This family favorite oyster stew recipe is the best you’ll ever taste! A unique twist on the classic dish, it includes potato, which makes the stew thicker and even more satisfying without diluting the delicate oyster taste. Ready in just 30 minutes, it’s easy, nutritious, and so delicious.
Why you’ll love this oyster stew recipe
In my home, we enjoy this oyster stew recipe every Christmas Eve, alongside other festive sides like baked brie and salmon crostini. However, this stew is such a hit that I serve it throughout the year, too. Here’s why it has a near five-star review:
- The entire recipe is ready in 30 minutes! With nine base ingredients, this oyster stew combines and cooks in one pot. All I have to do is chop the veggies and wait for everything to cook.
- Every bite is so delicious, no one even realizes it’s nutritious, too. With the addition of veggies, this stew provides vitamins, nutrients, fiber, and protein to keep you full and satisfied for hours. Picky eater-approved, it’s perfect for cold winter days!
- Large batch-friendly! Leftovers store and reheat well. So, I often prep a double batch to keep on hand for quick heat-and-eat meals throughout the week.
Clearly, my family members are big fans of this recipe, but we aren’t the only ones! Take a look at what readers had to say, too:
“On a cold & rainy night in NC, this oyster stew more than hit the spot. Followed your suggestions and it turned out perfectly – mine even looked like yours in the photo!” ~Flavel Collins
“I have made this numerous times. It’s my husband’s fave. Mine too.” ~Michelle Kittelson
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Pin ItKey Ingredient Notes
- Oysters – I use jarred oysters because I don’t typically have fresh ones readily available. Plus, jarred oysters tend to have more nutrients than fresh oysters, but only if you use the liquid from the jarred oysters. This recipe uses all of the liquid in the jar, so nothing is wasted and all the flavor goes into the stew. Of course, if preferred, you can use fresh oysters instead.
- Bacon fat – I love using bacon fat for extra flavor, but butter or any oil, such as olive oil, works just fine.
- Potato – You’ll need 1 smallish potato. Russet or Yukon gold potatoes are best for this recipe. This isn’t found in most oyster stews, but my mother-in-law always includes it, and it adds so much flavor and texture!
- Milk – Technically, any milk will work for the base of the broth, but I highly recommend using whole milk for the richest taste and creamiest consistency. Or, to reduce the risk of curdling, try evaporated milk instead.
Choose the best oysters
When purchasing your oysters, look for oysters sold in clear glass jars with a screw-top or in clear plastic tubs where you can see the oysters. The oyster liquid should look clear and clean. Oysters in cloudy liquid should be avoided.
With a clear container, you should also check that the oysters are plump and have a fresh color to them. If anything seems off, try and find a jar where the oysters look fresh and healthy.
How to make oyster stew with potatoes
- Clean the oysters by draining and rinsing them under cold water. Make sure to reserve the oyster juice, running it through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or paper towel!
- Then, chop the oysters into bite-sized pieces.
- Sauté the potatoes, celery, and shallot in bacon fat (or the fat of your choosing), stirring frequently.
- Reduce the heat, and stir in the flour, Old Bay seasoning, and salt, stirring constantly until the flour is lightly toasted.
- Slowly pour the reserved oyster juice into the pot, stirring continuously. Make sure to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, too. These add so much flavor! Then, pour in the milk.
- Reduce the heat to low. Then, slowly bring the stew up to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
- Add the oysters, and continue to cook until they warm through.
- Serve warm with fresh parsley, hot sauce, and soda crackers for dipping!
Warm the milk
Let your milk heat up before boiling to prevent curdling and reduce the amount of time it takes for your stew to heat through.
Expert Tips
- Avoid using too much seasoning. Oysters have a subtle mineral taste that we want to shine through in this recipe. However, it can easily be overpowered. So, use very little seasoning, and adjust with caution as you cook!
- Don’t rush toasting the flour. It helps thicken the oyster soup beautifully. However, it’s crucial to toast it until it’s lightly golden, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Otherwise, it will give off a raw flour taste.
- Avoid curdling. Make sure to warm your milk before adding it to the stew. Also, make sure to heat your stew over low heat, warming it gradually. An abrupt temperature change can cause the dairy to curdle.
Storage
Store leftover oyster stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 1 month!
To serve, thaw frozen stew in the fridge overnight. Then, reheat it in a pot over low heat, warming it gradually to prevent curdling.
FAQs
If your stew curdles, don’t stress. It will still taste delicious! If you notice the liquid curdling while cooking, immediately stop cooking and add a bit of cold milk. Once the temperature of the stew stabilizes, begin to slowly warm the stew again, and cook until you’re ready to serve. This doesn’t guarantee it won’t curdle again, but it will improve your chances.
If serving this dish as a main course, I keep things simple and add sides like roasted potatoes and a sweet potato salad or a warm quinoa Brussels sprouts salad. You can also enjoy it as an appetizer or side with main dishes, like roasted rack of lamb or garlic herb crusted boneless prime rib.
Oyster stew is a spin-off of the European tradition of eating dried fish stew on Christmas Eve. Irish immigrants substituted dried fish for affordable and readily available oysters after immigrating to the United States, and the tradition stuck.
More Seafood Recipes
Oyster Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pint (473 ml) oysters Note 1
- 3 tablespoons bacon fat or butter
- 1 cup diced potato about 1 potato Note 2
- 1 cup diced celery 2-3 celery stalks
- 1 small shallot minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- 2 cups whole milk slightly warmed Note 3
For serving:
- Fresh parsley
- Hot sauce such as Tabasco
- Soda crackers
Instructions
- Drain the oysters over a bowl with a sieve and rinse under cold water to remove any sand or shell bits. Reserve the oyster juice. Roughly chop the oysters.
- Place a paper towel over a mesh sieve to catch any sand and impurities and run the reserved oyster juice through the sieve into a clean bowl.
- Heat a large pot over medium high heat.
- Add bacon fat or butter.
- Once the fat is melted and hot, add potatoes, celery and shallot. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat to medium and add flour, old bay seasoning and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour is nicely toasted, about 1 minute.
- Slowly add reserved oyster juice, continuously stirring everything and scraping the fond (brown bits), built on the bottom of the pan. The mixture will get super thick, which is normal. If needed, add a little bit (1-2 tablespoons) of water to get all the brown bits scrapped off.
- Then slowly pour in milk, while stirring everything constantly, to gradually incorporate everything.
- Reduce heat to low/simmer, and slowly heat the soup up to a boil. Then simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about 15 minutes. (TIP: Don’t rush this step, because if you bring the soup to a boil too quickly, it’ll curdle, which won’t affect the flavor, but it’ll look unappetizing.)
- Add oysters and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Serve immediately with fresh parsley, hot sauce and soda crackers.
- Store leftover oyster stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw frozen oyster stew in the fridge overnight, and then reheat it slowly over low heat.
⭐️ Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a review and let us know how you liked it!
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
Wonderful. Old Bay is a great add,
Thanks, MimiSS!
I used bacon grease to cook vegetables. Made recipe as written.
Husband said this is delicious at least 5 times
Hehe that’s awesome! Thanks so much for choosing my recipe and for your feedback, Barbara!
Looking forward to making this on Christmas Eve. Quick question…can the recipe be doubled?
Yes, you can double the recipe. Hope you’ll enjoy the soup. And we’d love to hear your feedback!
So easy. Not time consuming. Will make this even after a day at work!
So happy you tried and loved this recipe, Debbie. Thank you for your feedback!
First time cooking about anything. I hated the mess but bought spinach cooked rather boiled w butter. Simple enough . Then tried collards olive oil etc great. Now i stepped out and tried your ouster stew. Next is Maryland crab soup .Will get back as soon as I try it. 73 yr old like s your step by step ok flavor was good but potatoes and celery were a bit hard maybe I should have cooked longer on higher heat . Thanks
Hi, Jim!! Congrats on your cooking adventure!!! It sounds like you’re having fun! Thank you for sharing and trying my Oyster Stew recipe.
I have made this numerous times. Its my husbands fave. Mine too.
Yay, so happy to hear that, Michele. Thank you for sharing your feedback!
Made with half/half. Very rich, but we enjoyed it immensely. I over did the half/half by adding additional to serve. It took away some of the oyster taste. Won’t do that again. Will make this again. Used fresh oysters from grocery. Precooked my diced yellow gold potatoes in microwave then added to onion/celery. Thank you, had not made oyster stew in years.
So happy you tried and enjoyed this oyster stew, Kat! Thank you for your sharing your tweaks and comment.
Absolutely delicious! I used 3 slices diced bacon to create bacon fat, then served bacon bits with parsley on finished soup. I did not have much milk – so I used ¾cup 2%, ¼cup ½ & ½, and 3/4cup chicken broth. Soup is beautifully thick from the flour and not too rich. Also used 2cups diced potatoes.
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Suzanne! Thank you for your feedback and sharing your tweaks!!
U really need to mince the potatoes,pre-cook them or cook them til they are done b4 adding the milk
Thank you for your feedback, Jjavidson!
Perfect on this first snowy day in Colorado. Beautifully seasoned and all of the timing in your recipe was spot on. I pre-cooked the potato in the microwave (four minutes), so that it was fork tender. No other tweaking needed. I served with fresh parsley on top, and garlic-butter crostini on the side. YUM!
On a cold & rainy night in NC, this oyster stew more than hit the spot. Followed your suggestions and it turned out perfectly – mine even looked like yours in the photo!
Yay, so happy you made this recipe and loved it, Flavel! Thank you for sharing your feedback.