You haven’t experienced true stuffing until you try Seafood Stuffing. This colorful, savory dish combines tender shrimp, bell pepper, onion, fresh herbs, and seasonings for a buttery, deeply flavored side that’s surprisingly easy to make.
Instead of the usual sage-filled bread stuffing, this recipe uses succulent shrimp, homemade shrimp stock, bread cubes to soak up the rich broth, and a touch of Cajun seasoning for depth. You can easily adapt it by swapping shrimp for scallops, oysters, crab, lobster, or even chicken if you prefer.
This seafood stuffing pairs beautifully with holiday classics like sweet potato casserole, roasted turkey, and creamy mashed potatoes, and it’s elegant enough to bring to a potluck or serve on a special dinner table.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This seafood stuffing blends sweet, buttery shrimp with crusty bread and flavorful aromatics to create a warm, comforting side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any celebratory meal. It’s rich, memorable, and easy to scale for larger gatherings.
- Easy to Adapt: Use shrimp, scallops, oysters, crab, lobster, or chicken. Mix and match seafood for variety.
- Unique Flavors: Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, adobo, fresh thyme and parsley, and a homemade shrimp stock deliver a distinctive taste compared to traditional sage-based stuffing.
- Great for Entertaining: This stuffing is impressive, easy to double, and holds up well on a buffet or holiday table.
Stuffing Ingredients You Need
Note: Exact measurements are provided in the recipe card below.
- Jumbo shrimp (buy shrimp with shells so you can use the shells for stock; shells and peeled shrimp are both needed). Substitute crab, scallops, lobster, clams, or oysters as desired.
- Vegetables: yellow onion, celery, and green bell pepper.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic enhances both the stock and the stuffing.
- Bay leaves: Add a subtle, rounded flavor to the stock.
- Fresh herbs: Thyme and parsley provide freshness; dried thyme can be used if necessary.
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness to the stuffing.
- Oil: For sautéing shrimp shells when making the stock (olive oil or neutral oil works).
- Seasonings: Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, and adobo deliver savory heat and depth.
- French bread: Crusty bread cubed to absorb the flavorful stock.
- Eggs: Help bind the stuffing together.
How to Make Seafood Stuffing
The recipe is built around a simple homemade shrimp stock, sautéed aromatics, and a bread mixture baked until golden.
- Make the shrimp stock: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shrimp shells and cook until bright pink, about 5 minutes. Add chopped onion, celery, and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in water, bay leaves, thyme, and a pinch of salt. Simmer uncovered for 35–40 minutes, then strain. Reserve 2 ½ cups of stock for the stuffing.
- Sauté the aromatics: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 6–8 minutes. Stir in garlic, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, adobo, parsley, and thyme and cook 1–2 minutes.
- Cook the shrimp: Add chopped shrimp to the skillet and cook until just opaque, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Assemble the stuffing: In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes with the shrimp-vegetable mixture. Stir in the beaten eggs, salt, and the reserved 2 ½ cups shrimp stock. Mix until the bread is moistened but not soggy; add more stock, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8 x 11-inch baking dish with butter. Spread the stuffing evenly in the dish, cover with foil, and bake 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15–20 minutes until golden on top.
- Rest and serve: Let the stuffing rest 10 minutes, then garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Chef’s Tip
If the bread mixture seems too dry before baking, add additional stock one tablespoon at a time until the bread is moist but not soggy.
Expert Tips
- Buy shrimp with shells: The shells are essential for making a flavorful stock that moistens the stuffing.
- Add color: Use red or orange bell peppers along with green for a more vibrant dish.
- Use slightly stale French bread: Bread that’s a couple of days old absorbs liquid well without becoming mushy.
- Avoid overcooking: Shrimp can become rubbery if overcooked—watch the baking time and don’t overbake.
Recipe FAQs
Seafood stuffing usually includes shrimp or other seafood, onion, celery, bell pepper, herbs, seasonings like Cajun or Old Bay, and crusty bread. The shrimp stock adds a delicate seafood flavor and richness.
Shrimp and crab work particularly well because their shells make a rich stock. You can also use scallops, oysters, or lobster meat.
Avoid making the mixture too dry or too wet. Start with the recommended 2 ½ cups stock, then add more a tablespoon at a time until the bread is moist but not soggy.
Use crusty bread such as French, Italian loaf, or firm dinner rolls. Avoid very soft sandwich bread.
Shrimp pairs well with garlic, Old Bay, Cajun seasoning, thyme, parsley, and adobo—this combination adds both savory and herbal notes.
Seafood Stuffing
Savory shrimp stuffing is warm, buttery, and packed with flavor. Use shrimp, scallops, crab, or oysters to create this elevated stuffing for your holiday table.
Prep: 25 mins • Cook: 45 mins • Total: 1 hr 10 mins • Servings: 8
Ingredients
For the shrimp stock:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Shells from 3 pounds jumbo shrimp (reserve shrimp for stuffing)
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 6 cups cold water
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the stuffing:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (plus more for greasing the pan)
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 3 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped (reserve shells for stock)
- 16 ounces French bread, cubed (about 8–9 cups)
- 2 1/2 cups shrimp stock (strained)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Make the shrimp stock:
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shrimp shells and cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in water, bay leaves, thyme, and salt. Simmer uncovered 35–40 minutes. Strain and reserve 2 1/2 cups of stock.
Cook the aromatics:
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook 6–8 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, adobo, parsley, and thyme and cook 1–2 minutes.
- Add chopped shrimp and cook 3–4 minutes until opaque.
Assemble and bake:
- In a large bowl, combine bread cubes with the shrimp mixture. Stir in 2 1/2 cups stock, beaten eggs, and salt. Mix until bread is moist but not soggy; add more stock 1 tablespoon at a time if needed.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8×11-inch baking dish. Spread mixture in the dish, cover with foil, and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15–20 minutes until golden.
- Let sit 10 minutes, then garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- Purchase shrimp with the shells ON; you need both shells and peeled shrimp.
- If the stuffing seems too dry before baking, add more stock 1 tablespoon at a time until properly moistened.
Nutrition
Calories: 459 kcal • Carbohydrates: 36 g • Protein: 33 g • Fat: 20 g • Sodium: 1731 mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.