A simple Brazilian Fish Stew called Moqueca made with your choice of firm white fish simmered in coconut milk with onion, tomatoes, chilies, and lime. Easy, fast, and full of flavor! Serve with rice. Video.
This simple Moqueca recipe (pronounced “mo-KEY-ca”) is easy to make, takes about 35 minutes, and is perfect for busy weeknights and elevated enough for entertaining.
I love making Moqueca when I have guests over because it’s one of those recipes that’s truly simple to make but feels very elevated. You can make part of it ahead of time and finish it up quickly right before serving.
This recipe is a family favorite it's so versatile. It appears at request, every year at our Christmas eve dinner party, as a base for mussels. We make it throughout the year, with cod, or salmon, or shrimp and sometimes a combination. It is well loved.
Why you’ll love this Moqueca recipe!
Quick and easy! What I love about this Brazilian Fish Stew is how fast it is to prepare, and it’s made with simple, familiar ingredients. Ready in 35 minutes, it’s quick enough for weeknights, yet special enough for Sunday supper.
Bold, Brazilian flavor. Made with your choice of white fish, aromatic veggies, jalapeño for heat, savory tomatoes, cooling coconut, and fresh lime, this stew is layered in satisfying flavors!
Makes delicious leftovers. The flavor of the stew gets even better the next day. Leftovers keep for a few days, or you can freeze it! If making this ahead, leave out the fish and nestle it in when reheating.
What is Moqueca?
Moqueca is a Brazilian fish stew with coconut milk, tomatoes, and peppers. The dish is traditionally served over rice with lime and cilantro.
This version hails from Salvador, a bustling city on the coast of Brazil, just north of Rio de Janeiro, that offers up delicious seafood prepared using African influences and techniques. This part of Brazil is known for pairing fish with spicy chilies, lime, and cooling coconut milk, a lovely combination.
Ingredients in Moqueca
- White fish: Use halibut, black cod, sea bass, cod, or escolar. Thicker cuts are best. Even shrimp or shellfish (clams or mussels) would work here.
- Lime: You’ll need both lime zest and lime juice to season the fish and the broth.
- Oil: My preference is Dende, a Brazilian red palm oil, for the best flavor. But coconut oil or olive oil works well too!
- Vegetables: Onion (red, white, or yellow), carrot, red bell pepper, garlic cloves, and jalapeño are sautéed for savory, aromatic flavor and subtle heat.
- Tomato paste and diced tomatoes: Freshly diced tomatoes are preferred for their juicy texture and fresh flavor.
- Spices: Paprika and ground cumin (or whole cumin seeds) add depth and warmth.
- Stock: Use fish or seafood stock, or chicken stock.
- Coconut milk: Use both the liquid and the solids.
- Fresh herbs: Finish with chopped cilantro, scallions, or Italian parsley.
The best fish for Moqueca
Use firm white fish that will hold their shape and not disintegrate in the liquid. Here are the best fish (and seafood) to use in this recipe and soups and stews in general!
- Halibut
- Pacitid Wild Cold or Haddock
- Sea Bass
- Black Cod
- Escolar
- Red snapper
- Scallops or Shrimp
Where to find the best fish
If you’re looking for a good source of wild-caught, sustainably-raised fish or seafood with no antibiotics, I highly recommend Seatopia!
How to make Moqueca
1. Season the fish. Rinse the fish and pat it dry thoroughly. Cut into 2-inch pieces and place in a bowl. Add salt, zest from half a lime, and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Massage the seasoning lightly into the fish to evenly coat all pieces.
2. Sauté vegetables. In a large sauté pan, clay pot, Dutch oven, or other large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt, and sauté 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add carrot, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño, and cook 4-5 more minutes.
3. Simmer. Add tomato paste, spices, and stock, and mix. Bring to a simmer, then add tomatoes. Cover and simmer on medium-low for 5 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Add coconut milk, taste, and add more salt if needed.
4. Add fish. Nestle the fish in the flavorful coconut stew, pouring the remaining marinade over the fish and into the stew, and either continue cooking on the stovetop, spooning the flavorful liquid over the fish for about 4-6 minutes (or until desired doneness), or for thicker cuts, place in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes.
Once done, the Moqueca will have thickened beautifully.
5. Season and serve. Taste and adjust, adding salt and lime as needed. Serve over rice, sprinkle with fresh cilantro, scallions, or Italian parsley, and garnish with a wedge of lime.
Chef’s Tips
- Use firm, thick-cut fish. Choose sturdy fillets, like halibut, cod, or sea bass, and cut them into large chunks so they hold their shape and stay tender.
- Pat the fish very dry. Removing excess moisture helps the seasoning adhere better and prevents watering down the broth.
- Use full-fat coconut milk. For the best texture and flavor, don’t substitute light coconut milk. It won’t give the same silky, luxurious broth.
- Don’t overcook the fish. Gently nestle it into the simmering stew and cook just until opaque and flaky. Overcooking will make it tough and dry.
- Spoon the flavorful broth over the fish as it cooks. This keeps the fish moist and infuses it with all the flavors of the stew.
- Use dendê oil if you can find it. It adds authentic color and a distinctive depth that really defines traditional Moqueca.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Moqueca over cilantro lime rice, basmati rice, black rice, or everyday quinoa. We enjoyed this with a simple green salad, dressed with lemon, olive oil, and salt.
Crusty bread makes a nice vehicle for leftover pan juices. Trust me, you won’t want to waste this! So much flavor!
Storage
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the stew for up to 3 months. If planning to make ahead, prepare the stew without the fish. When reheating, nestle the fish in to cook just before serving.
Please let me know what you think of this Moqueca Recipe in the comments below!
More Seafood Recipes You Might Like
- Tuna Tostadas
- Simple Authentic Cioppino Recipe
- Broiled Miso Salmon
- Mediterranean Baked Cod
- Peruvian Minestrone Soup
- Jambalaya
- 100+ Low-Carb Recipes
- 100+ Cozy Soup Recipes
Happy week, friends! xoxo Sylvia
Watch How to make Moqueca
⭐️ After you try this Moqueca recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
Moqueca Recipe (Brazilian Fish Stew)
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: 30 minute Dinner, easy dinner, entertaining, fish, healthy dinner, Main
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American, South American
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Keto, Low-Carb
Description
Brazilian Fish Stew (Moqueca) with coconut milk, lime and jalapeño – a flavorful seafood stew that the whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 1/2 pounds firm white fish- Halibut, Black Cod, Sea Bass ( thicker cuts are best)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- one lime- zest and juice
- 2–3 tablespoons coconut or olive oil (or use Dende – Brazillian Red Palm oil for the best flavor!)
- 1 onion- finely diced ( red, white or yellow)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup carrot, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves- rough chopped
- 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (or whole seed)
- 1 cup fish or chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced ( preferably fresh)
- 1 14 ounce can coconut milk ( liquid and solids)
- more salt to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, scallions or Italian parsley
- squeeze of lime
Instructions
- Prep the fish. Rinse and pat dry the fish and cut into 2 inch peices. Place in a bowl. Add salt, zest from half the lime and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Massage lightly to coat all pieces well. Set aside.
- Saute. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and salt, and sauté 2-3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, add carrot, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno and cook 4-5 more minutes.
- Simmer. Add tomato paste, spices and stock. Mix and bring to a simmer and add tomatoes. Cover and simmer gently on medium low for 5 minutes or until carrots are tender. Add the coconut milk and taste and add more salt if necessary.
- Nestle. Nestle the fish in the stew and simmer gently until it’s cooked through, about 4-6 minutes. Spoon the flavorful coconut broth over the fish and cook until desired doneness or longer for thicker pieces. ( You can also finish this in a 350F oven).
- Season. Taste and adjust salt and squeeze with lime.
- Serve. Serve over rice, sprinkle with cilantro or scallions and a squeeze of lime. Drizzle with a little olive oil if you like.
Notes
Serve with rice or crusty bread to mop up all the juices.
If making this ahead, I recommend making the stew ahead (without fish), refrigerating it for up to 3 days, reheating it, and then nestling it in the fish to cook right before serving.
Leftovers will keep up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounces fish plus ¼ of the stew
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 429.9 mg
- Fat: 17.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.4 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 23.5 g
- Cholesterol: 50.1 mg
Made this tonight and it was absolutely divine! Sylvia does it again!
So glad you enjoyed Nicole!
Delish!
This is an AMAZING recipe. I used ghee instead of oil and clam juice instead of stock and also added clams. Thank you SO much! Abrigado!
Sounds great! Glad you enjoyed.
Enjoyed!
thank you, i’m cooking this. wish the list of spices was easy to find though
Hi Walter- are you cooking off the recipe card? Scroll to the bottom of the post. 🙂
Love this recipe.Thank you
Thanks Helen!
Love this recipe.
Moqueca is one of our favorite recipes! I made it over the weekend, and raved about it to my friends. So, two of them made the recipe yesterday! They love it!
Oh wonderful!
Easy and delicious
Absolutely delicious! Fairly easy to make and fancy enough to serve to guest.
Glad you enjoyed Melanye!
Is there any way to make this ahead? Or perhaps make the stew ahead and put the fish in right before serving?
Yes exactly Barbara, prep and cook everything ahean and add fish in just before serving.
Been making this for a long time! Easy, refreshing, spicy, healthy and ALL my grown children love it. My vegetarians to my burger lovers. That’s a first!
Love hearing this Autumn!
Fabulous! I have made this twice in the past 6 weeks for company and it was a hit both times. I doubled the recipe, using just over 2 lbs of halibut and doubled everything except the coconut milk. It was great! And I especaily love that I can prepare everything in advance- my new priority for when I have dinner guests. This moqueca over rice, a salad and a loaf of bread. Perfect meal A keeper.
Great to hear this Cindy!
Your fabulous stew and my local fishmonger’s ready supply of fish pieces has gone down so well with the family, we have it at least once a week.
I now make a large pan of the stew, freeze it in meal sized portions (about 10 servings), and defrost and add and cook the fish as required.
Awesome to hear Robin!
Love it. I add two cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes but otherwise follow the recipe pretty closely.
Perfect RB, glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve made this a few times and love it – I have just returned from a holiday in Brazil, where I ate loads of Moqueca -I particularly loved it with Plantain. Should I leave out the fish all together and do a veggie version with Hearts of Palm – either way can you advise how long the plantain takes to cook???
It is worth a try Nicki! Sounds good! If cooking with ripe plantains, perhaps just about a 10-minute simmer near the end.
Delicious. Actually makes enough for 5 to 6.
Thanks Nicola!
Delicious and easy to make. I omitted carrot/jalapeno and used red pepper flakes instead. Also used parsley that was added as stew was simmering.
Perfect Diane, glad you enjoyed!
This was fabulous- a great company dish. I love a dish that I can mostly prep ahead of time and just spend 5 minutes on the finishing touches when the guests arrive. This is one of those and everyone loved it. I splurged and used fresh halibut and I think that makes a difference. I used just over 2 lobs of fish for a double recipe. It was worth all the chopping of those veggies!
So glad to hear this Cindy!
I made this recipe before and loved it as did the family. There wasn’t any left but if there had been, can the leftovers be frozen?
If you mentioned this already, sorry I didn’t see it.
Thanks!!
Fernando
I would take the fish out before freezing and then add fresh fish when reheating.
Absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making this again.
Great to hear!
Double to triple the spices, and add some fish sauce!
Fantastic! Made this with some fresh red snapper and it was an absolute hit. Will 100% make again.
Great to hear Gerardo!
I made this for my husband and two of our friends tonight. Recipe for 4 was plenty and even a little left over. I sautéed the vegetables in coconut oil, used fresh halibut, which was mild enough to let the flavors of the stew shine and ladled it over Brazilian sofrito scented Jasmine rice and a hot loaf of Cuban bread.
I made a baked feta appetizer with blistered green olives & sun dried tomatoes. Our guests brought grilled shoshito peppers and we had that course with crostini.
I served a simple salad of hearts of palm, red onion, cucumber, avocado, tomato and arugula dressed with a lemon vinaigrette.
For dessert I made a vanilla panna cotta with a raspberry gelee topped with fresh raspberries and served it in a martini glass, accompanied by a bit of chocolate chip granola and shortbread cookies.
But because it’s still 92 degrees here in the south, and the star of the menu was the Brazilian fish stew, I also made a pitcher of ice cold Brazilian lemonade to hand to the guests when they came in.
Fabulous meal. I’ll make this one often!
Sounds utterly perfect Terri. Can I come over next time? 😉
Of course you can! With so many of your recipes saved, I sure wouldn’t be afraid to cook for you! 😂
I tried the Seatopia link, but the code for $25 off the first box didn’t work, got an invalid message. I would love to try Seatopia if we can get the code to work. Any ideas?
Oh shoot Tad! Ok- Thanks for pointing that out. I have emailed them and removed the link for now. It had expired, but I will see what I can do to get a new one and let you know, if you give me a week or so? Headed up your way, for a mini vacation! Can’t wait!