Quick Summary: A quick, forgiving Mexican seafood stew with white fish, mussels, and a spiced tomato broth. Use whatever fish or seafood you have, fresh or frozen. Customize the heat level with your choice of chile spices. Slow carb compliant. Ready in 35 minutes. Prep: 10 min | Cook: 25 min | Serves: 5
Jump to: RECIPE | Ingredients | Spices | Step by Step | Serving Suggestions | FAQ
This is probably the most forgiving recipe on my site. Use whatever white fish you have, add mussels or scallops or shrimp, adjust the spice level to your preference, and it still turns out great. I’ve made it with fresh walleye from a friend who ice fishes and with frozen tilapia from the grocery store. Both versions were delicious. The key is the spiced tomato broth, which comes together quickly while you prep the fish.
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Best Fish for Mexican Fish Stew
Any kind of white fish is great to use, with cod or red snapper being some classics.
I live in Minnesota and happen to have a friend that does a lot of ice fishing, so it was easy to get my hands on some fresh white fish the first time I made this.
I added some small scallops and some frozen mussels to the fish and the result was a mixtures of textures and tastes that made it feel like fancy restaurant food.
The next time I made this dish I left out the scallops as they had become very expensive and went with tilapia, cod and mussels. It did not suffer in flavor whatsoever!
Chile Pepper Seasoning Options
You can customize the heat level of Mexican food in general by the type of spice or chile peppers you use. For a medium spicy version of this soup, or stew, you could use a smoky blend of pasilla, ancho and chipotles.
The first time I made this soup, I added a spicy Mexican chile pepper blend, with fresh jalapenos and serranos.
I then made a second version of this seafood stew with a smoky spice blend. Cilantro and lemon brightened it up considerably and the result was a complex, robust stew with smoky notes as well as bright fresh notes.
The DIY version of the spicy fish seasoning that I used is detailed in the recipe card below.
Recipe Ingredients
The following photo shows you all the ingredients you will need for this recipe. For details on measurements, see the recipe below.
How to Make Mexican Fish Stew (Step by Step)
Step #1: Chop all the veggies; chile peppers, carrots, celery and onions
Step #2: Caramelize the veggies by cooking in oil for 7-10 minutes
Step #3: Add tomatoes, cilantro, broth, wine and spices to the caramelized veggies and cook for 15 minutes.
Step #4: Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot.
Step #5: Cook everything together over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until fish is no longer translucent
What to Serve with Sopa de Pescado
Since this is a Mexican stew, the most common accompaniment would be corn tortillas. I have served it with tortillas, toast, and sometimes with rice or grains.
If you are leading a low carb lifestyle, you could serve it with Ezekiel bread. The bread you see with the fish stew photo above was Ezekiel bread.
No bread is really completely low carb (aka keto), but Ezekiel bread is pretty low in carbs and very healthy. You will usually find it in the cooler or frozen bread section of the grocery store.
There are also some low carb tortilla alternatives available now, both pre-made and DIY recipes.
If you’re craving authentic homemade Mexican corn tortillas, this recipe and video tutorial will help.
FAQ
Yes. The fish, seafood, vegetables, and broth are all slow carb compliant. Serve with Ezekiel bread or skip the bread entirely for strict slow carb.
Yes. Frozen works very well in this stew. Thaw before adding to the pot, or add frozen and extend the cooking time by a few minutes.
Use a smoky blend of pasilla, ancho, and chipotle for mild-medium heat. Add cayenne or chile de árbol for more heat. The DIY spice blend in the recipe notes is medium-spicy.
Cod, tilapia, red snapper, halibut, or walleye all work. Use whatever is fresh, affordable, or available. The tomato broth carries the flavor.
Yes. Use all white fish, or substitute shrimp, scallops, or clams. The recipe is flexible.
Mexican Seafood Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 med onion chopped
- 3 carrots sliced (about 1/4” thickness)
- 2 jalapenos or serranos halved lengthwise, seeded and finely chopped
- 3 med celery stalks sliced (about 1/4” thickness)
- 4 cloves garlic smashed or minced
- 1 teaspoon Fish spice blend DIY blend in Notes section
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme crushed
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 28 ounces Rotel diced tomatoes or 2 cans
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 leaves bay
- 1 ½ lbs. white fish (chopped into 1-inch chunks) can use mix of cod, tilapia, scallops, walleye, etc.
- 1 lb mussels
- 2 med limes, cut into wedges optional
- 1 med lemon ,sliced for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil over med-high heat in a dutch oven or large pot. Saute onion, carrot, jalapeños and celery in oil for 5-10 minutes until translucent. Add smashed garlic and cook for 1 more minute2 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 med onion, 3 carrots, 2 jalapenos or serranos, 3 med celery stalks, 4 cloves garlic
- Add spices and stir in to the onion mixture to coat. Add wine, broth, cilantro, tomatoes, salt & bay leaves to pot and simmer together for 15-20 minutes over medium heat. Taste and add more salt if needed.1 teaspoon Fish spice blend, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 cup dry white wine, 4 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, 28 ounces Rotel diced tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 leaves bay
- Add all fish to the pot and cook, covered for 3-5 minutes or until mussels open and white fish is opaque.1 1/2 lbs. white fish (chopped into 1-inch chunks), 1 lb mussels
- Ladel into bowls and serve with lime wedges, sour cream and crispy tortilla chips.2 med limes, cut into wedges
Video
Notes
- 1/2 tsp dried chipotle powder,
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Nutrition
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Near Austin, TX we are blessed with many authentic Mexican restaurants (not Tex-Mex). We were discussing where to go for Caldo de Pescado when we decided to just look for a recipe and cook a pot ourselves. This fish soup/stew turned out BETTER than any we’ve had in a restaurant! Slight recipe modifications included ground rainbow pepper replacing smoky pepper blend, Hunt’s fire roasted diced tomatoes replacing Rotel, 10 oz halibut replacing walleye (not available) and whitefish, and small shrimp replacing mussels (uncooked not available). Two of us added a few drops of Cholula hot sauce, and we accompanied the soup with fresh flour tortillas from our grocery. We highly recommend this recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe John! It’s great that you were able to modify with your preferences and availability and it still turned out good. I’m going to have to try some of your modifications next time I make it!
I just saw this recipe on TV. It looks so good. I’m going to get the ingredients and make it ASAP. Thank you..
You bet. It’s nice that it’s pretty easy too!