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
Quick and delicious. Used mahi, lite coconut milk, 1 tbsp sugar, 2-3 splashes Tabasco. Served with rice. My whole family enjoyed it!
Awesome Laura! Thanks!
Question, anyone tried this w salmon? Just wondering if that would be OK or what could go wrong?
I have not tried with Salmon, has anyone else?
Just made it with salmon and was a big hit with everyone!!!
Great to hear Bina! Thanks so much for letting us know!
ALL OF YOUR RECIPES ARE KEEPERS!!!
I made your Moqueca recipe using cod, pollock, shrimp and scallops for my friend from São Paulo. She asked for the recipe! I had some cauliflower on hand and made your cauliflower rice recipe using garlic, shallot, lime zest and cilantro which accompanied the stew perfectly. Thanks, Sylvia! You and my neighborhood CSA have made the past year in lockdown more yummy. 🍽
Perfect Vernon, thanks so much!
This is so easy and so delicious – and the stew comes together with miraculously little effort. It’s very tasty and chocked full of healthy ingredients. I used cod, but next time will use mussels. Thanks for another tasty recipe. Sissy
thanks, Sissy, Mussels sound good!
Hi, thank you SO much for this amazing recipe! It’s my favorite recipe I’ve ever cooked and also my partner’s favorite. I feel very privileged to have access to all your wonderful ideas! However, one small thing – this dish does not take 25-30 minutes to make – at least not for me. It actually takes me over an hour, so I figured out I should do all the veg prepping the night before to be able to make it more quickly the next day. Realistically I know I’m a much slower chopper/dicer compared to you and likely other people who use your recipes. Still, it might be good to think about revising the estimated amount of time to make. Thank you again for this recipe, Sylvia!
Thanks for the feedback, I will update the recipe time. 🙂
This is easy and so tasty. The sauce is absolutely delicious, I will be making this again.
Glad you liked it!
Delicious and amazingly simple 😋
Really easy and tasty way to eat that fish that’s been in the freezer !😎👍⭐⭐⭐⭐
Yes, great idea!
I love this soup! I live alone and since it freezes well, it saves me time many times over. And even though it says 4-4 oz servings, I’ve gotten 8-10 oz servings, which with a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of rice and bread is a great meal!
Absolutely love this dish .
What else can I say it’s delicious
Love this! It was perfect for a chilly night! Easy and we felt it was very nutritious!
Absolutely wonderful recipe! I’ve made it several times for family and friends. Everyone raves about it!
Excelent recipe!! The lime and coconut milk is a tasty combination!!!
Was the best had friends over and all loved it.
Was first time making it was so easy.
Incredible recipe!
Very good, thank you! Out of capsicum and carrots, so used green beans and mushrooms instead; this is going to go in our regular rotation as a delicious way to use up random vegetables.
Thank you for this recipe! I made this last night as I had fish to use and just googled for a recipe. This came up. I made it. Family Loved it! (I did too!).
Easy to follow and I am adding it to my meal plan.
I used Sea Bass (I had some frozen), red onions, coconut oil, cilantro, and fresh diced tomatoes. I stuck to the recipe and served over Basmati rice.
Thanks again!
Best I’ve seen on web… here in US. But, when I had real Maqueca in Bahia, Brazil, slightly spicy, but no jalapeño taste. I think that’s an American add-in replacing something else. Ours had far more seafood… likely since Bahia de Santiago is on the coast, there was long-grained rice and garbanzo beans… and the Al Dente oil was essential!!!!!!!!!!
Does it have olives? I see olives in the pics but not in the recipe.
No olives in this recipe- you may be seeing the multicolored tomatoes or carrots?
Hi. Do you know of any other healthy fish recipe? Coconut is hardly thing where I live.
Hi Mira, yes, there are lots on the blog- just go to the fish and seafood category on the recipe page. Or if you go to collections, you’ll see a seafood one. 🙂
My family loves this recipe. I have made it several times. It’s fun changing up the fish.
Excellent recipe! The only thing I did to modify the recipe was , I added a teaspoon of high quality fish oil. This really gave it a more pungent flavor and reduced the sweetness from the coconut milk and red pepper. But, that’s me, overall it is wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
Excellent recipe – made it tonight, very tasty and looks great as well. Will make it again. Thanks
This recipe is a splendid flavor for fish. I really enjoyed it.
Can this recipe be frozen?
I think it should be ok to freeze?
Recipe was very good although I did not understand how much coconut milk 1 14 ounces? Is that 32ml.
Will be nice to use metric as cups and ounces gets confusing.
Otherwise very good!
14-ounce can
google is your friend. 30 seconds to your answer.