This Shrimp and Corn Bisque is a delicious recipe that can be made two ways: chunky or silky smooth. Full of succulent shrimp, sweet corn, and loads of veggies, it's an elegant, comforting soup.
Soup season is the best season!
Whether we're craving hearty chili for Game Day or we want to warm up with a creamy vegan pumpkin soup, we've got a lot of comforting soup recipes to satisfy your hunger here on Urban Bliss Life.
Since we're huge seafood AND soup lovers here, we're excited to share this Seafood and Corn Bisque recipe. I love to order shrimp bisque whenever I see it on a restaurant menu. But it's also really quite easy to make at home.
It's the perfect soup to cozy up to on a brisk fall or winter night. It's also a great recipe that works as either an elegant main dish for a fancy date night at home, or as a side dish to serve any night of the week.
And, this shrimp bisque soup recipe is totally versatile. While bisque is usually pureed smooth, I've included instructions on how to make either a thicker soup (think shrimp chowder) or a luxurious creamy soup.
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🌟 Shrimp and corn bisque two ways
This soup recipe is made with fresh ingredients that can easily be made two ways depending on your taste preference.
You can make a chunky, shrimp corn chowder style of soup like the photo on the left.
Or, you can do one extra step and create a smooth, silky, creamy shrimp bisque like the photo on the right.
Both soup styles are delicious.
🛒 Ingredient notes
This elegant shrimp bisque is made with simple ingredients that you can easily find in any grocery store.
You'll need the following ingredients:
- Shrimp - This recipe uses large uncooked shrimp. Make sure you shell and devein the fresh shrimp before cooking with it.
- Stock - The best bisque is made with homemade seafood stock or shrimp broth. I usually keep a stash of homemade stock in my freezer for shrimp soup or shrimp chowder. If you have time to make a shrimp stock first, I would do that. If not, you can use storebought seafood stock.
- Vegetables - You can use frozen corn or fresh kernels of corn taken off the cob. Use chopped carrots and celery, as well as diced onion and minced fresh garlic.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter.
- Tomato - A little bit of tomato paste goes a long way to adding rich flavor in this soup.
- Cream - A little heavy whipping cream adds to the richness of this dish.
- Brandy - Brandy is a traditional addition to bisque, but you can also make this without it if you don't want to add alcohol.
- Flour - This helps thicken the soup.
- Herbs - A little thyme and tarragon add to the depth of flavor, as do the bay leaves. Make sure you remove the bay leaves before serving. They are only meant to add flavor to the soup -- they are not meant to be eaten.
- Salt & pepper - Season the bisque with kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Options:
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
- Use your favorite dairy-free heavy cream and vegan butter to make this a dairy-free shrimp bisque.
- You can substitute vegetable stock for seafood stock.
- You can omit the brandy and add more stock instead.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
You'll find the full recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here are step-by-step photos to show you how to make this delicious shrimp and corn bisque recipe.
- Add oil to a large Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables, salt, and pepper and cook for a few minutes.
2. Add the brandy, stick of butter, tomato paste, all purpose flour, thyme, and tarragon. Stir, and cook for a few minutes.
3. Lower heat to medium heat. Pour in the seafood stock or broth.
4. Pour in the heavy cream.
5. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the shrimp and bay leaves. Stir and cook another 5 to 7 minutes, just until the shrimp are completely cooked.
7. Remove the bay leaves and discard.
8. Scoop a ladle or two full of the cooked shrimp and vegetables and set aside in a bowl.
Now you can either follow directions to make a chunky bisque or a smooth bisque.
For chunky soup
- You can use a stick blender (immersion blender) to gently blend some of the ingredients together in the Dutch oven to thicken the soup slightly, but take care not to blend all of the ingredients. Serve immediately, garnished with some of the shrimp and vegetables you set aside earlier.
For smooth bisque
Allow the cooked soup to cool slightly, then add the soup by ladle full to a high powered blender, just until about ¾ of the way full. You'll likely need to blend in 2 or 3 batches. Blend on medium for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high and blend until all of the ingredients are blended into a silky smooth bisque.
Pour into a large soup serving bowl. Repeat directions to blend the remaining batch or batches of soup until all soup has been blended. Serve imediately, garnished with some of the shrimp and vegetables you set aside earlier.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
Bisque is a type of soup that is a French style soup made with seafood stock. It's usually pureed into a smooth soup, but some people like the texture of chunks of seafood and vegetables in their soup, so I've included both options in this recipe.
Allow the shrimp bisque to cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Yes! Allow the soup to cool completely, then store in a freezer safe airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
🍽 Serving ideas
You can serve this delicious soup as a main course. It's the perfect dish with some homemade crusty French bread and a simple green salad.
Or, serve it as a side dish. It's a great companion to comforting fall meals such as Instant Pot pork roast, lobster ravioli, chicken marsala, or Instant Pot stuffed pork loin roast.
🍷 🥂 Wine pairings
The delicious shrimp, fresh sweet corn, and rich shrimp stock pairs well with a Pinot Noir Rosé wine or a Grenache Rosé. It would also pair well with a crisp white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you'll need:
- Large pot - This recipe makes a large amount of soup, so you'll need a large Dutch oven or large soup pot to make this soup. I use my Staub 5.75 quart Dutch oven (pictured above) to make this recipe and it's just the right size.
- Wooden spoon - Use a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients.
- Immersion blender - If you want to make a slightly thicker soup like a shrimp chowder, use an immersion blender to thicken the soup but keep bits of shrimp and vegetables still intact.
- Blender - If you want to make a silky smooth creamy bisque, you'll need a high powered blender to blend the ingredients into a smooth base.
- Ladle - A soup ladle with spout makes it easy to scoop the soup into bowls for serving.
More soup recipes
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Shrimp and Corn Bisque, Two Ways
Equipment
- Immersion blender (stick blender) optional
- high-powered blender optional
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups corn kernels
- 1½ cups carrots, diced
- 1½ cups celery, diced
- ¾ cup diced onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup brandy
- 1 teaspoon chopped tarragon leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 5 cups seafood stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 pounds large uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the corn, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour, butter, brandy, tarragon, and thyme, and tomato paste. Stir to combine and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Lower heat to medium. Pour in the seafood stock or broth.
- Pour in the heavy cream. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and bay leaves. Stir and cook another 5 to 7 minutes, just until the shrimp are completely cooked.
- Remove a ladle or two full of the cooked shrimp and vegetables and set aside in a bowl. Now you can either follow directions to make a chunky bisque or a smooth bisque.
For chunky soup
- You can use a stick blender (immersion blender) to gently blend some of the ingredients together in the Dutch oven to thicken the soup slightly, but take care not to blend all of the ingredients. Serve imediately, garnished with some of the shrimp and vegetables you set aside earlier.
For smooth bisque
- Allow the cooked soup to cool slightly, then add the soup by ladle full to a high powered blender, just until about ¾ of the way full. You'll likely need to blend in 2 or 3 batches. Blend on medium for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high and blend until all of the ingredients are blended into a silky smooth bisque. Pour into a large soup serving bowl. Repeat directions to blend the remaining batch or batches of soup until all soup has been blended. Serve imediately, garnished with some of the shrimp and vegetables you set aside earlier.
Notes
- Use large shrimp that come in the 31-40 packs.
- Shrimp are fully cooked when they turn from translucent/grey to pink and white. And their tails start to curl as they cook.
- If making the smooth shrimp bisque, allow the soup to cool slightly before adding to the blender.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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