Spicy Tomato Seafood Soup 🍅🦐🔥 Bold, Brothy, and Briny With a Fiery Kick and Mediterranean Depth

This soup is a power move — it’s not a creamy chowder or a refined bisque, but a fiery, rustic tomato broth bursting with garlic, herbs, spice, and ocean flavor. It’s light enough to ladle out generously, but rich in complexity thanks to wine, chili, and the brine of mixed seafood.

It’s what you want on a cool night with warm bread and a cold drink — brothy, spicy, and spoon-after-spoon addictive.

Ingredients (Serves 3–4)

For the base

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• ½ tsp chili flakes (more to taste)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 3 cups seafood stock or chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
  
  Seafood (about 1–1½ lbs total)
• ½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ lb squid rings or scallops
• Optional: 6–8 mussels or clams, scrubbed
• Optional: ½ cup white fish chunks (cod, haddock, halibut)

To finish

• Juice of ½ lemon
• Chopped parsley or basil
• Optional: chili oil, extra chili flakes, crusty bread

Instructions

Step 1: Sauté the Base
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add onion and cook 5 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic, chili flakes, paprika, and tomato paste. Cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant and slightly darkened.

Step 2: Add Wine and Tomatoes
Pour in white wine and simmer 2–3 minutes to reduce. Add crushed tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to deepen flavor.

Step 3: Add Seafood
Add seafood in stages: start with squid or fish (2–3 minutes), then add shrimp and mussels. Simmer gently just until shrimp are opaque and mussels open (discard any that don’t). Avoid overcooking.

Step 4: Finish and Serve
Remove bay leaf. Stir in lemon juice and chopped herbs. Taste and adjust heat and salt. Ladle into bowls and drizzle with chili oil if desired. Serve with toasted bread or garlic croutons.

Flavor Variations

• Add diced fennel or celery at the start for extra base flavor
• Use clam juice or anchovy paste for a deeper seafood backbone
• Try saffron, orange zest, or a pinch of cumin for Moroccan vibes
• Use fregola, orzo, or rice for a more filling stew version

Pro Tips

• Use a mix of seafood for texture contrast — shrimp, squid, and fish work beautifully
• Sear shrimp and squid first for deeper flavor, then add back at the end
• Tomato paste and wine should be cooked down to avoid sharpness
• Avoid boiling seafood — gentle heat keeps it tender
• Leftovers get even better the next day, especially with a splash of extra broth

Final Thoughts

Spicy Tomato Seafood Soup is rustic, bold, and brimming with layered flavor. It’s the kind of dish that tastes like it’s been simmering on a seaside stove for hours — even if you threw it together in 40 minutes.

Sauté. Simmer. Savor the heat. 🍅🦐🔥

🦐 More Coastal Seafood Recipes

From cozy casseroles to zesty grilled fish and elegant seafood pastas, this collection of Seafood Recipes covers every ocean-inspired craving — whether you’re planning a dinner party or a quick weeknight win.

🐟 Classic Seafood Dish Recipes – Think pan-seared salmon with lemon dill and timeless coastal favorites.
🦞 Delicious Seafood Boil Recipes – Spicy, saucy boils packed with crab, shrimp, and corn. The ultimate feast.
🍝 Seafood Pasta Recipes – Elegant and indulgent, like shrimp linguine in a white wine sauce.
🍤 Shrimp Recipes – Versatile, fast, and flavor-packed; smoky grills to sizzling stir-fries
🐟 Salmon Recipes – Baking & grilling to bowls, pastas, and more — healthy, flavorful, and easy to make/
🦞 Seafood Casseroles – Bubbly, Buttery & Oven-Ready. Comfort food meets coastal flavor.
🥣 Flavorful Seafood Soups – Rich chowders, bisques, and broth-based favorites.
🍽️ Easy Seafood Dinner Recipes – Quick, delicious, easy recipes bring bold flavor with minimal prep and cleanup
🥗 Healthy Seafood Recipes – Light, fresh & packed with protein and omega-3s with bright, satisfying flavor
🍚 Risotto Recipes with Seafood – Creamy, silky rice dishes meet the richness of the sea.
🌊 Seafood Stews – Mediterranean, Latin to classic American, hearty stews with satisfying depth in your bowl.
🍝🧀 Seafood Lasagna – Lasagna meets the sea in these rich and satisfying delicious twist classic bakes.