I’m sitting here at 10:41am eating leftover Spicy Shrimp Soup for breakfast because ITS DELICIOUSNESS KNOWS NO TIME NOR EARTHLY BOUNDS. Well, maybe earthly bounds. It’d be pretty hard to eat soup I guess…anywhere else?
Anyway, file Spicy Shrimp Soup under mission accomplished. See, there’s a wonderful Ecuadorian restaurant here in town that’s run by the nicest family, and was even featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The food is succulent, cooked from scratch, and satisfying in the way that only your Mom or Grandma’s cooking can be. You feel the love put into every dish.
Watch How to Make It
Only problem is that last year I got sick eating my very favorite menu item, Camarones al Ajillo, or spicy shrimp in garlic sauce, which this restaurant serves as a soup. It isn’t the restaurant’s fault, as their menu doesn’t even have gluten-free items listed (very small and the waiters know every ingredient in every dish,) plus I’d eaten the soup dozens of times with no issues. My only guess is that the cook sprinkled in flour to thicken the dish up that day or something.
Super long-winded way to tell you that, as a result, Ben and I have been trying regularly and unsuccessfully for the past six months to recreate the soup at home, and last week we FINALLY got it right! I have a feeling the recipe title might not jump out at you at first glance, but selfishly I’m so glad to have this recipe perfected and documented because we will be making it for the rest of our days.
Spicy Shrimp Soup is comfort in a bowl. A combination of chicken and seafood stock simmered with jalapeno, a truckload of garlic, dried herbs and lime juice literally warms you from the inside out. Jumbo shrimp are cooked in the broth for a minute or two before being ladeled into bowls and served with cooked white rice, fresh cilantro, and raw jalapeno slices. The simmered jalapeno gives the soup warmth, while the raw jalapeno slices give each bite a little kick. This soup is SO spectacular.
How Spicy Is It
I don’t love dishes that blow my face off so, as written, with 1 being ice cream and 10 being a ghost pepper, I’d rate this recipe as a 5 on the heat scale. Lincoln can even eat it without the raw jalapeno slices.
It’s one part refreshing, on account of the lime juice and cilantro, while the jalapeno and hot broth will warm your soul. PLEASE try this spectacular, gluten-free soup recipe!
How to Make Spicy Shrimp Soup
Start by melting 4 Tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat (doooon’t even try to skimp on the butter – 4 Tablespoons is what you need for the best flavor!) Add 1 large shallot that’s been finely minced and 5 garlic cloves that have been pressed or finely minced then turn the heat down just a touch and saute until tender and light golden brown, 5 minutes. The butter should just barely be sizzling as you don’t want the garlic to brown, just soften.
Sprinkle in 1 Tablespoon gluten-free flour (could use all-purpose flour, but the soup will not be gluten-free,) then stir to combine and saute for 1 minute.
Next add all the flavorings and goodies: 3 cups chicken stock, 2 cups seafood stock, 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 jalapeno that’s been sliced away from the ribs and seeds (leave the ribs and seeds in for a spicier soup and/or use 2 jalapenos,) 3 small bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and salt, and 1/4 teaspoon each dried thyme and white pepper.
I recommend using stock versus broth in this recipe to get a souper (see what I did there) rich and comforting soup. Gluten-free seafood stock can be tricky to find, but Imagine brand is awesome if you can locate it!
Bring the soup to a boil then place a lid partially on top, turn the heat down, and simmer for 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes are up, remove the jalapenos and bay leaves then season with fresh lime juice to taste. I usually end up using around 1/3 of a fresh lime.
Turn the heat to high to bring the soup back up to a boil then add 3/4lb jumbo shrimp that have been peeled and deveined. Leave the tails on or off – totally up to you.
The shrimp will cook in a minute or two, so once they’re pink and plump, scoop the soup into bowls then add cooked long grain white rice, plenty of chopped cilantro, and sliced raw jalapenos. The jalapenos that simmer in the soup add a wonderful warmth to the broth, while the raw slices lend a kick. Definitely don’t leave them or the cilantro out. Serve fresh lime wedges on the side and you are SET, my friend! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try – we really do love it so!! Enjoy!
More 2 Bowl Worthy Soup Recipes
- Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup
- Creamy Mushroom Wild Rice Soup
- Cheesy Taco Soup
- Easy Chicken & Rice Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Green Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
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Spicy Shrimp Soup
Description
Spicy Shrimp Soup is a copycat recipe from our favorite Ecuadorian restaurant. Spicy, garlicky, and comforting, you will eat bowl after bowl of this easy soup recipe!
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 large shallot, microplaned or minced
- 5 cloves garlic, microplaned, pressed or minced
- 1 Tablespoon gluten-free flour
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups seafood stock (I like Imagine brand)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 jalapeños, divided (1 jalapeño sliced from the ribs/seeds, 1 sliced into rings)
- 3 small bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 3/4lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 limes (1 cut in half, 1 cut into wedges)
- chopped fresh cilantro
- cooked white rice
Directions
- Melt butter in a 5 or 6 quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic then turn heat down a touch and saute until light brown and tender, 5 minutes - make sure butter is just barely sizzling as to not brown the garlic. Sprinkle in flour then stir to combine and saute for 1 more minute.
- Add tomato sauce then stir to combine, ensuring there’s no lumps in the flour/butter mixture. Add seafood stock, chicken stock, the jalapeño that’s been sliced from the ribs and seeds, bay leaves, and spices. Turn heat up to bring soup to a boil then turn back down to medium, place a lid partially on top and gently simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and jalapeños then add lime juice to taste, and salt if needed. I usually use about 1/3 of a fresh lime.
- Turn heat back up to high to bring the soup to a boil then add shrimp and boil until cooked through - 1-2 minutes. Scoop soup into bowls then top with cooked rice. Add sliced raw jalapeños (these add a ton of flavor and heat vs just being a garnish so don’t skip!) and chopped cilantro then serve with lime wedges.
Notes
- For a spicier soup, leave the ribs and seeds on the jalapeno that simmers in the soup, or use two jalapenos.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Video
Can I use olive oil instead of butter?
Hi Carol! You can, but the butter lends a really wonderful flavor to this soup. It takes any potentially tinnyness out of the tomatoes, too!
How many calories per serving? Sorry if I missed that information. :)
Hi! This recipe sounds delicious and I will be making this very soon. I have a lot of shrimp stock I made from the shells previously and was wondering if you can substitue any of the chicken stock for more of the shrimp or is there a reason you use the 2 kinds of stock/broth and I should keep it that way?
You bet, Stephanie! I use a mixture because I don’t prefer a super fishy-tasting soup. Feel free to use more of your homemade stock though!
The spicy shrimp soup was simply AMAZING!
This looks beautiful and delicious.
“Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.”
-Bubba Blue
What’s a good substitute for seafood stock?
You could use chicken stock instead!
This was super delicious – perfect as an isolation treat. Thank you!
I live in Mexico and haven’t found shrimp soup this delicious! And to be clear, they make some mean soups here! Just the right amount of spice, and so quick and easy to make! Thank you! This will be a regular in our house.
Can I get the nutritional information on this soup? I made it and we all loved it! I am trying to track what I eat. Thank you!
Hi Heather! I made your recipe for my boyfriend and he thought it was delicious! The only thing he requested is that I add in veggies to make it more filling, as he ate the whole pot on his own. What veggies do you think would complement this recipe?
I made this this evening and I really liked it. It was so easy and tasty, I could not find the seafood broth so I used a bottle of clam juice and worked just fine. Served with seeded sourdough bread and mixed green salad. Definitely a keeper, the broth is so tasty by itself.
This is absolutely delicious. I have been making this practically every Sunday since I discovered this recipe. I even love the way it smells when it is cooking, I would even call it a comfort food dish. I use two full jalapeños to simmer in the sauce, and a little extra shallots because I love their flavor. The aroma of the shallots cooking in the butter is divine; but I wait until the shallots have softened before adding the garlic to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Last week I substituted catfish in place of the shrimp and it was equally delicious. Thank you for this recipe, it’s fantastic! Five wonderful stars.
I was a bit disappointed in this recipe to be honest. I cook a lot and did this exactly as directed – it was lackluster and empty. The only substance was the odd shrimp here or there and it seemed like it was missing something. Pouring over white rice gives you empty carbs and doesn’t add much to the soup itself. The the use of all the butter is excessive and just adds to the unhealthy factor. According to most of the comments, it was a hit. Maybe it’s a midwest thing?
Hi Abbie! I’m sorry to hear you did not like this recipe – as you stated, I have not received similar feedback and love this soup very much myself! Also, I’m sure you didn’t mean it, but to say it’s a Midwest thing to like a lackluster and empty recipe is insulting. Again, I’m sure you didn’t mean for it to come across that way, but that’s how I received it.
I did some serious surfing for a recipe that called for a quart of stock and shrimp that wasn’t Thai soup. This soup base used the quart+ of shrimp stock from a summertime shrimp cocktail I made AND the tomato sauce I had in my freezer! The kids won’t eat spicy soups so I used a red bell pepper instead of the jalapeño and some red chili flakes for a little depth. Once I tasted for flavor, I figured I could do a veggie drawer clean out as well, so in went sugar snap peas (cut to bite size), cooked corn from a cob, and two baby bok choy. Since my stock was pretty salty, it needed more lime and cilantro. All in all, this recipe was perfect!
This soup looks amazing. I can’t wait to make it! Thanks
Made this for dinner for myself tonight, so good! Thnx for the recipe. Will make again.
[…] Spicy Shrimp Soup from Iowa Girl Eats // Spicy Shrimp Soup is a copycat recipe from our favorite Ecuadorian restaurant. Spicy, garlicky, and comforting, you will eat bowl after bowl of this easy soup recipe! […]
I typically do not leave reviews for any recipes I find online; however, this one did! It was just amazing. I served it to my family and they loved it, they ate so many servings. I did add some tomatoes, carrots, and potato to the soup, which gave it that extra push. But even without it, it was spectacular, I will definitely be saving this recipe!!
I’m so, SO glad to hear it, Ruben! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating! :)
LOVE, love, love this recipe. My husband is the chef in our home, but every once in a while I claim my spot in the kitchen Just made this for our family and got rave reviews!! I cooked the base (without shrimp) the night before, and refrigerated overnight, then brought back to a boil and added shrimp before serving. It had such a deep, rich flavor. Also shared your recipe history which we all appreciated. Hats off to you and your husband, Kristin!! Thank you!!
Thank YOU, Helen, for such a glowing review! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Love the way this looks! Can we omit the jalepeno? I have a little guy who doesn’t like spicy so trying to compromise! :-)
You bet!