Shrimp and Italian sausage stew recipe is one of my favorites. When I want to impress someone with a ‘SPECIAL DINNER’, I usually make this dish ,or I make my Super Tasty Tomato Bisque. THE BEST homemade soups and stews are the ones that knock your socks off with flavor. That’s why you make them, right? They scream, HELLO YUMMY!
Making shrimp and sausage stew
This Special, gourmet-style dinner will only take about 40 minutes to make, start to finish. The ingredients are common except for the fennel bulb and possibly the hot Italian sausage. And it’s these two items that help to bring all the delicious flavors together.
Fennel bulb is like celery on steroids. It has the same texture as celery but imparts a sweet, anise flavor that really brightens up the taste. It might be hard to find in certain places but Whole Foods, larger supermarkets, and farmer’s markets should have some.
In a pinch, you could substitute 2 stalks of celery for the fennel, then add 1 teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds. Add the fennel seeds to the sauté pan along with the celery and reduce the softening time to 5 or 6 minutes.
Hot Italian sausage should be available in most places. If not, you can add ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper to mild Italian sausage. The key is to have a slight spiciness to the meat and that gives the dish an extra punch.
Once the sausage is browned, take a taste. It should have a bit of a tingle down the back of your throat.
Shrimp and sausage soup
Additional tips to make this tasty stew
- Use large shrimp, like 25 shrimp per pound size. You may find frozen, tail-on, peeled, and deveined shrimp. Just thaw and remove the tail. If your shrimp is in the shell, peel off the shell and tail. Then use a small sharp knife to cut into the back of the shrimp, (about ¼” deep), and remove any dark strands. I usually do this over some cold running water.
- This recipe calls for fresh herbs; basil and thyme. For the perfect flavor, fresh herbs are a must.
- When you add the shrimp to the stew at the very end, in 3 to 4 minutes they will be cooked through. Any longer and the shrimp will start to get rubbery. Serve the stew right away.
Seafood and sausage stew
Have some good, crusty bread with the stew so you can soak up all the flavor from the broth.
Soup with shrimp and sausage
A cold, crisp wine like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio pairs nicely. Ice water with some lemon is a good choice too.
So the next time you want a special dinner for family or friends, make some shrimp and Italian sausage stew. You will think that you’re in a high buck restaurant…but you made it yourself.
And be sure to check out these tasty recipes:
- Cranberry and Orange Glazed Sweet Potatoes
- Burnt Red Onion Jam
- Grilled Caprese Salad Sandwich
- Irish Colcannon
- Classic Crab Louie
- Tender Beef Tips and Egg Noodles
Shrimp and Sausage Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large fennel bulb , trimmed and chopped (about 2 cups in 1/2-inch pieces)
- 4 cloves garlic , rough chopped
- 2 small shallots , minced
- 12 ounces bulk hot Italian sausage
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound large shrimp (21-30/pound), peeled and deveined
- 2 cups white beans , rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup fresh basil , chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy pan.
- Add the fennel, garlic, and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add the sausage and break it up with the spoon. Cook until the sausage is brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add the wine and use the spoon to get up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chicken broth, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Uncover the pan and add the shrimp, beans, basil, and thyme.
- Simmer, uncovered, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
- Season to taste with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
Notes
- 2 stalks of celery can be substituted for the fennel. Just add 1 teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds to the pan when you start to soften the onion and celery. Reduce the softening time to 5 or 6 minutes.
- Mild Italian sausage can be used, but add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for the heat which makes this taste so good.
- Recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
Nutrition
Here’s a couple more popular recipes to try
Shrimp with penne and vodka sauce
Copycat Bonefish Grill bang bang shrimp
This soup is amazing! The flavors come together nicely. The first time I made it using sweet Italian sausage and it did not disappoint. It was definitely a hit at my house.
Hi Kat,
Thank you for the nice comment.
Joe
Hi, Will this work in a slow cooker on low for 4 to 6 hours and then stir in the shrimp at the end?
Hi Kevin,
Good question. I have never used a slow cooker for raw ground meat before and don’t know how that would work. I would suggest that you brown the Italian sausage before adding it to the slow cooker. Other than that it would probably work in a slow cooker and for sure add the shrimp at the very end. Check the shrimp for doneness every couple of minutes to make sure that they are just cooked through and pink/coral colored.
Thanks for asking and let us know how it worked for you.
Joe
Surf and Turf Steew! What is better than this? Good to the last bite, or spoon full.
Just ran into this and made it tonight. Awesome good. I wasn’t into gumbo and I like a thinner stew anyway. Flavorful and I had shrimp and sausage in the freezer. Perfect with a warmed up crispy baguette! Thanks Joe.
Glad you liked it Kim…it’s a recipe that I make fairly often.
This turned out so well and my guests just raved over it. Thanks for the recipe.
That’s great Julia. Thanks for the comment and I’m glad you tried it and liked it.
Delicious! I always double the recipe for leftovers!
Thanks Kim. I know….right? Glad you found the recipe on my site.
The broth Is to die for! . I followed the recipie exactly as written, and use a very good bottle of wine. Perfect!!!!
Thank you Joe.
Thanks Anthony…Shrimp and Sausage Stew is my go to recipe when I want something really good. Mary Jo and I have it at least once a month.
Oh yes….. Giada !!! Pleasing to watch her cook.
I saved this pin several weeks ago because it looked so good. I made the stew last weekend. Simply, it’s a keeper. Easy to make… easier to enjoy. Heat from the Italian sausage was perfect spice. Never used fennel before, enjoyed that. Added a little more sausage because I bought a lb. Other than that I followed the recipe. Leftovers were just as good one day or two days later. Make it for your family and friends…. they’ll think you’re a gourmet cook. And, you will be.
Thanks for trying the recipe and the nice comment Bob.
I love this soup! I stumbled across your website on pintrest and spent most of the weekend finding recipes to try! Please keep doing what your doing. Even my picky husband couldn’t stop dipping in the soup pot.
Although I knew that I was going to like the stew, I was surprised at how much I love it! The flavors are so spot on and I’m sure that–had there been any leftovers–it would have been even better the next day.
Next time we’ll make a double recipe!