Shrimp and Sausage Stew Recipe (2024)

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October 20, 2020 By Joe Boyle 21 Comments

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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 Creamy 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!

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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

Serving the Shrimp 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-Dollar 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

This is the best tasting stew having tons of flavors complementingeach other and it is so easy to make.

4.45 from 25 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Seafood, Soup, Stew

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: seafood and sausage stew, shrimp and sausage stew recipe, stew

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 399kcal

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

Calories: 399kcal

ARE YOU READY TO MAKE DELICIOUS MEALS FROM FRESH INGREDIENTS?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Reed
February 13, 2024 at 4:55 pm
is there a substitute for white wine?
Reply
- Joe Boyle
  February 13, 2024 at 5:29 pm
  Hi Reed,
  I would just use all chicken broth instead of wine. 4 cups total.
  Joe
  Reply
Kat
October 26, 2022 at 3:23 am

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.
Reply
- Joe
  October 26, 2022 at 11:51 am
  Hi Kat,
  Thank you for the nice comment.
  Joe
  See Also
  Easy Thai Coconut Soup Recipe | Cotter Crunch
  Reply
Kevin Parker
October 12, 2022 at 1:13 pm
Hi, Will this work in a slow cooker on low for 4 to 6 hours and then stir in the shrimp at the end?
Reply
- Joe
  October 12, 2022 at 4:05 pm
  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
  Reply
Alan Howie
October 21, 2020 at 8:33 pm

Surf and Turf Steew! What is better than this? Good to the last bite, or spoon full.
Reply
Kim J.
September 26, 2020 at 8:39 pm

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.
Reply
- Joe
  September 26, 2020 at 10:30 pm
  Glad you liked it Kim…it’s a recipe that I make fairly often.
  Reply
Julia
September 15, 2019 at 10:03 pm

This turned out so well and my guests just raved over it. Thanks for the recipe.
Reply
- Joe
  September 15, 2019 at 11:12 pm
  That’s great Julia. Thanks for the comment and I’m glad you tried it and liked it.
  Reply
Kim
June 21, 2019 at 9:43 pm

Delicious! I always double the recipe for leftovers!
Reply
- Joe
  June 21, 2019 at 11:22 pm
  Thanks Kim. I know….right? Glad you found the recipe on my site.
  Reply
Anthony
January 10, 2019 at 5:41 pm

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.
Reply
- Joe
  January 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm
  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.
  Reply
Rick
October 22, 2018 at 8:28 am
Oh yes….. Giada !!! Pleasing to watch her cook.
Reply
Bob
October 2, 2018 at 11:16 am

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.
Reply
- Joe
  October 2, 2018 at 11:25 am
  Thanks for trying the recipe and the nice comment Bob.
  Reply
Lakeshia Winchester
February 15, 2016 at 5:11 pm

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.
Reply
MaryJo
October 13, 2015 at 10:23 pm

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.
Reply
- Joe
  October 13, 2015 at 10:41 pm
  Next time we’ll make a double recipe!
  Reply