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.
We 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 our easy soup recipes, including this rich and creamy Corn Chowder with Bacon and this dairy-free Creamy Cauliflower and White Bean Soup!
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. We 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.
We 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 our pan seared sea scallops or sous vide lobster tail recipe. In the mood for pasta? Our spicy crab pasta is a year round favorite!
Love bisque, but not a fan of seafood? Try this butternut squash bisque!
If you make our Crab Bisque recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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For more cozy winter meals, check out the following recipes:
Rich & Creamy Crab Bisque (In 1 Hour!)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups onion diced, about 1 onion
- 1 cup carrot diced
- 1 cup fennel diced
- 1 large potato diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 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 for serving
- arugula micro greens or other tender greens for serving
- 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 2 ½ cup diced onions, 1 cup diced carrots, and 1 cup diced fennel, then cook 5-7 minutes.
- To the pot, add potato, 2 cloves crushed garlic, and 3 sprigs of both thyme and tarragon (tied together with kitchen twine). Season with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Next, add 2 Tbsp tomato paste, stirring to break up.
- Pour in 1 cup Cognac, then ignite with a lighter or cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Stir in 3 cups 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 1 cup heavy cream, then stir in 1 lb fresh crab meat, reserving a small amount to top each bowl with. Taste, adjust seasoning as needed (you'll likely need another ½ tsp Kosher salt at least, unless your shellfish stock was already salty!). Squeeze half a fresh lemon into the soup, then give one final stir.
- Divide bisque into bowls, then sprinkle with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt, arugula micro greens (or fresh herbs), and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately. If you want, you can drizzle an additional 1 tsp heavy cream on each bowl of soup before serving. This is merely aesthetic, as there's already cream stirred into the soup.
Notes
- Yes, you can substitute lobster or shrimp for crab. Any crustacean will work beautifully!
- If you don’t have cognac, feel free to substitute with white wine or sherry. It won’t give you the same depth of flavor, but it’ll work in a pinch!
- Traditional seafood bisque is thickened with rice, which needs to cook for about 20 minutes in the pot of soup before puréeing. Add the rice at the same time you add the seafood stock, the purée when directed.
- 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 soup. It goes from a seafood soup to utter luxury.
- 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. If you don’t have arugula micro greens, use baby arugula or even chopped parsley or tarragon to finish the bisque.
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