Healthy Fish & Seafood Soup Recipes

The round, rich taste (also known as umami) of miso soup perfectly complements plump, briny clams. For the base of the soup you can use just water and miso, which you can find at most supermarkets. But if you can find dashi granules, they're worth adding for a more intense umami taste.

There's long been a feud between Manhattan's tomato-based clam chowder and the cream-based New England clam chowder. No matter which you prefer, you can't deny that this easy clam chowder will put dinner on the table before you can finish the debate.

Lemony rice, delicately flavored broth and gently poached tilapia are topped with a colorful blend of vegetables and herbs. The aromatic mint provides fresh and complex flavor.

We've added fresh pineapple to this spicy, sweet-and-sour Thai soup. Enjoy it as a first course before a light Thai curry or as a light lunch.

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 It was originally made on fishing boats with whatever fish were at hand.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.

Manhattan chowder is the red kind, made with disease-fighting lycopene-rich tomatoes. This version substitutes crab for the clams. To make it cook faster, take your time to finely dice the vegetables. We call for convenient canned crushed tomatoes, but you only need 2 cups; store leftover tomatoes in an airtight container for 1 week in the refrigerator or months in the freezer. Then take them out to toss into other soups or sauces--you can't go wrong with adding tomatoes, from a heart-health perspective! All you need is crusty bread or oyster crackers and a tossed salad and you've got dinner.

A stock reduction gives this creamy seafood soup a big burst of flavor. By using fat-free half-and-half--instead of tradional cream--we've significantly lightened up this soup.

Low-fat milk and mashed potatoes make this chowder so rich and creamy you won't miss the actual cream. Farm-raised tilapia and abundant Pacific cod--both with tender, flaky textures--are ocean-friendly choices.

This Asian-inspired dinner is ready in under an hour and will have your family asking for more! The Thai-flavored cilantro-lime coconut soup--full of rice noodles, shrimp and shiitake mushrooms--pairs perfectly with the sweet-&-spicy mango and cucumber salad.

Literally translated as “smothered” and pronounced ay-TOO-fay, the crawfish recipe is typically a saucy stew served over rice. In this healthy recipe from chef Patrick Mould, the tasty crustaceans (use shrimp if you can't find crawfish) are smothered in a sauce made with plenty of onions, garlic and Cajun seasoning.

This tomatillo-based gazpacho is gorgeously green with a tart flavor that complements the sweet shrimp and salty olives. Make this meatless by substituting ricotta salata or feta for the shrimp. Serve with: Cheese quesadillas.

According to legend, this seafood soup originated in San Francisco, the creation of Italian-immigrant fishermen who were as skilled with a soup kettle as they were with a net.

A broth made from shrimp shells, wine and aromatic vegetables makes a richly flavored base for this bisque. A dollop of reduced-fat sour cream is all you need for a luxurious finish.

This chilled creamy shrimp soup delivers slices of cool cucumber and zesty radishes in each bite. Topped with toasted walnuts, it's a refreshing lunch on a hot summer day.

Tomatoes, tarragon and white wine make a fragrant broth for the scallops in this vibrantly colored easy one-pot stew. Make it a meal: Serve with a simple green salad and sop up the leftover broth with toasted whole-grain baguette.

Mirin, a sweetened Japanese cooking wine, adds a sweet accent to the fresh flavors of this shrimp and vegetable stir-fry. Carrots and turnips are good cool-weather substitutes for the zucchini and peppers.

Though gazpacho originated as a soup made with bread, today tomato gazpacho recipes are often made with diced vegetables, tomato juice and seasonings, and no bread at all. It's a different approach, but one that's just as delicious, especially with a little seaside flair from Old Bay seasoning and lobster or shrimp floated on top. If you don't have time to cook lobster, buy precooked lobster or ask at the fish counter to have it cooked while you wait.

Dried kelp and bonito flakes, briefly simmered, create a delicate amber broth called “first” or “primary” dashi, the basis for most clear soups in Japan. For “second” dashi, the kelp and bonito are added to a new pot of water (like a used tea bag), making a weaker stock to be used in boldly seasoned dishes like miso soup. Although instant dashi granules and bottles of concentrated dashi are timesaving substitutes, the taste is less subtle and refined than dashi made from scratch.

A favorite Sichuan-style opener becomes a main course with the addition of crabmeat. Dried tiger-lily buds (also called Golden Needles), cloud ears and Sichuan peppercorns can be found in Aisan markets or ordered from orientalpantry.com or amazon.com.

What bouillabaisse is to Provence, cioppino is to San Francisco. The principle behind both fish stews is much the same: simmer the catch of the day in a rich broth, grab a soup spoon and enjoy. Like many classic cioppino recipes, this calls for red wine in the broth, but feel free to substitute white. The assortment of seafood can vary as well: little clams instead of mussels, scallops in place of shrimp. Serve with sourdough bread.

A twist on the classic Japanese dish, this healthy fish recipe swaps wild salmon for the traditional tofu. This agedashi gets extra kick from shichimi togarashi, a Japanese chile pepper blend, available in well-stocked markets or online. Serve alongside brown rice or udon noodles and a seaweed salad.

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.

Orange juice, saffron and white wine combine in a heady broth for this mussel soup. It can be made in advance and gently reheated just before serving.

This famous Provençal stew was traditionally a catchall for fishermen's catch of the day. Our version uses ocean-friendly calamari, tilapia and scallops.