Healthy Oyster Recipes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This healthy oyster stuffing recipe with butternut squash is a lightened-up version of the must-have holiday side. Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, you can make it moist or crispy. If you're an extra-moist-stuffing type, bake it covered for the full 50 minutes; if you like some crispy bits on top, follow the oyster stuffing recipe as written: bake covered for about 30 minutes, then uncovered for an additional 20 minutes.

Oysters and mushrooms are both sources of umami. When paired as seafood and sauce in this recipe from Erin Shea and Lee Chizmar, who own three restaurants in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, each ingredient lifts the signature flavor of the other.