Healthy Oyster Recipes

It may seem a little intimidating to open an oyster, but after a little practice it gets easier. Classically oysters are served raw on the half shell with a little mignonette sauce, which refers in French to “black pepper,” but you can also enjoy them without any sauce at all.

These succulent baked oysters thrill with spicy spinach and a crispy cheese topping.

This delicate oyster soup recipe sets the tone for celebration at any meal. We made this stew healthier by primarily using low-fat milk and increasing the amount of vegetables. Don't worry about shucking the oysters--most supermarket seafood departments carry shucked oysters. Serve with crusty bread to sop up all the delicious bits at the bottom of the bowl.

This oyster stew can be transformed from a comforting one-pot meal to an elegant dish for guests when you top it with Caviar Toasts: Dollop toasted slices of baguette with 1 teaspoon sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon caviar and a sprinkle of herbs. Place each toast atop a steaming bowl of stew. Serve with a salad of butter lettuce, orange segments and red onion tossed with vinaigrette.

If you've never cooked oysters on the grill, you're in for a treat. Grilling oysters whole saves you the trouble of shucking them--they magically pop open when cooked. A simple garlic herb butter adds richness and a bright pop of flavor to this impressive appetizer. To pretty it up use Irish butter, which is extra-golden because Irish cows typically enjoy an all-grass diet.

Cioppino is a fish stew traditionally made by Italian fishermen who settled in the North Beach/Fisherman's Wharf section of San Francisco. It was originally made on fishing boats with whatever fish were at hand. This cioppino comes to us from California chef and cooking teacher John Ash, who has been an advocate for sustainable-food issues for years and has served on the board of advisors of Seafood Watch--the advocacy arm of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Ash chose a variety of shellfish for this recipe, all of which are Seafood Watch Best Choices or Good Alternatives.

Invented at Antoine's in New Orleans in 1889, oysters Rockefeller was named for John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest Americans at the time, for its rich sauce. Antoine's has kept the original recipe secret, but basically it includes a cream sauce with spinach and other greens, flavored with Pernod or anisette. This version omits the cream sauce but is still full of flavor.

If you're intimidated by shucking oysters--this recipe for barbecued oysters is for you. When you grill them, steam builds up inside the shells until they pop open. Then you slather a little garlicky red barbecue sauce on each oyster, put them back on the grill to get hot and bubbly, and you're done. At a party, bring your oysters to the grill and show your guests how it's done so they can barbecue their own.

Take a basic corn chowder recipe, add potatoes, jalapeños, and oysters and what do you get? A hearty 45-minute soup that will have people begging for seconds.

The great thing about barbecuing oysters is you don't need to shuck them. Put the oysters right on the grill and cook until the steam inside the oysters pops the shells open. Drizzle with a little spicy Thai sauce and you're done.

It may seems a little intimidating to open an oyster, but after a little practice it gets easier. In this recipe, the oysters are served with a spiced-up, California-style version of mignonette sauce inspired by the folks at Hog Island Oyster Company on Tomales Bay in Northern California.

This oyster soup bursts with the heady flavors of the sea. Rather than heavy cream, this recipe uses pureed rice to add body and the mellow sweetness needed to balance the oysters. It makes an elegant starter for a dinner party.