Caldo de Res (Vegetable Beef Soup )
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Caldo de Res is Mexican soup with beef and tender vegetables in flavorful bone broth. Make this recipe for a nourishing and comforting vegetable beef soup!
A bowl of homemade soup is the perfect answer to some of life’s biggest questions. For example:
“What can I do besides take medicine to help me get over a cold?” The answer is, eat some Instant Pot chicken noodle soup.
“What can I make for dinner that’s quick, easy to make, and my picky kids will eat it?” That’s where albondigas (Mexican meatball soup) comes to the rescue. Almost all kids love meatballs!
“What’s a good, inexpensive meal to make for game day?” Simple answer is, make a huge pot of potato cheeseburger soup! It sure beats grilling burgers outdoors on a cold winter day.
And finally, “What’s a healthy Mexican soup that’s hearty and delicious but not full of calories from cheese and heavy cream?” This recipe is the answer!
What is Caldo de Res?
This dish may very well be the best vegetable beef soup you’ll ever eat. Seriously! In English, the Spanish word “caldo” means broth and “res” (or de res) means beef (or cow). It also goes by the Spanish name sopa de res.
Ingredients
- Beef– Yes, there are recipes for this Mexican soup that use chicken, but honestly, it isn’t caldo de res without the beef. In Spanish, a chicken version would be called caldo de pollo!
This hearty soup recipe calls for bone-in beef shank, because the marrow in large hind shank bones is where the rich beef flavor comes from.
This being said, if you want extra beef, you can add pieces of chuck roast to the soup, which is what I did. If you want beef flavor without the extra protein, use a cube of beef bouillon instead. - Bone broth– One thing that makes this recipe so fantastic is that the soup base is a self-cooking bone broth. In case you haven’t heard, the list of bone broth benefits is pretty long. For starters, bone marrow is rich in collagen, so it promotes healthy nails, hair, and joints.
- Vegetables– There are loads of fresh vegetables in this dish, and if you don’t like the ones I’ve chosen, there aren’t any set rules on what you can use. Nearly every caldo de res recipe calls for diced potatoes and fresh corn on the cob, though.
Mini cobs of corn look gorgeous in the bowl! If you don’t have access to fresh corn, or you don’t like it, leave it out, or use frozen corn kernels instead.
If your garden is full of zucchini, green beans, broccoli or tomatoes at the end of summer, use them up in this recipe! Really, pretty much anything goes.
How to Make Caldo de Res
- In a large dutch oven or soup pot, add 10 cups water, beef shanks, beef chuck, garlic, bay leaves, and the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Skim off and discard any brown foam floating at the top.
- After I cooked the meat, I remove the beef shank/bones and with a slotted spoon, remove the pieces of cooked beef chuck, bay leaves and garlic cloves. Transfer cooked beef shank/bones to a bowl, and set aside to cool. Transfer cooked beef chuck pieces to a small bowl. Discard the bay leaves and garlic cloves. Taste, and add 1 beef bouillon cube to the pot if more beef flavor is desired.
- Add the potatoes, corn, carrots, jalapeno and 2 cups of water to the pot.
- Bring soup to a boil, then add cabbage, zucchini, chickpeas and mint (See Note 2). Cover and turn heat to simmer and cook until vegetables are tender and cooked through, (check potatoes and carrots with fork), about 15 minutes.
- While the vegetables are cooking, pick over and remove any bits of meat from the bones and discard bones. Add meat to small bowl with beef chuck. Chop the meat into small bite size chunks and add to soup pot. Cook another 5 minutes to heat meat through.
- Remove mint sprigs and discard. Season the caldo de res with salt and pepper, stir everything thoroughly. Serve this Mexican beef soup in large bowls, making sure that each bowl gets a little bit of everything. Serve the soup loaded with beef and top each bowl with cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice and warm tortillas (optional).
Video: Making Vegetable Beef Soup
Making caldo de res couldn’t be simpler! To see the process from start to finish, watch the video in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to serve this recipe
I love serving caldo de res with warm, soft corn tortillas. Choose one of my rice favorites like Arroz rojo, Arroz verde or Cilantro lime rice. My Chile de arbol salsa is a flavorful, spicy condiment to spoon on top and don’t forget lime wedges on the side!
Recipe Tips
- Choose vegetables that are similar in size and density. This ensures that everything cooks evenly. If you want to use both soft and hard vegetables, wait until half way through the cook time to add the soft ones.
- Cut vegetables into larger sized pieces to prevent overcooking.
- Cook the bone broth longer if possible. When you make soup from scratch, it can take a while for the flavors to develop. If you’re crunched for time, you can add other ingredients to brighten the beef flavor. Another option is to allow extra time for the broth to simmer.
Make the broth a day ahead of time if you want, and/or use an Instant Pot or slow cooker. Just be sure that you develop all of the beef flavor you want before you add the veggies and spices. Otherwise, the vegetables are likely to over cook.
Storing and Freezing Caldo de Res
If you have any leftovers, refrigerate them in an airtight container and serve again or freeze the leftovers within 5 days.
The Mexican beef and vegetable soup freezes beautifully, but to prevent freezer burn, allow it to cool completely first.
When it’s cool, transfer the vegetable beef soup into airtight, freezer-safe containers. If you’re short on freezer space, use freezer storage bags instead of containers. Lay them flat in the freezer so they take up less space.
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Caldo de Res (Mexican Beef Soup)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef shank bones or ox tails or short ribs instead of shanks
- 1 lb beef chuck cubed (See Note 1)
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 yellow potatoes cut into eight pieces
- 2 ears corn shucked and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 4 carrots peeled, sliced into thick coins
- 1 large jalapeño sliced into rings
- 1/2 head cabbage cut into quarters
- 2 zucchini cut into thick coins
- 14 oz chickpeas drained
- 2 mint sprigs
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or soup pot, add 10 cups water, beef shanks, beef chuck, garlic, bay leaves, and the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Skim off and discard any brown foam floating at the top.
- Remove the beef shank/bones and with a slotted spoon remove the pieces of cooked beef chuck, bay leaves and garlic cloves. Transfer cooked beef shank/bones to a bowl, and set aside to cool. Transfer cooked beef chuck pieces to a small bowl. Discard the bay leaves and garlic cloves. Taste, and add 1 beef bouillon cube to the pot if more beef flavor is desired.
- Add the potatoes, corn, carrots, jalapeno and 2 cups of water to the pot.
- Bring soup to a boil, then add the cabbage, zucchini, chickpeas and mint (See Note 2). Cover and turn heat to simmer and cook until vegetables are tender and cooked through, (check potatoes and carrots with fork), about 15 minutes.
- While the vegetables are cooking, pick over and remove any bits of meat from the bones and discard bones. Add meat to small bowl with beef chuck. Chop the meat into small bite size chunks and add to soup pot. Cook another 5 minutes to heat meat through.
- Remove mint sprigs and discard. Season with salt and pepper, stir everything thoroughly. Serve soup in large bowls, making sure that each bowl gets a little bit of everything. Serve and top each bowl with cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice and warm tortillas, or bollio rolls (optional).
Video
Notes
- Most traditional recipes call for just the meat off the beef shanks. I found this too little for the effort, so I add pieces of beef chuck. Beef short ribs work as well.
- I add the cabbage, zucchini, and chickpeas after everything has come to a boil so they do not over cook and become mushy.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Kevin thank you for your recipe my mom Used to make this when I was a child and I have been to different restaurants but it not like making your self. The two ingredients I added was green bell pepper and yellow squash. Eating my soup I had a ratatouille experience
So happy you enjoyed this one Teresa!
What do you use to cut the corn on the cob to two inches?
I use my 8-inch chef knife, a standard piece in any set Paula.
I have substituted ox tails or short ribs instead of shanks using your recipe both were delicious. I do add in some cumin and a bit of tomato paste to add to the flavor.
So sorry for the late reply as I have been away on a much needed vacation outside the USA. Needless to say, about your comment…Thanks so much Linda. Appreciate you coming back top let me know!
I cannot find the beef shanks bones anywhere. Is there a substitute or a store that you know sells them?
So sorry for the late reply as I have been away on a much needed vacation outside the USA. Needless to say, about your inquiry… You might check with your butcher, sometimes they are frozen, but Mexican markets sell them as well. Hope this helps!
Abuela heaven! Just like the old days. The beef shanks make the best flavor for this. Great job Kevin.
Thank you so much Juana. Your tips always help me. 🙂
THE best I’ve made and my family will agree!!!! Thanks for making me a hit Kevin. 🙂
One of my favorites, so glad it was a winner for you.
Perfect! Brings back memories of my abuela’s! Incredible, savory broth and easy to make. Two Mexican thumbs up buddy.
Thanks for the kind words, you made my day Carlos. This is one of my all-time favorites for a warm your soul soup. Hits the spot every time!
OK, I had to come back and let you know after making this a third time that it is my family’s favorite soup. You are my secret kitchen weapon when it comes to Mexican food and those Tex Mex are fantastic as well!
I really appreciate you taking the time to come back and let me know Shirley. Lots of soups here and with this cold weather we can switch up the menu often. I made the albondigas the other day myself!
When I need a good soup recipe you are my go to site, you never disappoint. This is authentic in my book. My mother-in-law would add the chickpeas, too!
Soups are THE BEST! Thanks so much for the kind words Marta.
My family are from Mexico/Cuba. I’ve been making this since I was 8. It is really good on a cold day also as a remedy for the flu, hay fever etc. Traditionally, we just used the beef, corn, carrots, cabbage, beef bouillon and/or stock. We would eat it with warm corn tortillas, even better, homemade tortillas de maíz. We usually used a recipe similar to this but with chicken thighs and legs. All in all, this is a great caldo!
I hope you give this one a try Jessica! Thanks for sharing this with me!