25 Seafood Dinner Recipes

If you love seafood, then you know that this class of animals (and food) is a wide one, ranging from shrimp to crab to oysters to mussels (via Healthline). Often seen as more of a special occasion food, seafood can be a wonderful change of pace from the more standard beef, poultry, and pork we tend to cook up for lunch or dinner. Because most Americans eat far less seafood than they do other types of meat (via UPI), not all of us know exactly how to cook it when the craving strikes.

Luckily, the ways to enjoy seafood range just as wide as the category itself, spanning from eating oysters cold at a raw bar to strewing clams atop a pizza to mixing shrimp into a spicy gumbo. Looking to grace your table with some delicious seafood tonight? Here are 25 of our favorite ways to prepare it.

If you've never twirled a rich, creamy linguine Alfredo around your fork and then scraped the remains of the sauce from your bowl using a crusty slice of bread — then you're going to want to change that, stat. And what better way to gild the lily of this pasta coated in Parmesan-accented heavy cream than to add sautéed shrimp into the mix? This easy linguine comes together in just half an hour and results in four deep bowls of cheesy pasta tossed with perfectly pink shrimp — we think you're going to want to make it tonight.

Recipe: Shrimp Linguine Alfredo Recipe

If you had to name 10 of the most indulgent foods of all time, we're willing to bet that both lobster and grilled cheese would make your list. So why not combine the two? That's exactly what the New York-based chain Luke's Lobster does, layering meaty cooked lobster between sliced Gruyère and white bread, sprinkling the sandwich with a zesty mix of dried thyme, oregano, and celery salt, and then griddling it in plenty of butter until it goes melty and oozy. Best of all? You can easily recreate this delicious sandwich right in your home kitchen.

Recipe: Lobster Grilled Cheese

Shrimp scampi is an Italian-American classic that starts with a simple base of shrimp sautéed in butter, garlic, and white wine, according to The New York Times, and one which features many variations, such as breading the shrimp or adding tomatoes to the dish. In this easy version from recipe developer Michelle McGlinn, the seafood ante is upped by including not only shrimp but scallops, too. In the dish, a quick, flavorful reduction is made using white wine, pasta cooking water, and shrimp shells, creating the sauce for the angel hair, which is then tossed with garlic-seared scallops, shrimp, and plenty of lemon juice and parsley for freshness.

Recipe: Shrimp And Scallop Scampi

Even if you've never been to Spain, the first dish that comes to mind when thinking of the country and its rich and varied cuisine is most likely paella. An iconic Valencian dish that typically features short-grain rice cooked with an indulgent combination of both meats and seafood, paella is a show-stopping entrée that's perfect for serving at dinner parties. This version features rice cooked in a smoky fish stock flavored with saffron, onions, red bell peppers, canned tomatoes, and white wine, and is heaped with chorizo, shrimp, mussels, and squid. The best part? The layer of crispy rice that develops on the bottom of the pan.

Recipe: Classic Seafood Paella

Who among us doesn't love a good burger? While we normally enjoy the beef variety, the beauty of a burger is that the protein can be varied, using ground chicken, pork, or even seafood in the patty. This version utilizes chopped raw shrimp that are bound with beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs, and flavored with fresh ginger, garlic, and green onion. Once formed, the shrimp patties set briefly in the refrigerator before being seared in a hot skillet. The burgers are served on rich brioche buns slathered with sriracha mayo, and piled with veggies including butter lettuce and sliced tomatoes, avocados, and jalapeños.

Recipe: Shrimp Burger

Although you might think you'd have to wait to visit a restaurant in order to enjoy those massive crab legs that are so tasty, they're actually extremely easy to make at home. King crab legs are readily available in the frozen section of supermarkets such as Costco, and though they can be pricey, they make for a luxurious dinner. In this easy recipe, crab legs are simply cut into sections, brushed with Old Bay butter, wrapped in foil, and then gently baked until just heated through. The crab is served with additional butter for dipping and goes perfectly with simple summery sides such as corn on the cob and potato salad.

Recipe: Easiest Oven Baked Crab Legs

It's a pretty tall order to improve upon rich, creamy, comforting mac and cheese, but this garlic shrimp variation does just that, incorporating buttery, garlicky sautéed shrimp into a down-home mac and cheese prepared with an authentic roux. Once stirred together in the sauce, the tender crustaceans and noodles are transferred to a baking dish, sprinkled with a buttery, cheesy panko breadcrumb topping, and baked until the breadcrumbs go golden and crispy. Add a fresh green salad and some soft bread for sopping up the cheesy sauce, and dinner's good to go.

Recipe: Garlic Shrimp Mac And Cheese

Anyone who's attended an old-fashioned seafood boil knows how fun this eating event can be: Typically, a big ol' pot full of seafood such as shrimp or crab, plus vegetables such as corn or potatoes, is boiled with aromatics, dumped out onto a serving platter or newspaper, and eaten family style — often with no utensils, just your hands (via Serious Eats). Our quick and easy version features snow crab legs, extra-jumbo shrimp, and crayfish boiled with bay leaves and plenty of butter, then drained and tossed in a lemony butter sauce flavored with iconic Old Bay seasoning and crushed garlic.

Recipe: Easy Seafood Boil with Old Bay Sauce

If you've only ever sipped bisque — essentially a smooth shellfish soup that's thickened with a starchy ingredient and enriched with plenty of cream before serving (via MasterClass) — while dining in a fancy restaurant, we have a secret to share: Making bisque at home isn't all that complicated. In this straightforward recipe, potatoes, onions, and carrots are cooked with shrimp and vegetable stock, blended until smooth with heavy cream, then served in bowls with additional cooked shrimp and chopped parsley on top. Add some crusty bread, and you've got a restaurant-caliber meal right in the comfort of your own home.

Recipe: Simple Shrimp Bisque

If you've visited the vibrant city of New Orleans, then you've undoubtedly sampled one of the Big Easy's most iconic gastronomic delights: The po'boy sandwich. Essentially a loaded submarine sandwich of a protein such as roast beef or fried seafood that's topped with shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced pickles, or other veggies (via NewOrleans.com), po'boys are a Louisiana staple. This homemade po'boy brings a taste of NOLA right into your kitchen, breading canned oysters in a flavorful cornmeal crust, piling them onto soft rolls, and heaping them with tangy homemade cabbage coleslaw.

Recipe: Oyster Po'Boys

If you love cheese — and really, who doesn't? — then you've probably tried your fair share of "Parmesans," from chicken to veal to eggplant. But have you ever tried shrimp Parmesan? A less common — but just as delicious — take on the dish, this version features lightly sautéed shrimp flavored with plenty of garlic, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes, then showered with a generous amount of grated cheese. Best of all? The dish comes together in just 10 minutes flat.

Recipe: Spicy Shrimp Parmesan

This bright, flavorful summertime salad is the perfect option for the seafood lovers among us. In it, shrimp is marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley before being quickly seared. Meanwhile, raw sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, and lettuce are tossed with a creamy, lemony dressing. To bring both parts together, the grilled shrimp are simply spooned over the cool salad. Once garnished with fresh parsley, the dish is ready to go.

Recipe: Grilled Summer Shrimp Salad

If you've ever passed through the New England city of New Haven, then you know that white clam pizza is something of a specialty at its many competing pizza joints, said to be invented by Frank Pepe of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in the 1960s (via Atlas Obscura). In this version from New York restaurant Pasquale Jones, homemade dough is baked on a pizza stone, spread with a flavorful "clam cream" of clam cooking liquid and heavy cream, and topped with chopped clams and seared broccoli rabe. A labor of love, the pie takes about an hour to make — but we're willing to bet that's less time than traveling to Connecticut from wherever you are.

Recipe: White Clam Pizza

Garlic. Butter. Shrimp. It's all there in the name, and if those three ingredients don't have you salivating, we don't know what will. In this quick and easy recipe, medium-large shrimp are sautéed in olive oil, then tossed with a sauce of butter, white wine, lemon juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Once garnished with chopped fresh parsley, they're ready to be eaten alongside good, crusty bread — and perhaps a glass or two of that white wine used in cooking them.

Recipe: Garlic Butter Shrimp

A classic combination, sweet crab and corn unite in this simple, hearty soup that melds the flavors of its two star ingredients with those of onion, carrot, and potato. After simmering with chicken stock for half an hour, the soup is enriched with a bit of tangy crème fraîche, and the lovely end result is spooned into bowls and topped with chopped fresh chives. Add some crusty bread and a green salad, and you've got a complete meal ready to be enjoyed.

Recipe: Best Crab and Corn Chowder

If you've got a craving for New Orleans food but are a bit too short on time or money to get down to the Big Easy, why not bring the flavors of NOLA into your kitchen with this iconic shrimp po'boy? To make it, buttermilk-marinated shrimp are dredged in a flavorful cornmeal crust and then fried until crispy. Then, soft rolls are spread with hot sauce mayo, the shrimp are piled on, and topped with sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and sliced cornichons. It's a classic execution of a classic dish, and we don't think you'll be able to resist it.

Recipe: Shrimp Po'Boys

If you want to "eat sushi without all the work" of making it at home, then this sushi-inspired bowl is the way to go, according to recipe developer Jason Goldstein. The dish features sushi rice that's elegantly adorned with cooked crab meat, sliced cucumber and avocado, roasted seaweed, and chopped scallions. Then, the loaded bowl is drizzled with a flavorful dressing of ginger, garlic, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, and olive oil, and garnished with black sesame seeds before being served.

Recipe: Sushi Crab Salad

This tasty sweet-and-sour fried rice calls upon the tropical flavors of shrimp and pineapple to create a colorful, well-balanced entrée that's sure to be a crowd-pleaser. To make it, onions, red bell pepper, and garlic are sautéed with shrimp before rice, peas, and canned pineapple chunks (along with their juice) are added and cooked through. Vegetable broth and some soy sauce lend a savory quality, and best of all, the whole dish takes just 15 minutes to prepare.

Recipe: Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

If you've ever eaten your way around Louisiana, then you're no doubt familiar with gumbo, the deeply flavorful, roux-thickened soup that can feature a range of ingredients from shrimp to sausage to okra. This version, from Ron Iafrate of Chef Ron's Gumbo Shop in Metairie, is as classic as it gets, joining shrimp, crawfish, crab, oysters, and andouille sausage in a flavor-packed broth featuring plenty of Cajun seasoning and other herbs and spices. Served over hot white rice, it will transport you down to the Bayou in no time flat.

Recipe: Sausage & Seafood Gumbo

Sweet and spicy grilled shrimp? Count us in. This easy dish from recipe developer Hayley MacLean features the crustaceans tossed in tasty marinade of jarred chili garlic sauce and honey, briefly grilled until just cooked through, and brushed with a little more sauce before being served with fresh lime wedges. The shrimp come together in just 10 minutes, and would be delicious served with some stir-fried vegetables and hot rice.

Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Grilled Shrimp

Homemade sushi might not always come out resembling the picture-perfect rolls served up by your favorite Japanese spot, but it will certainly be tasty. That's reason enough to ditch the takeout menu, grab your bamboo sushi-rolling mat, and whip up some of these spicy crab salad rolls, made using the imitation crab meat known as surimi. Bound with Sriracha mayo, the surimi is rolled into nori and sushi rice along with black sesame seeds and cucumber sticks, sliced, and served with additional spicy mayo.

Recipe: Spicy Crab Salad Sushi

If you love shrimp scampi and you love spicy, then this fiery take on the classic Italian-American dish is for you. To make it, the shellfish are sautéed in a healthy amount of olive oil and butter along with garlic, dry white wine, and a full teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Finished with a hefty squeeze of lemon and plenty of chopped parsley, the juicy shrimp are then tossed with just-cooked linguine and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Recipe: Spicy Shrimp Scampi

A take on the storied tradition of a New England clam bake — in which seafood and vegetables are actually cooked on hot stones right on the beach — this clam boil is a bit more approachable for the average cook who doesn't, perhaps, live right near a beach. Featuring littleneck clams simmered in an aromatic, beer-spiked broth along with red potatoes, halved ears of corn, and the Portuguese pork sausage linguiça, the rich stew is served ladled into bowls along with chopped scallions, fresh parsley, and lemon wedges.

Recipe: Portuguese New England Clam Boil

Have you ever heard of mofongo? A twist on the African dish fufú, which eventually made its way to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, mofongo utilizes sweet plantains in place of the original pounded yams or cassava root. This version fries the plantains in oil until they're soft and sticky, then mashes them with crumbled bacon, butter, rosemary, and garlic powder. Next, a flavorful sauté of shrimp, tomatoes, and bell peppers is cooked together before being finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon. The bright, vibrant shrimp stew is then served over a portion of the plantain mash, making for a colorful Caribbean dish that pairs perfectly with a simple green salad.

Recipe: Simple Shrimp Mofongo

If you live anywhere outside of Louisiana, it's more than likely that you'll have to make gumbo at home when the craving strikes. But we think you'll love stirring together this simple, flavor-packed version from recipe developer Hayley MacLean, which features okra and shrimp cooked with the Holy Trinity of onions, bell pepper, and celery; thickened with a dark roux; and simmered with diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and plenty of dried herbs and spices. Served over hot rice, this tasty gumbo is sure to transport you.

Recipe: Shrimp and Okra Gumbo