This Easy Bouillabaisse post is sponsored by Knotty Vines. The opinions and text are all mine.
An Easy Bouillabaisse recipe that you can make at home. This French fish stew is loaded with fresh seafood and flavorful broth. The perfect soup to make on any weeknight dinner or special occasion!
Learn how to make this traditional Provençal fish stew. Bouillabaisse is a popular dish that is oftentimes served at fancy seafood restaurants.
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The best food to eat with Cabernet Sauvignon wine
This seafood dish looks complicated but anyone with even the most basic cooking skills can actually make it at home.
My husband melts for seafood so this quick prep dish is perfect for date night. It also pairs well with the 2018 Knotty Vines Cabernet Sauvignon.
I was excited to get in touch with my naughty side and try their seductive wine varieties.
I love the clever name and the look of their bottles, and especially the indulging taste. Having that alongside the Bouillabaisse made our night!
We’ve had more date nights at home these months, and the modern new Knotty Vines is the perfect way to jazz things up.
A Bouillabaisse is one of the more popular seafood dishes served around the world due to its flexibility and delicious components. It's so versatile and can be prepared in a number of ways, but always has that wow factor.
I do love enjoying seafood with great wine and don’t always follow what the experts recommend for wine pairings.
About this Provençal fish stew
This easy Bouillabaisse recipe uses simple seasoning that you probably already have in your pantry.
In this recipe, I used a combination of cod, lobster, mussels, clams, shrimp, and sea scallops. The broth is made of fresh tomato, seafood stock, and aromatic vegetables.
You can use any combination of seafood of your choice. The only important thing that you need to remember is to always use the freshest seafood that you can find in your local area.
How to Make Bouillabaisse
This fish stew has a pretty long ingredient list but actually pretty easy to make.
Step 1. Prepare the broth
Cook the aromatic vegetables for about 8 minutes.
Add tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and saffron threads. Cook for about 8 minutes.
Step 2. Add fish and shellfish
Add broth and bring to a moderate boil until the broth is thickened a bit.
Cook fish for about 2 minutes then add shellfish and cook for 5 minutes or longer or until they are fully cooked.
Make sure you have enough liquid in your pan to fully cover the seafood.
Check Out More Soup Recipes:
- Easy Fish Chowder
- Fish Soup
- Tomato Potato Soup
- Great Northern Bean Soup (White Bean Soup)
- Albondigas Soup (Mexican Caldo De Albondigas)
- French Onion Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Corn Chowder
- Instant Pot Greek Chicken Lemon Rice Soup
📖 Recipe
Easy Bouillabaisse
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 fennel bulb, (trimmed and chopped)
- ¾ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced carrots
- 4 garlic cloves, (minced)
- 1 cup diced red potatoes
- 2½ cups diced fresh tomatoes, (peeled)
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon saffron threads
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 4 cups fish or seafood stock
- 1¼ pounds chopped boneless fish , (such as cod, halibut, red snapper, or sea bass), cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2-3 small lobster tails , (about 4 oz each, halved)
- 15 shrimp
- ¾ pound clams
- ½ pound mussels
- 6 sea scallops
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion, celery, carrot, potato, fennel for 8 minutes.
- Add garlic, chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, and saffron. Cook and keep stirring for 8 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a moderate boil until it is thickened a bit and until the potatoes are almost tender.
- Add the fish then lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add shellfish, simmer gently, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or longer until they are fully cooked. Adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper if needed. Serve and enjoy with a glass of 2018 Knotty Vines Cabernet Sauvignon.
Kathy
This dish looks amazing. I love how it's filled with so many different ingredients. I love more colorful dishes like these.
Rika
Thanks, Kathy!
Mama Maggie
This Bouillabaisse is making my tummy growl! I can hear the screams saying I want it now! It looks absolutely delicious!
Lavanda Michelle
You had me at Easy Bouillabaisse! My hubby is going to love this, I'm making Sunday!
Rika
It sounds like a perfect plan, Lavanda!
solrazo
I only knew some French dishes, and this will be a great additional on my repice list!
C.K.Monarez
Hi Rika! I'm new to your site. I will be making this tonight. I'm trying to decide if my 3 1/2 qt Sauteuse (Le Creuset) is big enough for this dish. What size Dutch Oven do you or your readers use? Should I reserve a cup & a half of the seafood broth to pour over the top? Do you ever add wine to yours? Thanks in advance!
Rika
Hi CK,
Welcome to my site! I think your saute is not big enough for this dish. I personally used my 4.5 qt Le Creuset round dutch oven and it was pretty tight.
If that's the only dutch oven you have in your kitchen, I think you can still use it and cook the seafood in batches. Remove the cooked seafood (maybe with some cooked potatoes and veggies) aside so you have enough room to cook the remaining shellfish. Then right before serving you can mix all of the cooked ingredients with broth together briefly for the flavor to blend.
I do not recommend reserving some of the broth because you need the broth to cook the seafood, and by doing so you will add more depth and flavor to the broth.
I didn't use wine for this Bouillabaisse recipe, but I used wine in another fish soup recipe (also popular by our readers, fish soup).
Please let me know how it goes with your Bouillabaisse!
Best,
Rika
Gita Lioufas
Easy and rich in taste!
Rika
Hi Gita,
Thanks for trying and taking the time to share your feedback. I am glad that you found this recipe easy to make and rich in taste.
Best,
Rika
EuroHenry
Tastes authentic, and yes I've been to Marseille!
Rika
Your comment made me blush! So glad you liked it, Henry!
Best,
Rika
Tammy Barry-Murphy
Trying this recipe right now, however, you failed to add garlic and amount in your list of ingredients, so I'm eyeballing it, other than that looking forward to the outcome!
Rika
Hi Tammy,
Thank you for giving this recipe a try. Garlic is included in the ingredient list; you'll need 4 garlic cloves.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Rika
Susie K
First time to fix fish soup! Followed your recipe with lots of mussels an lobster. Easy to o follow. Served with crusty bread an Rose an white wines! It was a real hit with the friends! I will make again. Thank you 5 star!
Rika
Hi Susie,
Outstanding, so glad that you and your friends enjoyed the bouillabaisse! Sounds amazing with the bread, wine, and using mussels, and lobster. Thank you for the comment!
Best,
Rika