Easy Shrimp Bisque Recipe (2024)

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This easy shrimp bisque recipe, or the best shrimp bisque recipe as my husband calls it, is a rich, warming, and cozy soup made in one pot using homemade shrimp stock for unrivaled flavor!

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Using just a few pantry staples, this thick and velvety smooth bisque gives us a more affordable version than the higher-priced lobster bisque!

Shrimp is easily accessible and pretty handy as most people who enjoy eating shrimp will have a bag on hand in their freezer.


I like to add a few pieces of succulent juicy shrimp on top along with crunchy croutons just before serving so that way there’s a balance of textures. Bisque is supposed to be classy and elegant, but a dish this comforting and easy to make is perfect for all occasions.

Serve it as a main dish with a slice of rustic bread to soak up every last drop, or serve it as a main with a side salad or half of a sandwich.

This tasty shrimp bisque soup is going to become one of your favorite ways to keep warm all winter long!

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Ingredients Needed for Creamy Shrimp Bisque

  • Butter: The flavors of any good soup usually come from building layers on top of layers. The butter is used to cook the celery, onions, and carrots which is the base of the entire soup.
  • Mirepoix: The trio of celery, carrots, and onions is a popular flavor base used in all kinds of recipes. It’s like the holy trinity of cooking!
  • Garlic: A tasty aromatic that also adds incredible flavor.
  • All-purpose flour: A bisque is a thick soup, so we use the flour as a thickener.
  • Heavy whipping cream: This gives it a velvety smooth and rich consistency.
  • Shrimp stock: I use homemade shrimp stock for a beautifully intense shrimp flavor, but you can use store-bought if that’s what you have.
  • Jumbo shrimp: Raw, wild-caught is my favorite just because I tend to stay away from farmed seafood, but it’s completely up to you. Just be sure that they’re deveined and have the shells removed.
  • Bread: We’re making croutons! See below for the simple instructions.
  • Salt & pepper: Season to taste.

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How to Make Shrimp Bisque

Step 1: In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat, then add the celery, onions, and carrots to cook for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally while the veggies sauté.

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Step 2: Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute. This will form a roux which is a light beige paste that will thicken the soup.

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Step 3: Slowly whisk in the heavy whipping cream, until everything is combined and smooth. There should be no lumps of flour left.

Step 4: Pour in the shrimp stock and mix until combined. Cook for 10 minutes until the contents of the pot have thickened.

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Step 5: Add shrimp and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6: Serve hot with toasted croutons and chopped green onion. Enjoy!

A Quick Guide To Making Croutons

I love using any type of rustic bread, and when I make my no knead bread I usually save whatever’s left for breadcrumbs and croutons.

You can use any type of bread you have on hand. French bread, Italian bread, white, whole wheat, or sourdough bread. It’s especially great with day-old bread.

  1. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes.
  2. Lay them out onto a baking sheet in a single layer, leaving space between each one.
  3. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 10 minutes until toasted.

I enjoy mine plain but you can drizzle them with olive oil and season them to your liking if desired. Garlic, herbs, Parmesan, or even just a bit of salt and pepper are great.

Make Soup Ahead

There are a few ways you can prepare ahead of time, which makes it convenient to make a stock from scratch.

Prepare and clean the shrimp the day before. Use the shells to make the stock and keep it in the fridge until the next day.

Then, when you’re ready to make the shrimp bisque recipe, your shrimp has been cleaned, and your stock is made!

FAQs

Is this bisque recipe suitable to serve a crowd?

Absolutely! You can also easily double or triple the recipe as needed. As long as you have a pot big enough, go for it!

Can you freeze shrimp bisque?

It freezes really well, so if you’re making more than enough, don’t fret. It’ll stay frozen for up to 6 months when stored and sealed in an airtight freezer bag or container.

How to reheat it?

To reheat add bisque to a pot and heat it on a low heat until desired temperature.

Is a bisque the same as a chowder?

They are not the same thing. Both are incredibly flavorful and delicious and both are traditionally made with seafood. The main difference is in the texture.

A bisque is smooth and creamy while chowder is chunky, usually loaded with pieces of fish, seafood, and veggies.

More Delicious Recipes:

  • Easy Fried Rice
  • Chicken Chow Mein
  • Honey Garlic Shrimp
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Cucumber Tomato Salad

When YOU make this Shrimp Bisque Recipe, tag us on Instagram @MunchkinTimeBlog&hashtag #munchkinrecipes . We would love to see YOUR creation!

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Easy Shrimp Bisque Recipe

Love Keil

This easy shrimp bisque recipe, or the best shrimp bisque recipe as my husband calls it, is a rich, warming, and cozy soup made in one pot

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Calories 576 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 sticks celery chopped
  • 1 medium carrot chopped
  • 1/4 cup green onion chopped, more for garnish
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup flour plus 2 tablespoons
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 5-6 cups shrimp stock homemade
  • 2 lb raw shrimp jumbo size (about 15 pieces) raw & wild-caught, peeled - deveined - washed & chopped
  • 4 slices rustic bread or french bread, cut into cubes and baked at 400F until toasted.
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • First melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Next add celery, carrot & green onion. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring few times.

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  • After add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Then add flour and stir for 1 minute. Slowly stir in heavy whipping cream, mix until everything is combined and there are no flour lumps.

    Easy Shrimp Bisque Recipe (9)

  • Now pour in shrimp stock, mix until everything is combined. Cook for 10 minutes or until thickens.

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  • Add shrimp, bring it to a gentle boil, simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

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  • Serve hot with toasted croutons and chopped green onion.

    Easy Shrimp Bisque Recipe (12)

Notes

Hi! All content & images are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Nutrition

Calories: 576kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 36gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 368mgSodium: 1447mgPotassium: 493mgFiber: 2gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 4158IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 185mgIron: 2mg

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Easy Shrimp Bisque Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the main liquid ingredient of a bisque? ›

Liquid — Bisque recipes aren't shy about liquids: cream or milk, broth, clam juice white wine, and often a bit of brandy are used to create a complex, fascinating flavor.

What is the ingredients of bisque? ›

Bisque Recipe Ingredients
  • Fish: Crawfish meat, shrimp, and crab meat. ...
  • From the dairy aisle: Heavy cream + half-and-half + unsalted butter. ...
  • Produce: Green onions and corn. ...
  • Pantry & spice rack: Flour, can of creamed corn, salt and pepper, cayenne, Old Bay seasoning, and Tony's Cajun seasoning.
Dec 18, 2015

What is shrimp bisque made of? ›

Ingredients for Shrimp Bisque

Broth – Seafood or chicken broth can be used and is infursed with flavor from the shrimp shells. The veggies add flavor while cream adds richness and body to the broth. Sauteed Veggies – Onions, celery, and carrots (known as a mirepoix) provide the flavor base for many recipes.

What makes a bisque creamy? ›

A bisque is a smooth, creamy French style of soup, traditionally made from crustaceans like lobster, crab or crayfish. It should include a stock made from the shells, a large amount of cream, and a thickening agent made from either finely-ground shells or rice.

What is the classic thickener for a bisque? ›

Most modern bisques are thickened using rice. Some cook the rice in the broth and strain it out later, using only the left-behind rice starch to thicken the soup. Others puree the rice into the soup to thicken it. Almost all bisques are finished with hot cream for a velvety texture.

What is a traditional bisque? ›

A bisque is a French style of soup that is made from crustaceans, such as lobster, crab, shrimp, and crayfish; their shells are used to make a stock and the meat is incorporated into the finished dish.

What's the difference between a bisque and a cream soup? ›

A bisque is a cream soup, but a cream soup isn't always a bisque. To be a bisque the soup has to be made with a shellfish stock and will often include pieces of shellfish. Quite simply, no shellfish, no bisque.

What is the difference between a soup and bisque? ›

Key Differences

Ingredients: Bisque is often made with seafood and enriched with heavy cream, whereas soup can be made with a wide range of ingredients, offering more versatility. Consistency: Bisque is consistently smooth and velvety, while soup can have a diverse range of consistencies, depending on the recipe.

What goes with seafood bisque? ›

Serve the seafood bisque with freshly baked biscuits or crusty bread. If it's a lunch or main course soup, add your favorite salad.

How do you thicken shrimp bisque? ›

If it comes out thin just simply mix about 4-5 tbsp cornstarch in cold water and add to the Bisque at the end. Cook until slightly thickened. If you don't care for spicy you may want to start out using only 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. You can always add more late if you wish.

What makes a bisque a bisque and not a soup? ›

Bisque, on the other hand, is characterized by its creamy and luxurious texture. While it will also incorporate a seafood broth or stock for depth of flavor, bisque is defined by the addition of heavy cream and, sometimes, a thickening agent, which imparts a rich, velvety consistency.

What is a seafood bisque? ›

Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth (coulis) of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, langoustine, crab, shrimp, or crayfish. The French bisque is one of the most popular seafood soups around the world.

Why do you put ice in a bisque? ›

Ice cubes to the rescue! They save your tastebuds and your soup by mellowing out the kick in a big way! Over-salted the soup? Ice works here, too.

How do you thicken bisque soup? ›

The most classic and surefire way to thicken a broth-based soup is with a cornstarch slurry. Whisk together equal parts cornstarch (or arrowroot) and water or broth, then whisk it into the pot of soup. A good ratio to get to a pleasant thickness without your soup tasting goopy or heavy is one tablespoon.

What makes a bisque thicker? ›

Cornstarch is a great option as it is a natural thickening agent, but you'll want to be careful about how much you use. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked together with cold water to create a slurry. Then, gradually add the slurry to the soup, letting it boil for one to two minutes before adding more.

Is bisque watery? ›

Bisque is a rich, thick, smooth soup that's often made with shellfish, such as lobster, crab, or shrimp.

Where does bisque sauce come from? ›

The thick and creamy texture-defined lobster bisque can be traced back to 17th century France in one of its earliest incarnations. The initial iteration of bisque featured crayfish as the primary protein and a thicker texture known as pottage.

Is bisque milk based? ›

Bisque is a type of soup that's rich and creamy, and traditionally made from pureed shellfish. Authentic recipes ground the shells into a fine paste and use that to thicken the soup. More commonly now, bisques are thickened with rice, which can be pureed or strained out at the end of cooking.

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