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    Home » Recipes » Soup Recipes

    Shrimp and Crab Chowder Recipe

    Published: Sep 4, 2011 · Modified: Mar 4, 2023 by Chef Dennis Littley

    978 shares
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    4.45 from 38 votes
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    How to make a shrimp and crab chowder for your next special dinner. This restaurant-style soup is sure to amaze your guests!

    Shrimp and Crab Chowder in a brown crock on a multi colored green napkin on a black background


    At the beginning of this year, I received an invitation to participate in a Recipe Swap of sorts from Christianna of  Burwell General Store.  During her travels, Christianna had found an old time hymnal and cookbook ( All-Day Singin’ and Dinner on the Ground by Albert E. Brumley) and thought it would be fun to take the older recipes and update them giving them our own twist.

    The rules of the swap are pretty simple, change 3 things about the original recipe while staying true to the basic premise of the recipe while adding your own twist to the recipe. This months Selection for the recipe swap was “Wild Rabbit with Vegetables”

    wild rabbit with vegetables vintage recipe card

    Now I have to tell you, the thought of eating a little fluffy bunny is not high on my list, I do understand they’re considered good eatin’ in certain parts of the world, but I’m afraid rabbit has not made its way into my repertoire.

    Shrimp and Crab Chowder in a brown crock on a multi colored green napkin on a black background

    As I looked over the recipe, it really didn’t look much different than any stew I could make, and chicken would have been the easiest substitution for the little fluffy bunny….sigh.

    But, I had Shrimp and jumbo lump crab meat on hand and rather than make a trip to the store, I decided to make my entry in this months swap a Seafood stew. I did have some fish pieces in the freezer but they looked a little worse for the wear and instead of ingredients in the stew, found their way into the stock pot with all the shrimp shells I had been saving.

    This would have made a wonderful fisherman’s stew with chunks of fish and even a few clams, but without the fish, I decided to make version into a chowder,  it was without a doubt a good decision and will be making many more appearances at our table. Feel free to recreate this dish with whatever seafood you have on hand or is available in your area.

    Any way you make it, I’m sure it will be a hit at your table!

    If you’ve tried my Chowder recipe or any other recipe on askchefdennis.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME  on Instagram @chefdenniseats and @chefdennistravels,  Twitter and Facebook.

    brown crock of shrimp and crab chowder with toasts on a white plate
    Print Recipe Save Saved!
    4.45 from 38 votes

    Table of Contents:

    • Shrimp and Crab Chowder
      • Ingredients
      • Instructions
      • Notes
      • Nutrition

    Shrimp and Crab Chowder

    This delicious Shrimp and crabmeat chowder is sure to bring smiles to your table.  Just don’t forget the loaf of crusty bread to enjoy with the soup,
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Cook Time30 minutes mins
    Total Time45 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 703kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis

    Ingredients

    • 1 medium onion medium dice
    • 3-4 carrots , rough cut medium
    • 6 celery stalks rough cut medium
    • 2 medium potatoes rough cut medium
    • 1 lb shrimp peeled, deveined, and chopped
    • ½ lb crab meat ( I used jumbo lump)
    • ½ lb unsalted butter (2 sticks)
    • 1 Cup all purpose flour
    • 2 quarts fish or chicken stock
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • old bay to taste
    • black pepper to taste
    US Customary – Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • start a seafood stock with any fish pieces, or scrap, shrimp shells or fish bones you may have on hand. ( you may use clam juice instead)
    • add the butter to a 4 quart sauce pan with all of the rough cut vegetables and allow to cook until they begin to soften.
    • Add the flour to the vegetables and mix well, to make a roux, allow this to cook for at least 5 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.
    • add the heated stock to the roux mixture and blend well.
    • add in the heavy cream and season.
    • allow chowder to simmer for 20-30 minutes.
    • add the chopped shrimp pieces and allow to cook in the chowder for 3-5 minutes
    • Before serving add in your crab meat.

    Notes

    *if using fish pieces add them in raw and allow them to cook in the chowder, they will remain more intact this way and impart flavor to the chowder.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 703kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 767mg | Sodium: 2631mg | Potassium: 743mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 5115IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 314mg | Iron: 7.4mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

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    About Chef Dennis

    Picture of Chef Dennis

    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Paul

      October 20, 2013 at 6:22 pm

      5 stars
      Chef thank you for sharing this. There is a place reserved in my book for this. Made it tonight home run

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        October 20, 2013 at 8:35 pm

        thanks Paul, glad that you liked it!

        Reply
    2. Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

      October 19, 2012 at 5:55 am

      Good morning! I have featured this recipe on my blog today for my weekly seafood round-up and have linked this recipe to your original post so that my readers will be forwarded to your site. Thank you for allowing me to share! Here is the link: http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/10/seafood-frenzy-friday-week-39.html

      Reply
    3. Ma What's For Dinner

      September 15, 2011 at 1:05 pm

      Ugh…my mom used to make us rabbit. Not my favorite night! I would have much preferred a big steaming bowl of this! Oh and your shrimp looks amazing. I’m so hungry now! I’ll be making this later this fall for sure. Thanks for a great recipe.

      Lots of yummy love,
      Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner

      Reply
    4. Barefeet In The Kitchen

      September 10, 2011 at 8:28 pm

      This is one of my favorite soups and yours looks fantastic. I seriously wish I could grab that shrimp right off the top.

      Reply
    5. StephenC

      September 08, 2011 at 7:56 am

      Why on earth would you cook the shrimp for 30 minutes?

      Reply
      • Chef D

        September 08, 2011 at 8:40 am

        You are right, and If I was in a restaurant I would add them as I heated each portion, but when your cooking at home and your making a big pot of soup, as in any soup or chowder, you cut the pieces up in small sizes so they aren’t so tough to chew. It’s pretty much the same with any seafood in soups or chowders, clams get tough too. While in a perfect world I would add them as well as the crab meat in before service, it’s just not practical at home, especially after a hard day at work.

        Reply
    6. nipponnin

      September 08, 2011 at 3:02 am

      4 stars
      This looks so nice! This dish is little too hot to try right now ( Oregon finally reaches 100 degree weather tomorrow) but definitely love to have in the chilly evening. Congratulations on top 9.

      Reply
    7. Megan @ Pip and Ebby

      September 07, 2011 at 10:26 am

      I’m having a hard time even looking at these photos because I want to jump into that bowl! I’m starving…and I feel like I MUST have this. This chowder looks perfect.

      Reply
    8. Kita

      September 07, 2011 at 7:19 am

      You knew this one would be a hit didn’t you? How could anyone resist a bowl of that? Chowder is my all time favorite soup!

      Reply
    9. Marguerite

      September 07, 2011 at 1:03 am

      Omg, this chowder looks so scrumptious and heavenly and I would love a bowl right now! Thanks for another great recipe for the “Chef Dennis” file! 🙂 Yummm!

      Reply
    10. Shumaila

      September 06, 2011 at 2:19 pm

      The chowder looks beautiful and what a great way to interpret the challenge. Yum!

      Reply
    11. Ana Helena Campbell

      September 06, 2011 at 1:55 pm

      What a beautiful chowder! A great top 9 for sure. Congrats!

      Reply
    12. anne

      September 06, 2011 at 11:46 am

      4 stars
      wow, that looks and I’m sure tastes just wonderful! anne

      Reply
    13. The Travelling Chopsticks

      September 06, 2011 at 10:40 am

      Hmm – I may be in the minority here, but I do actually love rabbit and is pretty easy to get a hold of here in Mexico so I may be trying that orginal recipe after all! Needless to say, this Shrimp and Crab chowder does look amazing and the recipe seem quite straight forward! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    14. German Mama

      September 06, 2011 at 10:29 am

      Potatoes and shrimp in one soup – awesome!

      Reply
    15. Elizabeth of AsianinAmericamag

      September 06, 2011 at 10:20 am

      5 stars
      It’s a dark and stormy day today here in the east, and this is the PERFECT thing! I love seafood and love how you combined the shrimp and crab in this chowder! Can’t wait to try this one…running to the kitchen now ! Thanks for a great recipe, Chef Dennis!

      Reply
    16. RavieNomNoms

      September 06, 2011 at 9:50 am

      Oh wow Dennis!! Congrats!

      This is my kind of chowder! I love shrimp and crab…nice spin on the classic chowder you see. I have never been a huge fan of clam chowder so this is just screaming to me! Thanks for the recipe Chef!

      Reply
    17. Peggy

      September 06, 2011 at 8:03 am

      What a great substitution for this month’s Vintage Recipe Swap! And with the temperatures starting to drop, a bowl of this sounds like the perfect comforting dish =)

      Reply
    18. Sandi G

      September 06, 2011 at 8:50 am

      Lovely…perfect for the end of summer. Congratulations on #1!!

      Reply
    19. Eva

      September 06, 2011 at 7:13 am

      Thanks for choosing the chowder instead of the cute little fluffy bunny! I like the sound of the chowder recipe, just in time for soup and chowder season in Toronto!

      Reply
    20. Margaret Murphy Tripp

      September 06, 2011 at 7:09 am

      5 stars
      The rabbit recipe reminded me of something my grandmother used to make, Welsh Rarebit. Thankfully, no rabbit involved whatsoever! The chowder looks awesome, I’m printing the recipe right now.

      Reply
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