Today I’m sharing one of my favorite comfort food soups: Seafood Bisque.
Sign up for my free email subscription and never miss a recipe.
Since the recent passing of my dear friend Rhonda, I’ve been brainstorming on what to do to help keep me motivated during this grief, so I decided to do a little series on some of her favorite foods (and drinks!). Seafood bisque with a salad was one of the last meals I brought to her and her husband said she absolutely LOVED it! 
However, I can’t take any credit for the bisque I brought her that she loved so much… I had an appointment in Beaufort NC one day last month and stopped by Clawson’s 1905 Restaurant and Pub to get the seafood bisque before I went to her house… their seafood bisque is soooooo good and I highly recommend dining there if you’re ever in the area (not sponsored – I just love their food, service and atmosphere!).
I never got the chance to make Rhonda my own version but I know she would approve! Everyone’s cooking style is different and I loved this bisque just as much, but I will still continue to eat the seafood bisque at Clawson’s when I dine there.
I hope you enjoy this bisque as well! 
Seafood Bisque
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 pound medium shrimp – Peeled, deveined and chopped into about ½-inch pieces
- 1 pound bay scallops
- 1–1/2 cups finely chopped celery (about 3 stalks)
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups half and half
- 1 (32-ounce) container seafood stock (4 cups)
- ¼ cup white wine (I used chardonnay)
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt (more or less, to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (more or less, to taste)
- Optional: Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or soup pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium high heat. Add shrimp and scallops and cook until shrimp are pink, stirring frequently (about 4 minutes).
- Remove shrimp and scallops with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl or on a plate, leaving juices in pot.
- Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and melt. Add celery and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender (stirring frequently). Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, while continuing to stir.
- Slowly add flour while whisking to combine. Add half and half and seafood stock, while continuing to whisk.
- Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Return shrimp and scallops to pot. Add white wine, Old Bay Seasoning, nutmeg, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Simmer for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Top with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.
Abe says
This is a lot for one person (grin). How long does it keep? Not sure if it can be frozen, because of the half and half. Thanks!
Amy says
Hi Abe! This keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge. I wouldn’t freeze it because of the half-and-half, it tends to separate and the texture is not the same when defrosted. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Jennifer Davis says
Fantastic. I live in the middle of nowhere and can’t find seafood stock, so I simmered shrimp shells with Vegetable broth.
I’m in Maryland and we love cream of crab, this is definitely right on par with that. Added extra old bay, I’m in Maryland, it’s what we do.
This has gotten me out of my dinner rut, and I can’t wait to try more recipes of yours.
★★★★★
Lucy Hull says
Absolutely delicious! Just made this for dinner. I added a couple small diced carrots, onion and an extra garlic clove (I’m Italian, lol) just about everything I cook gets an extra garlic clove! Also I didn’t have any white wine so I used Marsala which did great as a substitute. Once I had all the ingredients on the counter it only took 35 minutes to throw together! Thanks for sharing this great and easy and delish recipe.
★★★★★
Jill Zgorzelski says
I made this today using homemade shellfish stock. I followed the directions carefully and couldn’t be more pleased with the results. It was seasoned perfectly and tasted better than the bisque I order at my favorite local restaurant. My husband and I had second helpings it was so perfect. My only extra addition was a shot glass of apple brandy before serving. Soooooooo good. I will only use this recipe to make bisque from now on.
★★★★★
Stacia Stone says
Absolutely amazing! Just made it tonight, and hubby said it’s every bit as good as the seafood restaurants around here, and we are in the Seattle area, so that’s sayin’ something. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
★★★★★
Amy says
Thank you, Stacia – So glad to hear you and your hubby enjoyed it!
Claudia says
Can this be made with almond milk by our daughter cannot have dairy?
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
Hi Claudia, I don’t think almond milk will be thick enough but I can’t say with certainty because I haven’t tried it. I’ve read here that coconut cream is a good dairy-free alternative for half and half and heavy cream and this thread suggests to use a mixture of almond milk and coconut cream in a bisque. Let us know how it turns out if you try it!
Stephanie Johnston says
One word..AMAZING.
★★★★★
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
Thanks so much, Stephanie! So happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
Erin says
Excellent! I made this tonight and we all loved it.
★★★★★
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
Thank you, Erin… so happy to hear everyone loved it! 🙂
Elyssa says
I made this recipe last night for my fiance and I and we both LOVED it. I couldn’t find seafood stock so we instead boiled some blue crab claws in a smaller pot to make our own stock (just boiled it while I chopped all the veggies and cooked the scallops). I also added finely chopped onions and carrots along with the celery because I had them and mirepoix is just classic. Will definitely be making this again!
★★★★★
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
Thanks so much, Elyssa – So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Kari Turner says
My first try, and success!! I followed three recipe exactly, other than substituting seafood stock with a garden veritable stock. I’m definitely keeping this on my menu!!! Thank you!
Kari
★★★★★
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
So happy you loved it, Kari – Thank you! 🙂
Christine says
This turned out great! I added some clams and some tomato paste because we like tomato-ey seafood bisque, and it turned out great!
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
Thanks so much, Christine! That sounds delicious! 🙂
Jill says
I made this recipe yesterday and my family is still talking about it! I doubled the recipe because we had a larger crowd – but it goes a long way. I added fresh crab meat as well. I will admit that it look me way longer to prepare this than 10 minutes – and cook time was over an hour – almost 2. I cooked it slowly to make sure I didn’t scorch the pan and also used more flour because I like my bisque on the thick side. Open bottle of chardonnay to boot – and it will definitely be a keeper! Thank you so much!!
★★★★★
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
Thanks, Jill! So happy to hear everyone enjoyed it! 🙂
Valerie | Valerie’s Kitchen says
This looks incredible! Can’t wait to try!
★★★★★
Amy @ The Blond Cook says
Thanks you, Valerie! 🙂