Flavorful Seafood Soup | Quick and Easy To Make In 30 Minutes

There are few dishes more hearty and warming than a delicious bowl of seafood soup. It's the perfect meal for a special occasion, a fancy dinner party or just to spoil your family with. This recipe combines fresh seafood, seasonal vegetables, and aromatic herbs to create a simple seafood soup that will soon become a favorite with anyone you serve it to.

The Best Seafood Soup Recipe

Seafood soup is all about freshness! So, the most important thing is that you source the freshest shrimp, salmon, and vegetables for a meal that packs maximum flavor.

Now, some seafood soups use heavy cream - or regular milk - but we wanted to keep this one light and low in saturated fat, so we skipped the cream and allowed the shrimp and salmon to shine out as the stars of the show.

By the way, if you're looking for the perfect bread to serve with your delicious seafood soup, I recommend a rustic crusty bread to soak up all the incredible broth. Alternatively, you can try out one of the amazing bread recipes on the blog, like this Longhorn Steakhouse bread or this garlic bread!

Ingredients

One great thing about this soup is that you won't need anything fancy to make it. In fact, except for the fresh shrimp and fish, you probably have most - if not all - of the ingredients you'll need to make it.

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make this seafood soup recipe:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• ½ cup green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can (14-½ ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. dried basil
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ¾ pound salmon filets, cut into cubes
• ½ pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

Not too shabby, eh?

By the way, you can use a lot of these same ingredients to make this crack chicken soup and this chicken noodle soup. And if you have extra shrimp, you can make this shrimp soup!

So, if you end up with some leftovers of these ingredients, you might want to give one of those soup recipes a shot next.

Ingredient Substitutions & Suggestions

While I recommend making this soup with the ingredients listed above, there are loads of ways to personalize this seafood recipe.

For instance, you could add some mussels and scallops, experiment with added spice, or even use some coconut milk or - heavy cream - to make your soup creamier.

Experiment with different seafood

As I just mentioned, you can always use some scallops, mussels, firm white fish, or other types of seafood to make this soup with too. Just make sure you don't overcook the scallops or fish and that the mussels are cleaned thoroughly before adding them to the soup if you decide to go that route.

Replace the chicken broth with vegetable stock or seafood stock

Vegetable stock and seafood stock are great replacements for the chicken broth. Both of the stocks will give your soup a slightly different base flavor, but it still turns out delicious. I've made it with both, and the soup has always turned out excellent.

Give it an Asian Twist with coconut milk, red pepper flakes, and other ingredients

For a creamy seafood soup - with an Asian twist - you can add in some coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, and spices like smoked paprika or crushed red pepper flakes. This will give your seafood soup a nice balance of richness and heat, and it will also bring out the flavor of the seafood as well.

How to Make Seafood Soup

As I explained before, not only is this an incredibly tasty seafood soup, but it's also surprisingly easy to make. In fact, 4 simple steps are all you need to follow to make it. You just have to cook the vegetables, add in the broth, cook the seafood in it, and serve.

Sounds pretty easy, right?!

Well, it is, so let's not waste any more time and get cooking!

Step 1: Cook The Vegetables

First things first, you'll want to set a large pot set over medium heat and add the olive oil to it.

Then, once the oil is hot, you'll want to add the onion, green pepper, carrots, and garlic and cook the veggies until they're tender and fragrant.

Step 2: Prepare The Soup

So, once you've got a nice aroma emanating from the pot, you can stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, wine, and seasonings and bring everything to a boil.

Then, once you've got a boil going on in the pot, you can reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer the broth for 30 minutes. This simmer will allow all the flavors of the garlic, onion, tomatoes, and vegetables to fuse together for a delicious soup.

By the way, I recommend going easy on the salt because natural salt will be added when you add your fish and shrimp to the soup.

Step 3: Add The Seafood and Cook

Now it's time to add the most important ingredient; that amazing seafood.

So, once you've added the fish and shrimp to the pot, you'll want to give everything a good stir and then cover the pot. Then, cook everything for another 7-ish minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork and the shrimp turn pink.

Once the fish and shrimp are ready, you can discard the bay leaves and get ready to serve.

Step 4: Serve The Soup

Lastly, you'll want to check the salt and other seasonings one last time and then use a ladle to dish up your soup.

Make sure everyone gets their fair share of shrimp and fish and garnish with parsley and a touch of black pepper or fresh lemon juice to add flavor. Serve with crusty bread or any other hearty bread that tickles your fancy to soak up all that delicious broth.

Enjoy!

How To Store Seafood Soup

This recipe for seafood soup will make about 4 servings, so you might end up with some leftovers!

To store your leftover seafood soup, just pour it into a shallow container and let it cool down naturally. Once it is fully cooled, you can cover it and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

How To Reheat Seafood Soup

You can reheat your soup slowly in a large pot making sure that all the shrimp and fish are piping hot before serving.

Alternatively, if you want to heat the fish soup up even quicker, you can microwave it in one-minute intervals until everything is hot and ready to serve.

FAQs About This Seafood Soup Recipe

Can I use different kinds of seafood in this fish soup?

Absolutely! Crab meat, scallops, mussels, sea bass, and different types of white fish can all be great additions to this seafood stew. Just make sure that you don't overcook the scallops and that the mussels are cleaned well before adding them to the soup - you don't end up with a broth full of sand.

Can I add extra herbs to my seafood soup?

Of course. We like to serve our soup with fresh parsley, but you can also serve it with fresh thyme, fresh oregano, or any other herbs that you like. You can also add black pepper, thinly sliced red chilis, and other spices for a fiery twist on this classic recipe.

Can I add more tomatoes to the recipe for a more tomato-based broth?

Yes, definitely. Our recipe uses one can of tomatoes, but you can also add tomato paste, tomato sauce, or even fresh tomatoes to the soup as well. Just make sure you balance out the flavor with some added seasonings to give your soup more body.

Also, for what it's worth, you can add more vegetables to bulk your soup up too. We like to add cauliflower and peas to it from time to time when we make it.

Can I freeze my seafood soup?

Yes, you can totally freeze seafood soup. It actually is one of my favorite soups to make a big batch of to store in the freezer whenever I'm in the mood for a comforting, flavorful soup. Anyway, it will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then to reheat it, let it thaw in the fridge first and then follow the reheating instructions I went over above.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make seafood soup in just a few simple and easy steps.

This recipe would easily score 5 stars in any food writer's review of it, and yet it is so simple to make!

It's quickly become one of our family's favorite soup recipes, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as we do.

By the way, don't be afraid to experiment with seafood stock, coconut milk, and different seafood like shellfish, firm white fish, clams, and mussels when you make it. With just small adjustments to the recipe, you'll have yourself a different delicious meal every time you make it. 

Oh, and you can use any of those ingredients I just mentioned above to make this seafood rice, so you might want to check that out next!

More Delicious Soups

If you're looking for some more hearty soups, we have a ton on the blog you can try next!

Check all of these recipes out:

• Fideo Mexican noodle soup
• Sausage and lentil soup
• Korean tofu soup
• 4 Ingredient potato soup

Oh, and as always, be sure to follow us on TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram! We post new recipes on them every day.

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