Seafood Chili
Posted: 02/27/24
Updated: 01/28/25
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Seafood chili takes everything you love about a classic chili and makes it even better. With 3 different types of beans, corn, tomatoes, crabmeat, bay scallops, and shrimp, this easy-but-impressive one-pot meal is a great source of lean protein and delicious flavors.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Seafood chili is utterly delicious – comforting, filling, and a little fancy. 3 different types of beans, diced tomatoes, celery, onions, carrots, and an incredible blend of spices, paired with fresh crabmeat, sweet bay scallops, and tender shrimp. It’s a great source of proteins with very little fat.
- Like most chilis, this is a one-pot meal that’s ridiculously easy. Just throw everything in a pot and let it simmer! Ok, there’s a little more to it than that, but not much. You’ll be ready to enjoy a bowl within an hour and a half of getting started.
- You can dress it up any way you like. Seafood chili’s wonderful all on its own, so you don’t have to add any toppings if you don’t want to. I highly recommend trying a dollop of sour cream, a touch of diced avocado and sliced jalapeño, and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar to take the dish to the next level, though.
Chef’s Tips
- For more great seafood flavor, replace the vegetable broth in this seafood chili recipe with a homemade shrimp stock. You could also use a homemade bone broth for even more nourishment, without the seafood flavor.
- I highly, HIGHLY recommend you buy high quality crabmeat for this recipe. I’m talking about the kind you’ll find refrigerated at the grocery store or some from a fish market. There are some recipes where you can get by with lower quality crabmeat, and you probably could here, too, but you’ll definitely notice an improvement if you use higher quality crabmeat.
- Before you add the crabmeat to the chili, run the meat through your fingers (carefully) so you can catch any little pieces of shell that may have made it into the packaging. There’s nothing worse than chewing your food and suddenly biting down on a piece of hard crab shell.
- Rinsing the beans is really important, so don’t skip that step. Rinsing removes any excess sodium and starch that might’ve been adding during canning, plus it help cut down on that metallic flavor some canned goods get.
- We used crabmeat, shrimp, and bay scallops, but you can use other seafoods if you’d rather. Lobster, mussels, crawfish, or baby clams would be delicious here. You can also use sea scallops instead of bay scallops – just cut the sea scallops into smaller pieces before adding them to the chili.
Love Seafood? Try These Recipes!
- Instant Pot Crab Legs
- Easy Salmon Patties & Lemon Garlic Sauce
- Instant Pot Lobster Tails
- Seafood Jambalaya
- Instant Pot Paella
- Creamy Fish Chowder
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Seafood Chili
A hearty bowl of goodness, filled with fresh crabmeat, scallops, shrimp, beans, corn, and tomatoes, complimented by a blend of spices.
servings
Ingredients
For the Seafood Chili
- 2 teaspoons neutral oil avocado oil, olive oil, etc.
- 1 medium onion finely chopped, approximately 1 ½ cups
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped, approximately 1 cup
- 1 large carrot finely chopped, approximately 1 cup
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes drained
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles drained
- 1 15.5-ounce can great northern beans drained, rinsed
- 1 15.5-ounce can black beans drained, rinsed
- 1 15.5-ounce can red kidney beans drained, rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth, or shrimp stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup corn kernels canned or frozen
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder blend see Notes
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper more or less to taste
- 1 pound shrimp raw, peeled, deveined
- 1 pound bay scallops see Notes
- juice from 1 medium lemon approximately 2 tablespoons, divided
- 8 ounces fresh crab meat claw, lump, or both; see Notes
- ⅓ cup heavy cream see Notes
- 1 handful finely chopped cilantro
Suggested Toppings (All Optional)
- sour cream or Greek yogurt
- shredded cheddar cheese
- diced avocado
- sliced or chopped jalapeños
- hot sauce
Equipment
- dutch oven with lid or other large, heavy-bottomed pot with lid
- large wooden spoon
- Large mixing bowl
Instructions
- Heat dutch oven over medium-high heat. When pot is warm, add 2 teaspoons neutral oil and heat oil until hot and shimmering.
- Add 1 medium onion, 2 stalks celery, and 1 large carrot to pot with hot oil. Stir quickly to incorporate, then cook, uncovered, until veggies have softened, approximately 5 to 6 minutes.
- When onion, celery, and carrots have softened, add 4 cloves garlic and stir to incorporate. Cook, uncovered, until garlic is fragrant and softened, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add 1 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, 1 15.5-ounce can great northern beans, 1 15.5-ounce can black beans, and 1 15.5-ounce can red kidney beans to dutch oven. Stir well to incorporate ingredients.
- Add 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, ½ cup corn kernels, 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder blend, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper to dutch oven. Stir well to incorporate ingredients, then cook, uncovered, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Reduce heat under dutch oven to medium-low and cover pot with lid. Simmer chili 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Toward end of cook time, add 1 pound shrimp and 1 pound bay scallops to large mixing bowl. Add 50% of juice from 1 medium lemon to bowl and sprinkle salt and pepper over seafood. Gently toss or stir to coat seafood in juice and spices.
- Add seasoned shrimp and bay scallops to dutch oven, then add 8 ounces fresh crab meat, ⅓ cup heavy cream, and remaining lemon juice. Gently stir to incorporate seafood, then cover pot with lid and cook until shrimp become opaque, approximately 8 to 10 minutes.
- When seafood is fully cooked, sprinkle 1 handful finely chopped cilantro over top of chili. Portion chili into serving bowls and top with sour cream or Greek yogurt, shredded cheddar cheese, diced avocado, sliced or chopped jalapeños, and/or hot sauce if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Chili Powder Blend: If you can’t find a chili powder blend locally, you can make your own! It’s a combo of chili pepper, paprika, sea salt, oregano, cumin, thyme, cayenne, and garlic powder.
- Bay Scallops: If you can’t find bay scallops, you can use sea scallops instead. Just cut the sea scallops into smaller pieces before adding them to the chili.
- Crab Meat: Carefully scan the crab meat with your fingers before adding it to the chili, to remove any shell fragments that may be mixed in.
- Make it Dairy Free: Use coconut cream instead of heavy cream.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 555kcal | Protein: 49g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Total Carbs: 71g | Fiber: 22g | Sugar: 8g | Net Carbs: 49g | Vitamin C: 26mg | Cholesterol: 144mg | Sodium: 1735mg | Potassium: 1700mg | Calcium: 232mg | Iron: 8mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
This recipe looks delicious, bug how well does it freeze? I like to make a huge pot of chili and freeze it in portions, but can ylu do that when it’s seafood chili?
Hi, Martin! It should freeze well for a couple months, but we never have enough leftover to freeze since we love it so much! Be sure to let us know if you try it!
Can I substitute scallops for salmon? If yes how much should I use also how long to cook it before adding it to the chili
We haven’t tried that for this recipe, so we can’t say for sure! Be sure to let us know if you try it!