Caldo de Camarón (Shrimp Soup)

I don’t have to remind you that Baby Cakes loves Mexican food, or that I am a soup lover, or that we both love seafood. No, I think you might know if you’ve followed me very long. Heck, we live in Texas, southern Texas at that, seafood and Mexican food know no bounds here and we are both most assuredly fine with that.

I actually had never tried this soup until recently, we went out for supper and the weather was just right for soup, overcast, cold, and rainy, so in lieu of my go to chicken tortilla I ordered this. How had I never had it before? It was so good. This is the first restaurant soup recipe I have ever tried to recreate, that alone says something.

When I ate it at the restaurant I could pick up on the taste of crab boil. You know, that seasoning blend you use for shrimp, crab or crawfish boils? It didn’t overpower but it was certainly there. So I researched and came across so many recipes for this soup, none of which used boil seasoning. This is my adaptation; it was created by recalling the way I remember it tasting only adding some butternut squash instead of potatoes to save some calories.

Here is the only downfall I found about my recipe, it was way too spicy for a big baby like me. Next time I'll 86 the chipotles and only use the crab boil seasoning. However, Baby Cakes loves it! He even took it to lunch the next day.


Caldo de Camarón (Shrimp Soup)

2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
28 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes
2 medium carrots, diced
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon paste
2 tablespoons crab boil seasoning
1 pound cleaned frozen shrimp

Add the chilies, onion, garlic, and canned tomatoes to a blender and blend until smooth.

Fill a large pot halfway full with water (approximately 6 cups) and add all the ingredients, including the chile mixture and cook over medium heat until the squash is fork tender.

Add the shrimp and cook 3-5 minutes more or until pink.

Serve in a big bowl with a side of brown rice or with some crusty french bread for dipping.


It really is an incredibly simple weeknight meal, especially a rainy weeknight like tonight. The french bread really did cut the spice.

1/4 of the pot worth of soup, about 2 cups, equals 265 calories. That's it! Amazing, I know. (That means I get some garlic bread too! Yipee!)

Add this soup recipe to your rotation or just try it for pete's sake. It is delicioso!