Our delicious Fish Stew is a fun spin on the classic Brazilian dish “Moqueca”. This warm and comforting soup is made with shrimp, white fish, fresh veggies, and all the best flavors served over white rice. We have been making this fish stew recipe for years during those chilly winter months!
The Best Fish Stew Recipe
So this is my (accidental) spin on the classic Brazilian fish stew “moqueca.” Moqueca is traditionally a coconut milk-based stew with onions, tomatoes, and garlic as well as fish and other types of fresh seafood. Well, we aren’t Brazilian but this is our take on this traditional dish that is packed with so much flavor! We have been making this easy fish stew recipe for years and can’t wait for you to try it. This delicious stew is definitely going to wake-up your tastebuds in all the best ways possible!
Looking for another cozy soup recipe? Check out our full list of 41+ Soup Recipes!
What You Will Need
- butter – helps to sauté the onion and adds so much great flavor!
- yellow onion & fresh garlic – traditional flavor starters for any homemade soup recipe.
- olive oil – a little bit to help sauté the garlic in the bottom of the pot.
- paprika, salt, & pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must!
- celery & potato – fresh vegetables that are traditional to most soup recipes.
- seafood stock – option to find a store-bought version at your local grocery store or make a homemade seafood stock. Chicken stock would work in a pinch, but we definitely prefer seafood stock.
- canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes – these flavorful tomatoes are a great addition to the tomato-based broth.
- coconut milk – perfect way to add some creaminess but keeping it light and dairy-free.
- red pepper flakes – a sprinkling to add a little heat to the pot, adjust to your desired taste.
- raw shrimp – make sure you buy shrimp with the shell on and remove that at home.
- fresh cilantro leaves – a key ingredient for bringing a light and refreshing flavor!
- lime juice – love this touch of acidity to help amplify all the flavors.
- sea bass – we highly recommend these fish fillets, but any white fish should work.
- serving: cooked rice, cilantro, & lime wedges
How To Make Fish Stew
The first steps to making this easy recipe are to bring a large pot to a medium high heat, add butter to melt, and sauté the onions. Then push onions to the sides and put the garlic and olive oil in the middle of the pot. Once fragrant, mix onion and garlic together, add the celery and some salt and pepper.
Now add the fish stock, canned tomatoes, coconut milk, paprika, red pepper flakes, and salt to the pot and stir to fully combine.
Remove the outer shell from the fresh shrimp or if you are using frozen shrimp, be sure to fully thaw first. Place all these shells in a cheesecloth and tie it closed with kitchen twine.
Place this shell pouch in the pot of soup. It adds SO much amazing flavor to this dish! Let it all simmer for about 1 hour.
While the soup nears the end of simmering, cut your fish of choice into large chunks. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Then bring a large skillet to a medium heat, melt butter, and sear the fish on all sides. Remove seared fish from the pan and set aside.
After the soup has simmered, carefully remove that pouch of shrimp shells and discard. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and potatoes to the pot and let it all simmer for 8-10 minutes. Now add the seared fish and raw shrimp to the soup to simmer for another 5-10 minutes or until fully cooked.
Serve over your favorite cooked rice!
Best Ways To Serve Fish Stew
This flavor-packed main course could definitely be enjoyed all on its own, but we love to ladle it over a bed of rice. Any rice will work, we used white rice in these photos, but feel free to use brown rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, or cauliflower rice, etc. Just make sure you sprinkle some fresh cilantro or fresh parsley on top with a sprinkling of freshly cracked pepper, plus a lime wedge for a squeeze of fresh lime juice! You could also serve with a piece of crusty bread topped with butter or our favorite grilled bread at the dinner table for dipping!
Recipe FAQ
We have used sea bass and swordfish for our fish, but you can substitute any white fish. You just want it to be a firm white fish, otherwise it will just fall apart. Halibut or wild cod would be other good alternatives.
We removed the skin before putting the fish in, but some people like to keep the skin on for flavor. In an effort to not find any random fish scales in our stew, we opted to remove it. That is totally your call.
This recipe does make a large pot of soup, therefore you can place any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
We do not recommend freezing this soup. Between the seafood, fish, and creamy soup base, it is just not a good option for storing this soup.
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Other Fish Recipes You Might Like
Fish Stew
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Brazilian
Description
This amazing Brazilian Fish Stew recipe is a savory and delicious soup that is cozy and comforting! Perfect for cold weather!
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 cups sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 and 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- sprinkling of ground black pepper
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 2 cups seafood stock
- 15oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- (2) 15oz cans full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 12 shrimp (6 jumbo, 6 regular) uncooked – remove shells and keep for broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
- 1 large russet potato, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 1/3 lb sea bass or swordfish
- serving: cooked rice of your choice, cilantro, and cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In large dutch oven add 4 tablespoons butter on medium-high heat and let melt. Add onion. Stir continuously for 2-4 minutes or until onions start to cook down. Push onions to the sides of the pan and add garlic in the middle. Add olive oil on top of garlic and let it cook until it becomes fragrant. Then mix garlic and onion together and continue to let it cook down for another minute.
- Add celery, a sprinkling of black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and let that cook down with the garlic and onion, still stirring, for another 2-4 minutes.
- Add seafood stock, tomatoes, coconut milk, paprika, red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.
- Take shrimp shells and place in cheesecloth. Bring corners up and use kitchen twine to tie the pouch around the shells. Place in the broth and let simmer 1 hour.
- While that simmers, bring a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and cut the sea bass (or swordfish) into large chunks – season with a little salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet and sear fish approx. 1 minute on all sides (no need to cook it all the way through) – complete in batches, if needed. Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Remove pouch of shrimp shells from the soup pot and discard.
- Add cilantro, lime juice, and potatoes to the broth – let simmer approx. 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are firm, but soft.
- Add seared fish and uncooked shrimp to the large pot. Cover and let simmer 5-10 minutes or until shrimp and fish are cooked through.
- Taste and add any additional salt, pepper, or lime juice, as desired.
- Serve with rice, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
Notes
- Sea Bass v. Swordfish: we used swordfish in the photos simply because that is what our deli had available at the time, but sea bass is preferred here.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 213.8 mg
- Fat: 18.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 51 mg
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