30 Minute Spicy Red Fish Stew

30 Minute Spicy Red Fish Stew is quick and delicious for a work-night dinner, and this delicious fish stew is low-carb and gluten-free. And fish cooks quickly, so despite the word stew in the title, this is a tasty low-carb dinner that’s ready in less than 30 minutes!

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In my bedroom I used to have a cabinet with a huge collection of food magazines going back about 20 years, mostly Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and Fine Cooking, with some assorted issues of other publications. The magazines were arranged by month, and when a new month started, I would look at the past issues for that time of year to see what the magazines were featuring. And one day when I was looking through magazines this Spicy Red Fish Stew from Bon Appetit jumped out at me.

We all should be eating more fish and there are plenty of Seafood Recipes on this blog, but my usual fish dinners are nothing like this stew where onions, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers simmer with garlic and red pepper flakes and then chunks of white fish are added to cook for just a few minutes and flavor the stew. And wow! This was absolutely delicious.

The original recipe had freshly-roasted red bell peppers, but I made it a bit easier and quicker by using roasted red peppers from a jar, and this was spicy and delicious, and it made a lovely quick dinner on a chilly night. I hope all the fish lovers will try it!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• red onion
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Roasted Red Peppers in a jar (affiliate link)
• canned diced tomatoes
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• red pepper flakes
• fresh cilantro (optional)
• fresh lemon zest
• fresh lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• cod, or other white fish; see notes
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

What kind of fish did I use for the Red Fish Stew?

I used small pieces of cod for the fish in my stew, but you could use any firm white fish like Halibut, Snapper, Catfish, Barramundi, Cod, or Haddock.

How spicy is the Red Fish Stew?

This recipe only has a small amount of red pepper flakes for a little bit of spicy flavor. (I used spicy Aleppo Pepper (affiliate link), but any type of red pepper flakes would work.) You can make it more spicy if you prefer, or skip the red pepper completely.

Want more tasty ideas for low-carb stew?

You can use 16 Low-Carb and Keto Stew Recipes to find more ideas like this one.

How to Make 30 Minute Spicy Red Fish Stew:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Saute the red onion or shallots in olive oil until they’re soft and starting to brown.
2. Add diced Roasted Red Peppers in a jar, canned diced tomatoes with juice, finely chopped fresh garlic, and red pepper flakes, and simmer 10 minutes. 
3. While the pepper-tomato mixture simmers, zest a lemon and chop the cilantro.
4. Cut the fish into pieces about 1 inch square, and blot dry with paper towel if needed.
5. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and some of the chopped cilantro to the mixture in the pan.
6. Then add the fish pieces and stir just enough so the fish is gently combined in the mixture.
7. Let stew simmer about 5-7 minutes after you add the fish, just long enough for fish pieces to start to look opaque and until you can see a small amount of liquid from the fish being released into the stew mixture.
8. Serve hot, with additional chopped cilantro if desired.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

This would be delicious with Cauliflower Rice with Basil, Parmesan, and Pine Nuts or Olive Bread for a low-carb meal.

More Tasty Recipes for Fish:

• Spicy Baked Shrimp
• Parmesan Crusted Fish
• Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers

Continue to Content

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Yield: 4 servings

30 Minute Spicy Red Fish Stew

Prep Time 12 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

Total Time 29 minutes

This 30 Minute Spicy Red Fish Stew is quick and delicious for a work-night dinner. And this tasty recipe only has about 9 net carbs per serving.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 12 oz. jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 tsp. finely minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes  (see notes)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (plus more for garnish if desired)
• 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon zest
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 lb. cod, halibut, or tilapia fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. For best results with this recipe, use a small frying pan with high sides so the fish pieces will be surrounded by liquid when you add them. I used an 8 inch pan.
2. Heat olive oil in small frying pan, add chopped red onion or shallot and saute over medium heat about 3-4 minutes, until onions are soft and starting to brown.
3. Add chopped red bell peppers, diced tomatoes with juice, finely minced fresh garlic, and red pepper flakes.
4. Let mixture simmer 10 minutes over medium-low heat, until garlic is cooked and flavors are well-blended.
5. While stew mixture simmers, zest and juice the lemon, and chop the cilantro.
6. Cut fish fillets into 1 inch pieces and blot dry with paper towel if needed.
7. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup chopped cilantro to stew mixture, then add fish pieces and gently stir to combine.
8. Let stew simmer 5-7 minutes or until fish is barely turning opaque and some liquid from the fish is being released into the stew.
9. Stir again, season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve hot, with additional chopped cilantro for garnish if desired.

Notes

I used Aleppo Pepper (affiliate link); use more if you like it spicy. You can use shallots instead of red onion if you prefer.

This recipe adapted from Spicy Red Fish Stew by Meriel McDonald for Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2004.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 230Total Fat 7.3gSaturated Fat 1.1gUnsaturated Fat 5.6gCholesterol 107mgSodium 258mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 3.5gSugar 7.8gProtein 29g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Spicy Red Fish Stew is a great low-carb dinners idea with red bell peppers, tomatoes, and fish, and it’s a perfect main dish for any phase of the South Beach Diet or most low-carb eating plans. The stew does have some carbs from the tomatoes but it only has about 9 net carbs per serving.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup and Stew Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe
Spicy Red Fish Stew was first posted in 2010. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2024.

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