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    Home » Recipes » Meat & Fish

    Cioppino: A Special Occasion Italian Seafood Soup for Christmas Eve

    Published: Dec 12, 2018 · Modified: Feb 13, 2022 by Cara Kretz · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

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    Cioppino

    Cioppino, an Italian Seafood Soup, is an experience to savor and enjoy with loved ones.  It is festive, and an amazing, fine-dining meal for special occasions. My recipe for Cioppino includes seven types of seafood as a perfect showcase dish for an Italian Christmas Eve tradition called Feast of the Seven Fishes.  This recipe has lobster, crab, clams, mussels, halibut, scallops and shrimp! It is all cooked in one pot, and easy to make once all the ingredients are prepped.  Click here to learn about my take on a  seven-course Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve meal and all the recipes!

    Feast of the Seven Fishes

    Cioppino is a tomato-based seafood soup that originated in San Francisco. The catch-of-the-day is simmered in wine, tomatoes and aromatics.  The first time I had Cioppino was with my Dad at Fisherman's Wharf.  I was hooked and we made it a tradition to have Cioppino anytime we were in a restaurant with good seafood. It has special memories of my Dad for me to this day.

    Making Cioppino at home is easy. Here are my tips for an authentic Italian Cioppino.

    1) Get the freshest fish you can find. If it smells fishy, don't buy it.

    2) For the best flavor, make homemade shellfish stock with the shrimp and lobster shells. You can get my recipe here. It takes about 1 ½ hours. If you don't have the time, store-bought seafood stock will work too.

    3) Use red wine instead of white wine for the best flavor.

    Here is the step-by-step guide for making Cioppino:

    Prepare all your ingredients ahead of time and have ready to add to the pot as needed.

    Cioppino Cioppino Cioppino

    Sautee the garlic (lots of it!), fennel and aromatics in olive oil in large Dutch oven.

    Cioppino

    Deglaze the pan with red wine and simmer for 5 minutes. This helps build flavor.

    Cioppino

    Add the tomatoes and saffron. Starting adding the fish according to cook time; cover and simmer. Clams and mussels first, followed by crab, lobster meat, halibut and scallops. Add the shrimp last.

    Cioppino

    Add more red pepper flakes and seasoning if needed at the end. Toss in minced parsley and basil.

    Cioppino

    To plate, gently place the fish pieces in the bottom of a shallow soup bowl. Ladle the broth on top. Serve with grilled ciabatta bread or  The Best Garlic Bread.  (I was so excited to try it, I forgot to grill the ciabatta bread for this picture!)

    Serve with grilled ciabatta bread or garlic bread. 

    Cioppino
    Print Pin
    5 from 4 votes

    Cioppino: A Special Occasion Italian Seafood Soup

    Cioppino, an Italian Seafood Soup, is an experience to savor and enjoy with loved ones. It is festive, and an amazing, fine-dining meal for special occasions. My recipe for Cioppino includes seven types of seafood as a perfect showcase dish for an Italian Christmas Eve tradition called Feast of the Seven Fishes. This recipe has lobster, crab, clams, mussels, halibut, scallops and shrimp! It is all cooked in one pot, and easy to make once all the ingredients are prepped. 
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Italian
    Keyword seafood
    Prep Time 30 minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour
    Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

    Ingredients

    Seafood

    • 2 (4 oz) lobster tails, meat removed and cut in bite-size pieces, reserve shells for stock
    • 1.5 pounds large shrimp 16 to 20, meat removed, reserve shells for stock
    • 8 Littlenecks clams scrubbed
    • 1 pound mussels scrubbed
    • 1 pound skinless sea bass or halibut fillets cut into bite-size pieces
    • 6 sea scallops cut in half or quarters depending on size
    • 1 large king crab leg cut in 2 or 3 pieces

    Cioppino Broth

    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 6 large garlic cloves minced
    • 1 medium onion finely chopped
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 1 large fennel bulb thinly sliced
    • 2 stalks thinly sliced celery
    • 1 carrot peeled and finely diced
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 teaspoon oregano
    • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
    • 1 ½ cups dry red wine Chianti works well for this
    • 2 28 ounces cans San Marzano whole, peeled tomatoes, finely chopped with juice
    • 1 medium pinch saffron threads
    • 3 cups seafood stock see recipe for homemade shellfish stock or use store-bought
    • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
    • Handful fresh basil finely chopped for garnish

    Instructions

    • Add olive oil to a large Dutch Oven pot over medium high heat on the stovetop and heat until shimmering. Add garlic and onions and cook until garlic just starts to brown. Add butter to stop the garlic from burning.
    • Add fennel. celery, carrots, bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, thyme sprigs, salt and black pepper stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
    • Add wine and boil until reduced about 3 - 4 minutes. Add shellfish stock, tomatoes with their juice and saffron. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Add crab, clams, mussels to the pot, cover and simmer until clams just open, about 5-10 minutes. Discard any clams or mussels that do not open after 7 - 10 minutes.
    • Add the lobster, scallops and halibut pieces on top. Simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 - 10 minutes.
    • Add the shrimp last. Simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 3- 5 minutes.
    • Test for seasoning. Add more black pepper, salt and red pepper flakes if desired. Gently stir in parsley and basil. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
    • To serve Cioppino, place fish pieces in bottom of shallow soup bowl or pasta plate. Ladle the broth on top. Serve immediately with grilled ciabatta bread on the side
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Melanie

      December 25, 2022 at 9:03 am

      5 stars
      This is the recipe which has started a beautiful Christmas Eve tradition for us. I’ve made it the last 3 years and plan to make it every year for the foreseeable future. Absolutely perfect cioppino. The homemade stock is a must as it’s incredible. Living so close to SF, I love incorporating this in our family tradition despite not being Italian.

      Reply
    2. Rex

      December 24, 2020 at 9:25 pm

      5 stars
      Made this Christmas Eve. My wife orders this out frequently. And found this to be the best she’d ever had. Made the broth using shells of shrimp and lobster and skin of fish. Used Chilean Sea Bass, and it worked quite well...

      Reply
      • Cara Kretz

        December 25, 2020 at 10:06 am

        Oh thank you!! I am so glad she like it. Merry Christmas.

        Reply
    3. Sue

      December 27, 2019 at 10:19 am

      This recipe will serve how many?

      Reply
      • Cara Kretz

        January 01, 2020 at 11:08 am

        Sorry for the later reply (we are out of town). It should serve 8 -12 depending on potion size.

        Reply
    4. Russell Silva

      November 20, 2019 at 10:18 am

      Cioppino is the San Francisco treat where it was created. By an Italian fisherman. Most Italians I know don't even know what it is....

      Reply
    5. Pat

      December 12, 2018 at 11:16 am

      5 stars
      Your Feast of the Seven Fishes looks fabulous! This cioppino looks so good too, and I love all your details in the recipe. I usually use white wine in my broth but will try red this year. It's so nice to keep the traditions alive!

      Reply
      • Cara Kretz

        December 13, 2018 at 8:08 am

        Thank you Pat for your kind words! It's good to see family traditions continue, and create new ones! Merry Christmas!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Cara Mia Cipolla. My goal is to pass on my recipes, tips and secrets and hopefully inspire others to become great home cooks. In addition to the blog, I also write cookbooks, teach cooking classes, and take on the occasional consulting project for other culinary businesses.

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