Mexican Seafood Soup (Caldo de Mariscos) 🦐🌶🍅 Spicy, Zesty, and Brimming With Ocean Flavor and Chili-Lime Heat

This is coastal Mexican comfort — a brothy, tomato-based seafood soup with deep chile flavor, fresh lime, and a briny mix of shellfish and fish. It’s light but loaded, spicy but balanced, and built for long slurps, warm tortillas, and cold beer on the side.

Think of it as the seafood version of caldo de res — hearty, healing, and unforgettable.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the chili-tomato broth

• 1 tbsp neutral oil (avocado or canola)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1–2 dried guajillo chiles (or 1 guajillo + 1 chile de árbol for more heat), stemmed and seeded
• 1 chipotle in adobo (optional, for smoky heat)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 large tomato, chopped (or 1 cup crushed tomatoes)
• ½ tsp dried oregano (Mexican oregano if possible)
• 4 cups seafood stock, fish stock, or water
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Seafood (about 1½ lbs total)

• ½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ lb white fish (snapper, cod, or tilapia), cut into chunks
• Optional: ½ lb clams, mussels, crab legs, or squid rings

Add-ins & garnishes

• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 ear of corn, sliced into rounds (or 1 cup kernels)
• Juice of 1 lime
• Chopped cilantro, for garnish
• Diced avocado (optional)
• Lime wedges, hot sauce, warm tortillas, or tostadas for serving

Instructions

Step 1: Build the Chili Base

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the dried chiles for 30–60 seconds until fragrant. Soak in warm water for 10 minutes, then blend with chipotle, tomato, and a splash of broth until smooth.

Step 2: Sauté the Aromatics

Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onion for 4–5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook another minute. Stir in the blended chili mixture and oregano. Cook for 2–3 minutes to deepen flavor.

Step 3: Simmer the Broth

Add seafood stock and bring to a simmer. Add zucchini and corn and cook 5–7 minutes until just tender. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Add the Seafood

Add fish chunks first and simmer 2–3 minutes. Then add shrimp and shellfish. Simmer 3–5 minutes more until shrimp are pink, fish is opaque, and shellfish are open. Don’t overcook — keep it gentle.

Step 5: Finish and Serve

Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro, avocado, and extra lime. Serve with hot sauce, warm tortillas, or crunchy tostadas on the side.

Flavor Variations

• Use a chile pasilla for deeper, richer flavor
• Add diced carrots, chayote, or potatoes to bulk it out
• Blend in roasted garlic and onion for a deeper base
• Stir in a spoonful of masa harina slurry to thicken slightly

Pro Tips

• Guajillo = sweet heat, chipotle = smoky fire — balance based on preference
• Don’t skip the lime — acidity is essential to balance the chiles
• Toast and hydrate chiles before blending — raw chiles will taste flat
• Simmer gently once seafood is added — no boiling
• Leftovers reheat well, but avoid overcooking shrimp when reheating

Final Thoughts

Caldo de Mariscos is spicy, soulful, and endlessly customizable — the kind of soup that tastes like ocean air and woodsmoke, with bold chili flavor, fresh lime, and tender seafood in every spoonful. It’s comfort food with coastal rhythm.

Toast it. Simmer it. Squeeze the lime. 🦐🌶🍅🔥

🦐 More Coastal Seafood Recipes

From cozy casseroles to zesty grilled fish and elegant seafood pastas, this collection of Seafood Recipes covers every ocean-inspired craving — whether you’re planning a dinner party or a quick weeknight win.

🐟 Classic Seafood Dish Recipes – Think pan-seared salmon with lemon dill and timeless coastal favorites.
🦞 Delicious Seafood Boil Recipes – Spicy, saucy boils packed with crab, shrimp, and corn. The ultimate feast.
🍝 Seafood Pasta Recipes – Elegant and indulgent, like shrimp linguine in a white wine sauce.
🍤 Shrimp Recipes – Versatile, fast, and flavor-packed; smoky grills to sizzling stir-fries
🐟 Salmon Recipes – Baking & grilling to bowls, pastas, and more — healthy, flavorful, and easy to make/
🦞 Seafood Casseroles – Bubbly, Buttery & Oven-Ready. Comfort food meets coastal flavor.
🥣 Flavorful Seafood Soups – Rich chowders, bisques, and broth-based favorites.
🍽️ Easy Seafood Dinner Recipes – Quick, delicious, easy recipes bring bold flavor with minimal prep and cleanup
🥗 Healthy Seafood Recipes – Light, fresh & packed with protein and omega-3s with bright, satisfying flavor
🍚 Risotto Recipes with Seafood – Creamy, silky rice dishes meet the richness of the sea.
🌊 Seafood Stews – Mediterranean, Latin to classic American, hearty stews with satisfying depth in your bowl.
🍝🧀 Seafood Lasagna – Lasagna meets the sea in these rich and satisfying delicious twist classic bakes.