Hot Avocado & Shrimp Soup

A warm avocado soup that’s silky, rich, and a gorgeous shade of green. Chicken broth gets infused with onion, celery, bay leaf, and parsley, then strained and blended with ripe avocados into a velvety puree. Cooked shrimp go in at the end, warmed gently in the soup.

The broth infusion step is what separates this from just blending avocado with stock. Simmering the aromatics for 15 minutes and then straining gives you a clean, flavorful liquid that lets the avocado shine without any chunky bits getting in the way.

Do not let this soup boil after the avocado goes in. High heat turns avocado bitter and breaks the emulsion, leaving you with a grainy, off-tasting mess. Gentle, low heat only.

Kitchen Tips

• Use ripe avocados that give slightly when pressed. Underripe avocados won’t blend smooth and the flavor will be flat.
• Blend slowly, adding the strained broth in a steady stream. This creates a smoother emulsion than dumping everything in at once.
• The shrimp are already cooked, so they only need to heat through. A minute or two in the warm soup is plenty.
• Serve immediately. Avocado soup oxidizes and dulls in color if it sits too long.

Variations

• Serve chilled instead of hot on a warm day. It works beautifully either way.
• Add a squeeze of lime juice before serving to brighten the flavor and slow oxidation.
• Swap sour cream for a swirl of coconut cream to make it dairy-free.