10 Fish Soup Recipes, From Chowder and Bouillabaisse to Laksa

Overhead view of soup on a pink, titled background — Serious Eats / Vy Tran

The end of soup season may be looming, so we're stocking up on as much of the good stuff as we can. One of our favorite genres of soup is the fish variety. Incorporating fish into soup introduces a powerhouse of flavor that can range from salty to sour. While some of the soups on this list are served for special occasions, many others are simpler affairs that come together in less than an hour. Whether you're looking for a weeknight win or a seafood showstopper, you're sure to find a fish soup recipe on this list that you'll love.

Salmon Head Soup

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

This rich, creamy soup is studded with tender salmon head morsels and flavored with dill.

Salmon Head Soup
Cioppino (San Francisco Seafood Stew)

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

A rich seafood stock ensures this cioppino is full of flavor. Carefully sequencing the poaching of each type of seafood in the broth leads to a perfectly cooked result.

Cioppino (San Francisco Seafood Stew)
Chupín de Pescado (Argentine Fish and Tomato Stew)

Serious Eats / Kevin Vaughn

A rustic stew whipped up by Argentine fishermen and home cooks, chupín is packed with meaty pieces of fish, tender potatoes, and lots of vegetables.

Chupín de Pescado (Argentine Fish and Tomato Stew)
Canh Chua Cá Thì Là (Vietnamese Fish Soup With Tomato and Dill)

Serious Eats / Vy Tran

Light, delicate, and refreshing, this Northern Vietnamese soup combines fresh fish with a pleasantly tart tomato and dill broth.

Canh Chua Cá Thì Là (Vietnamese Fish Soup With Tomato and Dill)

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Tom Yam Pla (Thai Spicy and Sour Soup with Fish)

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This fish version of tom yam is sour, spicy, and salty, with aromatic notes of lemongrass and makrut lime leaves.

Tom Yam Pla (Thai Spicy and Sour Soup with Fish)
Cullen Skink (Scottish Smoked Fish Chowder)

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This creamy Scottish chowder is loaded with smoked haddock, potatoes, and sweet onions, but its simplicity belies its incredible depth of flavor.

Cullen Skink (Scottish Smoked Fish Chowder)
Easy, Creamy One-Pot Salmon Chowder

Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

This chowder leverages salt pork and bottled clam juice for full-flavored results in under an hour.

Easy, Creamy One-Pot Salmon Chowder
Real Bouillabaisse (Bouillabaisse Marseillaise)

Serious Eats / Liz Clayman

This bouillabaisse recipe will allow you to make a fish stew that's faithful to the classic Provençal version, no matter where you live.

Real Bouillabaisse (Bouillabaisse Marseillaise)

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Asam Laksa (Spicy and Sour Noodle Soup)

Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

This hot and sour fish soup, a specialty of Penang, is served with thick rice noodles and various aromatic herbs. The soup's sour flavor comes from asam gelugur, a type of dried Malaysian fruit, but dried kokum or tamarind concentrate can be substituted.

Asam Laksa (Spicy and Sour Noodle Soup)
Spicy Korean Seafood Soup

Serious Eats / Chichi Wang

Studded with shrimp, tofu, enoki mushrooms, daikon, and thick chunks of white fish, this soup draws its spiciniess from both gochujang and gochugaru. Anchovy stock adds extra savoriness to the broth.

Spicy Korean Seafood Soup

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