A lightened up & dairy free shrimp and crab bisque for special occasions!
Dairy Free Shrimp and Crab Bisque
Without fail, if there is some sort of seafood bisque on the menu at a restaurant, my fiance J will order it. He is in LOVE with anything crab. Since this is the month of J on the blog (his birthday is February 16th), I thought I’d give a healthier, dairy-free shrimp and crab bisque a go!
I used potato, coconut milk, some tomato paste (hence the rich color), and a touch of tapioca starch to give this a creamier texture. It isn’t as heavy as some bisques that I’ve had, but I found that that really let the seafood shine here.
We aren’t skimping on the shrimp and crab because this recipe is a special treat! I’ll show you how to get the most bang for your buck on flavor by making your own stock using the shrimp shells. I served this at a dinner party and it would be the PERFECT thing to serve to wow your guests but not kill their tummies with all of that heavy cream!
LET’S GET TO IT!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED (hint: get everything out before reading the recipe below!):
Shrimp
Onion
Shallot
Carrots
Garlic
Ghee )or butter if not dairy free)
Potato
Seafood stock
Sherry
Tomato paste
Tapioca starch
Coconut milk
Jumbo Lump Crab
Old Bay
Salt
Pepper
Bay leaf
PrintDairy Free Shrimp and Crab Bisque
Ingredients
- 12 oz. raw, shell-on shrimp
- 1 onion, quartered
- 3 shallots, divided
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- about 8 garlic cloves, divided
- 2 Tablespoons ghee (or butter if not dairy free)
- 4 cups water
- 2 medium-sized potato, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cups seafood stock
- 1/2 cup sherry
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 16 oz. jumbo lump crab meat, divided
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
- 1 16 oz. can coconut milk
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- (you’ll need an immersion blender, food processor, or blender)
Instructions
- Begin by making a stock with the shrimp shells to flavor the bisque.
- Peel the shells from the shrimp saving both the shrimp and shells. Set the shrimp aside for later.
- Quarter the onion, quarter one of the shallots, chop the carrot and smash about 6 garlic cloves.
- Put them in a stockpot over medium-high heat with 1 Tablespoon of the ghee and add the shrimp shells. Saute this for about 4 minutes and cover with the water.
- Place a lid over the pot, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 1-2 hours.
- Drain the shrimp stock from the pot discarding she shells and vegetables, saving the stock for the soup. Set the stock aside.
- Add the remaining ghee to the stockpot and place it over medium heat. Chop the shrimp and add them to the pot. Saute for about 5 minutes until they’re cooked and remove them from the pot.
- Chop the remaining shallots and garlic cloves and peel and dice the potatoes. Add them to the empty pot and saute for about 8-10 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the sherry and add the shrimp stock, seafood stock, and tomato paste and bring the pot to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are soft; about 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add in 1/3 of the crab and 1/3 of the cooked shrimp. If you have an immersion blender, stick it in the pot and blend until smooth. If you’re using a blender or food processor, puree in batches until smooth.
- Add the bisque back into the pot with the remaining shrimp and crab. Scoop out some of the bisque and dissolve the tapioca starch in it. Add the slurry back into the pot and add the coconut milk, old bay, salt, pepper and bay leaves.
- Turn the burner on medium-low and allow this to cook and thicken for about 20 minutes before removing the bay leaf and serving. Enjoy!
xoxx,
Miss AK
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Ingrid says
This recipe exceeded my expectations! I made the shrimp broth but also included clam juice and vegetable broth in the liquid because I had these on hand. I also put 1/4 of the carrots in with the potatoes and kept them in the soup. The flavors were amazing. My dairy-free daughter agreed. We both thought that you can’t taste the coconut at all. Very creamy and dairy-like. I would make this again even if I didn’t need to be dairy-free.
Miss AK says
I am SO glad you think so! Thanks so much for trying this out!
Anna says
What can replace tapioca starch? Not sure if I will be able to find it at the store. Very excited to try this recipe! Crab bisque is a favorite but I usually can only handle a bite or two from my husband’s bowl!!
Miss AK says
You can use arrowroot powder or cornstarch