If you can’t find beef shank, you can use beef chuck or even ribs since they both have good ratios of fat.
- Vegetables: Caldo de Res usually features lots of healthy and hearty vegetables like ears of corn, zucchini, carrots, cabbage and potatoes.
- Garlic, bay leaves, tomato paste, cilantro: These staple ingredients add great flavor to the soup broth.
- Limes and hot sauce: Garnish your Caldo de Res with lime to add some bright citrus flavor, and don’t forget the hot sauce for a spicy kick. I like using a few dashes of Tabasco, but you can use whichever brand you prefer.
How to make caldo de res
Step 1: In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add water, beef shanks, garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a low simmer and continue cooking for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat tender.
Step 2: Skim off and discard any white or brown foam floating at the top of the pot as well as the bay leaves and garlic cloves. Transfer the cooked bone-in beef shank to a medium bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
Step 3: Add the potatoes, corn, zucchini, carrots, cabbage, cilantro, and tomato paste to the broth. Stir together until the tomato paste has completely dissolved.
Step 4: Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to a low, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender and cooked through.
Step 5: While the vegetables are cooking, remove the bones and any tough sinewy pieces from the beef shank and discard. Cut the tender meat into small bite-sized chunks and add them back into the pot when the vegetables are fully cooked.
Stir everything together and taste. Season with more salt if necessary before serving.
How to serve caldo de res
I recommend serving the caldo in large bowls, making sure that each bowl gets a little bit of everything!
Garnish each bowl with more fresh cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and a few dashes of hot sauce.
Bolillo or corn tortillas pair well with this soup, and make a great side to soak up some of the broth while eating.
It’s also common to serve Caldo de Res with a scoop of Mexican rice right in the bowl!
Tips and Substitutions
- Try to cut the vegetables in about the same size so that they cook evenly.
- Feel free to use any vegetables you have on hand! Green beans, peas, peppers, and anything you’ve got in the fridge will work.
- If you can’t find bone-in beef shank, you can use bone-in beef chuck or ribs since they both have good ratios of fat. Make sure you use a cut of beef with bone because that’s what give the broth a wonderful flavor!
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating
To store, transfer soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To reheat, simply place the soup in a pot and heat it on the stovetop until warmed through. Alternatively, you reheat a bowl of soup at a time in 1-minute intervals. It should be heated through after 3 minutes or so.
To freeze, place the soup in an airtight container or a sealed freezer-safe bag. It can stay frozen for 3 months. Let it thaw completely in the fridge before reheating.
More Soup Recipes
Caldo de Res
Ingredients
- 12 cups water
- 2 ½-3 pounds bone-in beef shank
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 4 medium carrots, sliced into thick coins
- 3 medium ears of corn, shucked and halved
- 2 medium potatoes, cut into eighths (Idaho, Russet or Yukon Gold)
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into thick chunks
- ¼ head green cabbage, cut into chunks
- 1 handful cilantro, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 limes halved, for serving
- hot sauce, for serving
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or pot, add the water, beef shanks, garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a low simmer, and cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until the meat is tender.
- Skim off and discard any white or brown foam floating at the top of the pot as well as the bay leaves and garlic cloves. Transfer the cooked bone-in beef shank to a bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
- Add the carrots, corn, potatoes, zucchini, cabbage, cilantro, and tomato paste to the pot. Stir until the tomato paste has fully dissolved. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and cooked through.
- While the vegetables are cooking, remove the bones and any tough sinewy pieces from the beef shank and discard. Cut the tender meat into small bite-sized chunks and add them back into the pot when the vegetables are fully cooked.
- Stir everything together and taste. Season with more salt if necessary.
- Serve soup in large bowls, making sure that each bowl gets a little bit of everything. Top each bowl with more fresh cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and a few dashes of hot sauce if desired.
Notes
- For easier serving, remove the cooked corn from the soup, cut off the kernels and add them back into the soup. Discard the cobs.
- Feel free to use any vegetables you have on hand! Green beans, peas, peppers, and anything you’ve got in the fridge will work.
- If you can’t find bone-in beef shank, you can use bone-in beef chuck or ribs since they both have good ratios of fat. Make sure you use a cut of beef with bone because that’s what give the broth a wonderful flavor!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this as written and it was delicious! Flavorful, beefy broth! Served with corn tortillas, lime, cilantro and a side of beans. I love your recipes. Thank you.
Broth could have been more flavorful and need a salsa to eat with it.
Came out great. My mom always made the best caldo de pollo and I never learned how and missed it so much. I was too intimidated to try making it. Thanks so much for your recipe. I added some onion just because we always added half or whole onion to cooking meats for soup etc. (sautéed chopped onion with the tomato paste and bit of the broth before adding to the pot) Thanks for making today feel like my childhood home with my mom here ♥️
I can only say I wish my grandma was here to taste this delicious caldo. She would have been proud of my efforts. My wife really enjoyed it. YUMMY!!!
Anxious to try more of your recetas.
YUM! We love it. It’s now on the dinner list.