Peruvian Seafood Stew with Cilantro Broth- made with fish and shellfish, potatoes, carrots and the most flavorful delicious broth! Healthy, Paleo, Gluten free, Easy! Can be made in 35 minutes!
Spicy, fragrant Cilantro Broth is the delicious base of this flavorful Peruvian Seafood Stew. Those of you who have been here a while will probably already guess how versatile this soup can be, even to the point of substituting the seafood itself.
The takeaway here is the Cilantro Broth, which if you think about it, can be paired with an endless array of ingredients. But today I’m serving it up the same way I experienced it for the very first time, in a Peruvian restaurant in Panama – with seafood. There are some bites of food you never forget.
Along with the seafood – basically a mix of scallops, prawns and firm white fish, there are also diced potatoes and carrots. If you are not a seafood fan, substitute chicken or chickpeas instead. You get the idea. Make sure to serve it with crusty bread to mop up the delicious broth, or serve it over rice. It takes about 35-40 minutes from start to finish, very doable on a weeknight.
How to make Peruvian Seafood Stew
It starts with sautéing onion, garlic and poblano chilies.
Once they are tender, remove from the pot and place in a blender.
Blend with water and 2 bunches of fresh cilantro.
Then you will end up with this beautiful green magic that will turn your broth into something flavorful and delicious!
Set this aside for a while, until right before serving.
In the same pot you’ll simmer diced potatoes and carrots in chicken broth or stock. Once tender, you’ll add the seafood and let it simmer for a few minutes until cooked.
Then you’ll add the magic green cilantro sauce to the soup. Gently warm it- do not boil or you will lose the beautiful green color.
Adjust the salt and add the juice of one or two limes.
Serving Suggestions
Scatter with fresh cilantro leaves and serve immediately.
Serve with crusty bread, and for added creaminess, add a dollop of sour cream or avocado slices.
What is The best fish for soups or stews?
You generally want to use firm white fish for most stews and soups, because they will hold their shape and not disintegrate in the liquid. Here are 10 the best fish (and seafood) to use in soups and stews.
- sea bass
- halibut
- black cod
- haddock
- escolar
- ono
- red snapper
- salmon
- scallops
- shrimp
More seafood stew recipes!
- Summer Seafood Stew
- Clam Chowder
- Simple Authentic Cioppino Recipe
- Brazilian Fish Stew (Moqueca!)
- Simple Salmon Chowder
- 20 Simple Healthy Fish & Seafood Recipes

Peruvian Seafood Stew with Cilantro Broth
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6
- Category: Main, stew, soup, fish, seafood
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Peruvian
Description
Peruvian Seafood Stew with Cilantro Broth- made with fish and shellfish, potatoes, carrots and the most flavorful delicious broth! Healthy, Paleo, Gluten free, Easy! Can be made in 35 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow or white onion- diced
- 1 fresh green ancho chili (or poblano) – deseeded, chopped (if you like spicy, add 2 and skip the bell pepper)
- 1 green bell pepper – chopped (optional)
- 6 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 3 cups water – divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups small diced potatoes
- 2 cup diced carrots
- 2 whole bunches cilantro, including small stems
- 2 lbs seafood, mixed -shrimp, scallops, mussels, fish, (or sub cooked chicken, or chickpeas)
- juice of 2–3 limes (add to taste)
- Garnish: cilantro, thinly sliced jalapeño, dollop sour cream, crusty bread for dipping
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large, heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add ancho chili and bell pepper. Turn heat to medium and saute until tender about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and spices and cook for two-three minutes or until fragrant.
- Scrape this all into a blender. To the blender add the two whole bunches of cilantro, small stems and all. I usually cut or twist off 1-2 inches off the stems, leaving the rest. Add 2 cups water to the blender. Bend everything until VERY smooth, at least 45 seconds! Smooth is key here! Set this aside.
- In the same pot, add 4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock, plus 1 cup water, add the salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Add the small diced potatoes and carrots and simmer over medium heat until just tender, about 10 minutes.
- Once the potatoes and carrots are tender, add all the seafood and simmer gently until desired doneness, or about 3-5 minutes ( taking into consideration some things take longer to cook than others).
- When seafood is cooked to your liking, stir in the blended cilantro mixture from the blender. Heat to a gentle simmer – but do not boil- or you will lose the lovely green color!
- Squeeze in lime juice to taste. Taste and adjust salt and lime juice, adding more of each to your taste.
- Serve in bowls with cilantro sprigs, optional jalapeño slices, lime wedges, sour cream (optional) and crusty bread.
Notes
- Don’t boil the broth mixture too long or you will lose the pretty green color.
- Heat level. In the photos you see me using 2 poblano chilis, and this was quite spicy. The next time I used 1 poblano chili plus a green bell pepper – medium spicy, but not overly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 4.5 g
- Sodium: 560.1 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.4 g
- Fiber: 4.6 g
- Protein: 29.2 g
- Cholesterol: 156.4 mg
When when do you add the salt and pepper? Are you salting and peppering along the way?
Hi Susan- wow this recipe card desperately needed updating! I fixed it and it should be more clear now. 🙂 Add to the broth.
Really nice introduction to a recipe I might not have seen otherwise. For anyone’s interest sake, it looks like the author’s taken inspiration from the Peruvian dish, Aquadito de Pescado
Thanks Sophie!
Does this soup freeze well?
I think it might not hold the vibrant green color, if frozen, but honestly I am guessing, haven’t tried freezing this, has anyone else?
1/2 tsp cracked pepper?
Yes, fresh black pepper. 🙂
Quite delicious and fun to make
Glad you enjoyed this Liz!
Excellent! Made exactly as recipe stated. The limes are very important. I was surprised that the cilantro flavor was so perfectly subtle. I used two huge bunches and it was still just right.
Awesome Kim! Glad you enjoyed it!
delicious and lovely presentation!
thanks and glad you liked it!