Seafood Bisque
You’ll love this easy creamy Seafood Bisque recipe. Fresh lump crabmeat and seasoned Gulf shrimp, nestled in a rich and creamy cheese broth. Ready in less than 30-minutes, this gluten-free seafood bisque can also be served as a warm seafood dip for bread.
Why this recipe works
- The base of the bisque is not heavy cream, but melted mild American white cheese. The cheese melts beautifully, providing the thickness and richness of a traditional seafood bisque.
- Gluten-free bisque recipe contains no flour. The thickening agent is cornstarch.
Ingredients
I use fresh lump crabmeat and Gulf shrimp (not pictured) for this seafood soup, but you can also add in diced bay scallops or flaked whitefish like cod or halibut or clams.
- Crabmeat– for the best crab bisque, use fresh lump crabmeat. You’ll find this in the seafood section of the grocery store.
- Shrimp – (not pictured); a pound of cooked shrimp. I recommend you buy raw shrimp and boil them yourself, as opposed to buying cooked shrimp. It only takes 5 minutes to boil shrimp, but the texture and flavor is by far better than canned shrimp or pre-cooked shrimp.
- Broth – chicken broth or seafood broth works
- Butter – just a tablespoon. You can use salted butter or unsalted
- Onion- finely diced yellow or white onion
- Garlic– for best results, use fresh minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
- Evaporated milk –lighter than heavy cream, this gives the seafood bisque a super creamy texture without all the fat and calories of heavy cream
- White American cheese – buy a block of cheese from the deli and shred it yourself. This is one of the key ingredients to this creamy soup.
- Cornstarch – just a tablespoon of cornstarch acts as a thickening agent without adding gluten to the recipe
- Old Bay seasoning – just a pinch of seasoning goes a long way in this seafood bisque. If you don’t have Old Bay, you can use a Cajun/Creole seasoning or a little Lawry’s seasoned salt – just go easy on either. We don’t want to over-power the flavor of the seafood.
- If you want to add a little heat, you can add some cayenne pepper, white pepper or a little Louisiana Hot Sauce. Just start with small increments of a half teaspoon and season to taste.
- Garnish – I finish this seafood bisque off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and chopped green onions
How to make it
This easy seafood bisque is ready in about 30 minutes.
- Season raw shrimp lightly with a sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning and bring 4 cups of water to boil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven; cook the shrimp 5-7 minutes; drain and chop into fine pieces; set aside
- Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in a large stockpot; add onion and cook a few minutes until tender; then add garlic and saute one minute
- In a separate bowl, combine evaporated milk, cornstarch and broth; whisk until there are no lumps. Pour this mixture into the stockpot with onions and garlic
- Cook on high heat for 5-6 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken; reduce heat to low and add shredded cheese; stir continuously until cheese is fully melted
- Adjust the stove temperature to medium heat and add lump crabmeat and cooked shrimp.
- Add Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste with salt, black pepper or white pepper, and/or cayenne pepper
- Ladle bisque into individual serving bowls and squeeze 2-3 drops of fresh lemon juice on each serving; garnish with chopped scallions and enjoy!
Recipe tips
For the most flavorful seafood bisque, buy raw shrimp, lightly season it with Old Bay, and boil it yourself. Do not use precooked shrimp.
When you add the cornstarch/evaporated milk mixture, be sure to increase the temperature of your stove to high; cornstarch thickens at high temperatures
This recipe results in a super creamy consistency! You can also serve this as a hot seafood dip with warm sliced bread.
Serving suggestions
Seafood bisque is generally served as an entree due to it’s richness, however, you can serve small portions as an appetizer.
Makes a delicious warm dip! If you want to serve this shrimp and crab bisque as a warm seafood dip, once the bisque is ready, transfer it to a slow cooker or a chafing dish to keep it warm.
This easy seafood bisque is always a crowd-pleaser so you might want to double the recipe if you’re serving a group! Serve with warm French bread, Italian bread or crostini!
Related recipes
If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a rating and comment! I love to hear from you!
Seafood Bisque
Seasoned shrimp and lump crabmeat nestled in a rich, creamy, cheese broth.
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Yield: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fresh lump claw crabmeat See recipe notes
- 1 pound cooked shrimp, diced See recipe notes
- 4 cups shredded white American cheese (about 1½ pound of block cheese from the deli)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup finely diced yellow onion
- 2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (about 2 small cloves)
- 1½ cups evaporated milk , 12 ounces
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup chicken or seafood broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (might need a little more to season the shrimp)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- salt and white ground pepper to taste
- fresh lemon juice (optional)
- chopped chives for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Prep
- Shred white American cheese, finely dice onion, garlic and cooked shrimp and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch, evaporated milk and broth; whisk till smooth; set all this aside4 cups shredded white American cheese, ½ cup finely diced yellow onion, 2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic, 1½ cups evaporated milk, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 cup chicken or seafood broth
Make the Bisque
- In a large stockpot on medium heat, melt butter; add onions and cook 2-3 minutes until tender; add garlic and cook 1 minute2 tablespoons butter
- Add evaporated milk mixture; turn the heat to high and stir continuously for 5-6 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken; once it's thickened, turn the stove to low temperature
- Add shredded cheese and cook 3 minutes or so, until the cheese is completely melted; add crab meat and cooked shrimp; combine well16 ounces fresh lump claw crabmeat, 1 pound cooked shrimp, diced
- Add Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning and cayenne pepper (optional); taste for salt now; add salt and white pepper if desired1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional), salt and white ground pepper to taste
- Ladle bisque into individual bowls and give each bowl a few (1-3) drops of fresh lemon juice; garnish with chopped scallions and serve with breadfresh lemon juice (optional), chopped chives for garnish (optional)
Notes
Yield-
The recipe, as written, makes about four cups.
Lump Crab Meat-
You’ll find this in the cold seafood section at the grocery store. There are two kinds: dark lump crab meat and white. You can use either or a combination of the two. This recipe uses dark crab meat.
It’s usually packed pretty tight with little juice. There’s no need to strain the crabmeat. Just dump it all into the pot!
Shrimp-
You can use pre-cooked shrimp or cook your own shrimp. I recommend boiling your own shrimp-takes a few minutes longer, but the flavor is better than using cooked shrimp.
Peel and devein shrimp; lightly season with Old Bay, Cajun or Creole seasoning, or a little Lawry’s Seasoned salt. Bring 4 cups of water to boil; add shrimp and cook for 5 minutes until they turn a pink or coral color; remove shrimp; dice and add to the bisque.
Other seafood ingredients
If you want to add additional seafood, consider flaked Cod or Haddock, clams, mussels or bay scallops.
Nutrition Estimate
Serving: 1cupCalories: 916kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 76gFat: 59gSaturated Fat: 31gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 399mgSodium: 3828mgPotassium: 1076mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 1885IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 1854mgIron: 3mg
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