Reader Favorite Review
George said, “Very Delicious! We made twice as much with half lobster meat and half crab. Great recipe!!”
When you’re in the mood for a creamy, rich soup, nothing hits the spot quite like crab bisque. With a subtle and delicate seafood flavor from homemade shellfish stock, the fresh jumbo lump crab meat adds a lovely sweetness that rounds out the whole soup.
I love topping the soup with spicy arugula micro greens and freshly ground black pepper. For a bit of heat, you could add a pinch of cayenne!
Make a big batch today, freeze some for later, then enjoy all fall and winter long! Totally and completely luxurious! Don’t forget a crusty piece of baguette to mop up every last bite!
Be sure to check out all my easy soup recipes, including this rich and San Francisco-style seafood stew, this creamy salmon soup with creme fraiche, or my sweet and smoky corn chowder with bacon.
Ingredient Notes
But first, what is bisque? A bisque is a soup traditionally made from shellfish, specifically crustacean (lobster, langoustine, shrimp, crayfish, or crab!), then finished with heavy cream.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Onion
- Carrot
- Fennel
- Potato
- Garlic
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh tarragon
- Tomato paste
- Cognac
- Seafood stock (be sure to check out our homemade recipe — you can freeze it until needed!)
- Heavy cream
- Lemon
- Jumbo lump crab meat
Kosher salt and black pepper too! Pretty much always!
For serving:
- Arugula micro greens or other young tender salad greens (can substitute with fresh parsley or tarragon)
How To Make Crab Bisque
- Sweat the veggies. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced onions, carrots, and fennel, then cook 5-7 minutes.
- To the pot, add potato, garlic, and fresh herbs (tied together with kitchen twine). Season with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Next, add tomato paste, stirring to break up.
- Pour in Cognac, then ignite with a lighter or cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Stir in seafood stock and cook at a simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove herbs, then use an immersion blender to purée. Alternatively, you can blend the soup in a food processor. Either way, pass the soup through a sieve to remove any small solids.
- Add heavy cream, then stir in fresh crab meat, reserving a small amount to top each bowl with. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed (you will likely need to add at least ½ tsp Kosher salt unless your seafood stock was salty). Squeeze half a fresh lemon into the soup, then give one final stir.
- Divide bisque into bowls, then sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt, arugula micro greens (or fresh herbs), and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh jumbo lump crab meat. It’s delicate, sweet, and will provide the largest pieces of crab (a seriously good thing!).
- Don’t skip the heavy cream! It’s bisque, after all, meaning it’s finished with heavy cream. Trust me, it completely changes the taste and texture of the dish. It goes from a seafood soup to something totally rich and creamy.
- While the micro greens may not seem like they add a ton, they provide a much needed textural contrast, as well as a slight bite, which is perfect alongside the sweet, delicate crab meat.
Variations On Crab Bisque
Traditional seafood bisque is thickened with rice. I prefer the taste of potatoes, but you could for sure use rice! The rice needs to cook for about 20 minutes in the pot of soup, so add it at the same time you add the seafood stock, the purée when directed.
Want to try this bisque with lobster or shrimp? Go for it! This bisque would be lovely with any crustacean.
I love the idea of adding fresh corn or puréeing the soup before adding small diced potatoes for a bit of texture. But honestly, this is our dream crab bisque, and we hope you’ll give it a try as written before changing anything!
Looking for more ways to cook with shellfish? Try my pan seared sea scallops or sous vide lobster tail recipe. In the mood for pasta? My spicy crab pasta is a year round favorite!
If you make our Crab Bisque recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
And make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook for more Well Seasoned recipes! Don’t forget to tag us on social channels when you make a recipe at #wellseasonedstudio and upload your photos below! We love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
For more cozy winter meals, check out the following recipes:
Tell Us What You Think!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to leave a review and rating—we value your feedback and it helps us keep creating (and sharing!) free recipes. Your support means the world!
Rate this Recipe
Rich, Creamy Crab Bisque with Jumbo Lump Crab
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2½ cups onion, diced, about 1 onion
- 1 cup carrot, diced, 1 or 2 medium carrots
- 1 cup fennel, diced, about 1 fennel
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 3 sprigs tarragon
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup Cognac, see note
- 3 cups shellfish stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
- Fresh lemon
- Microgreens, such as arugula
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Sweat the veggies. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrots, and fennel, then cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned.
- Build the base. Add diced potato, 2 crushed garlic cloves, and 3 sprigs each of thyme and tarragon (tied together with kitchen twine). Season with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Stir in 2 Tbsp tomato paste, breaking it up and cooking for 1–2 minutes to deepen the flavor.
- Deglaze and simmer. Pour in 1 cup Cognac. Either carefully ignite with a long lighter to burn off the alcohol, or let it simmer until reduced and the alcohol has cooked off. Add 3 cups seafood stock, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender.
- Blend until silky. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until completely smooth (or transfer carefully to a blender). For an ultra-luxurious texture, pass the soup through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any remaining solids.
- Finish the bisque. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream, then fold in 1 lb fresh crab meat, reserving a small amount for garnish. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed (you’ll likely add about ½ tsp more Kosher salt, depending on your stock). Squeeze in the juice of ½ lemon and stir gently to combine.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with reserved crab, a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt, microgreens (or fresh herbs), and freshly ground black pepper. For an elegant finish, drizzle about 1 tsp heavy cream over each bowl. Serve immediately while hot.
Notes
- Seafood swap: Lobster or shrimp can replace crab—any crustacean works beautifully.
- No Cognac? Use white wine or sherry. The depth will vary, but it’s still delicious.
- Traditional thickener: Add 2–3 Tbsp rice with the seafood stock and simmer 20 minutes before puréeing.
- Don’t skip the cream. It’s what transforms this from seafood soup into true bisque—rich, silky, luxurious.
Do you think you could substitute cauliflower for the potato? I’m eating keto and think this would be perfect except the potato.
Hey Kelsey! The potato is added to help thicken the bisque. Rice is also sometimes used. I think that cauliflower is a great substitute! Even if it doesn’t give the soup exactly the same texture, the creaminess primarily comes from the addition of heavy cream, so you’re good to go!! Please report back and let me know what you think! xo, Ari
Yum! Cannot wait to try!
It’s a great soup! Report back when you do! xo, Ari
Very Delicious! We made twice as much with half lobster meat and half crab. Great recipe!!
Love the idea of doing half lobster and half crab!! Bet that was delicious! xo, Ari
Do you think that I could substitute the fennel with an extra potato? Only because I do not like fennel at all and I can always taste it… Thank you so much for any helpful suggestion! And lastly… Are those little tiny dollops of heavy cream in the picture of the final product?
Of course! Leave the fennel out if it’s not your thing. An onion is a better replacement for the fennel, but adding another potato should work fine. Or substitute with something like leeks! Yes, I drizzled about 1 tsp of cream on top of each bowl of soup (simply for appearance sake, there’s already cream in the soup!). You can add this or not, it’s aesthetic more than anything. I’ll add a note in the recipe card! xo, Ari
I am looking forward to making this recipe but wondering if you have a good recommendation for the lump crab meat? Is there a particular brand you like? If so, where can I find it? THanks!
Hi Rachel! I really love North Coast Seafood (it’s available at Stop & Shop at a reasonable price, not sure if you happen to live in a town with any nearby). I think Whole Foods also sells this particular brand. But in general, look for the type of crab meat that is stored in a plastic container with water and an aluminum sealed lid (versus canned crab). Hope this helps, can’t wait to hear what you think! xo, Ari
Your recipe looks amazing and I plan to make this as a starter for Christmas dinner. We live on the Florida gulf and we are in the height of stone crab season. I ordered 10 large and two colossal claws. Do you know how many claws will provide a pound of crabmeat? Unfortunately no one at the seafood market could answer that question.
Yum, I absolutely love Florida stone crabs! I don’t know for sure, but I’d expect that for at least 1 lb of crab meat you’ll want at least 2½-3 lbs of the claws — the shells weigh a lot! Report back and let me know what you think! Ari