San Francisco Style Cioppino Recipe

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Cioppino is a  classic San Francisco seafood dish that will make you look like a superstar in the kitchen.  The rich red sauce is a perfect compliment to the seafood and although it takes a little while to cook, it's a delicious restaurant-style dish that you can serve in your own home.

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
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How to Make San Franciscan Style Cioppino-

With the holidays approaching everyone is always looking for deliciousness to create at home for their family and guests. One of my all-time favorite dishes is Cioppino aka Chopino. You’ll find it in many restaurants across the nation but the original version comes from that “city by the bay”  San Francisco.

3/4s shot of San Franciscan Cioppino in a white bowl with a red napkin

One of my nieces, Bella is all about great food and learning how to cook. She wanted to make a special dinner for her father and since they both love seafood this seemed like the perfect choice..

My niece, Bella is part of the “texting generation”  and can easily send 2 or more texts before I can answer one…sigh. So after multiple texts and frustration on my part, I finally suggested that she come over for dinner and I would teach her how to make Real San Franciscan Cioppino, just as I had learned so many years ago.

San Franciscan Cioppino in a white bowl with a red napkin and silverware next to it

Over the years I’ve worked and dined at restaurants that had Cioppino on their menu, but it was rarely the real thing, being more of a Fugazi-style representation of the dish. The big difference in the local Italian style Cioppino and a San Franciscan Style Cioppino is how the sauce is made.

The origin of this dish is said to come from Ligurian region (Genoa) of Italy, and that the Italian-American fisherman from the North Beach area of San Francisco came up with this dish utilizing the catch of the day with a variety of fresh seafood that was on hand. You’ll find versions that contain less seafood and others that contain squid, but the main ingredients of this dish are the shellfish anything else that finds its way into the pot is a bonus!

close up of San Franciscan Cioppino in a white bowl

We had a great time as we worked together in the kitchen, and Bella showed her technical skills by making and an Instagram montage of the process. We had a wonderful dinner that night and more than just the dinner was the time spent together in the kitchen, sharing recipes and stories. Bella also learned that that very expensive dinner out could be made for a lot less at home, feeding a family for the price of one dinner. That was the real lesson of the day.

If you’ve never thought of making Cioppino, I urge you to try this recipe. It may contain a lot of ingredients, but it really is a very simple dish to make and I promise you’ll have one delicious dinner on your table that will impress your family or friends.

If you enjoyed my Cioppino you might also like these recipes:

4 from 14 votes
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San Francisco Cioppino

Cioppino is a  classic San Francisco seafood dish that will make you look like a superstar in the kitchen.  The rich red sauce is a perfect compliment to the seafood and although it takes a little while to cook, it's a delicious restaurant-style dish that you can serve in your own home.

Nutrition Facts
San Francisco Cioppino
Amount Per Serving
Calories 744 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g 37%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 158mg 53%
Sodium 3213mg 134%
Potassium 2589mg 74%
Total Carbohydrates 44g 15%
Dietary Fiber 7g 28%
Sugars 17g
Protein 59g 118%
Vitamin A 22.3%
Vitamin C 63.6%
Calcium 25.7%
Iron 39.3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Entree
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cioppino, seafood recipe
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins
Servings: 3
Calories: 744 kcal
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large fennel bulb thinly sliced (core removed)
  • 1 large sweet onion chopped
  • 3 large shallots chopped
  • 4 cloves large garlic sliced
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 4 ounces tomato paste
  • 26 ounce can of whole plum tomatoes crushed by hand
  • 2 cups dry white or red wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 dozen small clams scrubbed
  • 1 dozen mussels scrubbed
  • 9 16-20 count shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 9 large sea scallops
  • 3 crabs- dungeness preferred (snow crab, blue claw, or Stone Crab Claws)
  • 1/2 pound of firm fish cut into 3 pieces optional
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more if you like it spicy
Instructions
  1. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauteuse (deep skillet) over medium heat.
  2. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion becomes translucent about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and continue to saute for 2 minutes.
  4. Add tomato paste, plum tomatoes and all juices, wine, chicken stock, and bay leaf.
  5. Bring to a light boil, then reduce the heat to simmer and allow to cook for one hour. Stir occasionally
  6. While sauce is simmering in another saute pan add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sear shrimp, scallops (and fish pieces if used) on both sides, but do not cook fully.
  7. Remove seafood from pan and place on a plate for use later. If you did use the fish pieces you can add them to the sauce now. (do not add the shrimp or scallops at this time)
  8. In the same pan add a little more oil, clams and mussels. Cover and steam them until they open. (if any of the mussels or clams are open before cooking discard them, they're dead and aren't safe for consumption)
  9. At about the 45-minute mark of the simmering the sauce, add in the crabs, and the mussels and clams with all the pan juices. Continue to simmer.
  10. If you are serving your Choppino over pasta you may begin getting the water ready at this time.
  11. After one hour and your pasta cooking in the last five minutes of cooking, add in the shrimp and scallops.
  12. Taste the sauce and re-season as needed.
  13. Serve over pasta and enjoy with a loaf of crusty bread!

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About Chef Dennis

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Chef Dennis is a semi-retired Chef, writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis aka Ask Chef Dennis®. Chef Dennis worked professionally in White Table Cloth Restaurants for 40 years and has been developing easy to make, restaurant-style recipes since 2009. Dennis has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for his creative, delicious recipes and travel adventures. For more details, check out his About page.

Comments

  1. Anna says

    Thank you chef Dennis for this recipe. I love cioppino & actually eating my leftover from a resto ini Pasadena. I always order this in any resto if served since idk how to make this. Now with your recipe I’ll be making my own. Thank you so much.

    Reply

  4. Lynndee says

    Dang, I am literally drooling! We are huge fans of seafood over here so I am definitely going to try this. I bet it is as delicious as it looks.

    Reply

  8. MELANIE EDJOURIAN says

    I really do love seafood. Thi sounds like a wonderful recipe full of flavour with a good range of healthy ingredients.

    Reply

  11. Pam says

    I really like the sound of this. I have never had cioppino before but I love trying new and interesting recipes! I have just developed a taste for fennel so it was nice to see this recipe. I have been wondering what to do with fennel beyond the one roast chicken recipe I know that calls for it.

    Reply

  13. Melanie says

    I have never heard of this recipe before. It definitely looks tasty and like something that I would like to try out.

    Reply

    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      I would make it in double batches, this really isn’t something you can mass produce outside of a restaurant with industrial equipment. In any case you need to multiply the amounts by 10 to get 30 servings.

      Reply

  18. Tom Acquistapace says

    I think most recipes do not cook (sear/saute) the seafood first and add into the simmering cioppino sauce base (tomatoes, wine, broth, vegetable base, etc.) at the correct timing point relative to the total expected cooking time thus that the “flavor melding-time” and the “doneness” of the seafood is simultaneously achieved. This, based upon size of seafood selected and time of addition to the pot. So there is some skill in getting this method cooked just right. I struggle with this every single year on Christmas day when I prepare this dish for my family. I think the results of the two approaches are different.
    Your approach more guarantees success due to par-cooking of seafood and is a traditional restaurant method for the dish. However, if seafood in broth cooks longer then the cioppino sauce will have more of a “seafood stock” flavor which is quite fragrant. Both approaches are valid and like any Cioppino, it is just about the best thing you will eat and a memorable dish. My wife’s Sicilian-American Grandfather fished the delta east of San Francisco bay for his whole life and made this dish often. I do not know his recipe and will have to continue to develop mine.

    Reply

  21. The Ninja Baker says

    Happy Birthday month Chef Dennis! How lucky for your niece that she gets to learn great cooking from a bonafide chef. And how wonderful for you that you’ve got someone who can teach you all the latest and greatest Instagram and texting technology =)

    P.s. I’ve bravely saved your choppino in my recipes-to-make file because your photos look so good. Also, feeding a family at home for the price of one meal in a restaurant is fabulous!

    Reply

    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      Thank you Kim! It’s definitely a good trade for both of us, the younger generation makes everything look so easy where electronics or computers are concerned.
      The choppino really isn’t that difficult to make, its more time consuming and even though the ingredients are a little on the expensive side, its still a lot cheaper than going out.

      Reply

  23. Larry says

    Sometime in the past I seem to recall your saying you weren’t that fond of fish, but you sure know how to cook it – this looks magnificent and is going on my make soon list. If I send you a bunch of texts, will you invite me up for a class? 🙂

    Reply

  25. Abbe@This is How I Cook says

    I love cioppino and this sounds and looks fabulous. I need the sourdough to soak in the broth! What a lucky family to be able to celebrate like this!

    Reply

  26. Lora @cakeduchess says

    I’d like this for lunch and probably would be fine with a bowl now for breakfast. Love the color of the sauce and the flavors just pop!

    Reply

    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      It was such a delicious meal! I’m sure monk fish was very good in it. I saw some dungeness crabs at Sam’s club last time I shopped there, that’s where I get most of my shrimp (wild caught) lobster and scallops.

      Reply

  31. Laura @ Family Spice says

    Ha! Ha! I just made the Brazilian version for my husband and HIS birthday! It adds some coconut milk. When we were in San Francisco a few years ago, my husband went ciopinno testing and had it in three different restaurants. All three were different, but one version used fennel, like yours. Great memories! And beautiful ciopinno, Chef!

    Reply

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