Homemade Shrimp Stock

Easy to make and more delicious than any store-bought version, homemade shrimp stock is such a great use for leftover shrimp shells, and a super flavorful addition to seafood recipes. Use it in jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp risotto, cioppino, or even paella – it’ll take those already-amazing dishes to the next level!

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Shrimp stock is SO very easy to make! Shells, veggies, and aromatic herbs go into a pot with water. Simmer for 45 minutes and voilà! Collecting the shrimp shells is probably the most time-consuming part, but you don’t have to wait until you need to make shrimp stock to gather up the shells. Whenever you make a shrimp recipe, toss the shells into a sealable freezer bag and freeze them until you need them!
• Shrimp stock adds a whole extra level of flavor to seafood dishes like gumbo, risotto, shrimp bisque, or jambalaya. If you’ve got a seafood dish that calls for chicken broth, just replace it with an equal amount of shrimp stock.

Chef’s Tips

• We used the full shrimp shells – heads included. The shrimp heads are full of flavor, but I totally get it if you want to skip them… they’re not the most visually appetizing things in the world. The stock will still have plenty of flavor without them!
• For the best, most flavorful shrimp stock possible, you want to use uncooked shrimp shells. Already cooked shells would work, but the flavor will be much weaker. If you’re peeling shrimp specifically for this stock, make sure to rinse the shells out well with water. If you’re using shells you peeled in advance and kept frozen until you needed them, thaw them overnight in the fridge first.
• If you don’t have sprigs of fresh herbs on hand, dried herbs will work just fine in their place. I recommend using half a teaspoon of each dried herb, but you can adjust it as you like.
• You can totally make your stock ahead of time and save it ’til you need it! Fresh stock can be refrigerated in airtight containers (I recommend mason jars!) up to 3 days. If you won’t use it that soon, you can freeze it instead! Just transfer the cooled stock to mason jars, ice cube trays, or sealable freezer bags. If you’re using freezer bags, lay them flat on a freezer shelf until they’re frozen, and then you can rearrange as needed. They’ll take up less freezer space that way!

More Delicious Recipes With Shrimp

• Greek Shrimp Salad With Feta And Rice
• Shrimp Remoulade
• Instant Pot Paella
• Shrimp And Corn Soup
• Creamy Shrimp Risotto With Parmesan
• Shrimp Gumbo

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5 from 1 vote

Shrimp Stock

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 1 hour hour

Total: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Ready to use in roughly 1 hour, this homemade shrimp stock is a simple, delicious way to use leftover shrimp shells and adds an extra level of flavor to your favorite seafood recipes.

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6 cups

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 teaspoon avocado oil or olive oil
• ▢ shrimp shells from 2 pounds of raw shrimp
• ▢ 3 medium carrots roughly chopped
• ▢ 3 large celery stalks roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion roughly chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic smashed
• ▢ half of one lemon
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• ▢ 4-5 sprigs fresh parsley
• ▢ 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• ▢ 8 cups cold water
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste

Equipment

• Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot with lid
• ladle
• sieve or fine mesh strainer
• Large bowl
• airtight jars with lids for storage

Instructions 

• Heat dutch oven over medium heat. After 2 minutes, or when pot is warm, add avocado oil and swirl pot to coat bottom with oil. Warm oil until hot and shimmering, then add shrimp shells. Cook shells in oil, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
  
• After 5 minutes, add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to pot. Cook aromatics 10 minutes, stirring often.
  
• After 10 minutes, add lemon, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, peppercorns, cold water, and salt to dutch oven. Stir well to distribute ingredients, then increase heat and bring liquid to boil.
  
• Once liquid begins to boil, cover pot with lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, 45 minutes.
• After 45 minutes, carefully remove lid and set aside. Place sieve or strainer in large bowl. Ladle liquid from pot into sieve, or carefully pour ingredients out of pot and into sieve, straining out all aromatics and shrimp shells. If desired, transfer sieve or strainer to second large bowl and pour liquid from first bowl into sieve, straining stock once more.
  
• Use stock immediately, or equally divide stock among jars and let cool completely. Once cooled, seal jars with airtight lids and refrigerate or freeze stock until ready to use.

Notes

• Storage: Refrigerate shrimp stock in airtight jars up to 3 days. To freeze, transfer cooled stock from bowl to jars, ice cube trays, or sealable freezer-safe bags. If using bags, place filled bags flat in freezer for 1 to 2 hours or until frozen, then rearrange as needed. Frozen stock will keep up to 6 months.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 34kcal | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Total Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Net Carbs: 5g | Vitamin C: 10mg | Sodium: 428mg | Potassium: 165mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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.

© Author: Cheryl Malik