Oyster Stew Recipe

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4.99 from 55 votes
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This delicious fresh Oyster Stew recipe is full of flavor and an easy recipe to make! It’s a family favorite that is ready in minutes!

Oyster Stew Recipe with oysters ladled into a spoon from a blue bowl

This oyster stew recipe is a family classic. My granddaddy loved it more than any other dish on a cold winter day.

I always looked forward to the days my grandmother would make her recipe because it was a favorite of mine, too. I would watch as she prepared the stew. She always made cooking look so easy! And this oyster stew is definitely a simple recipe my family has enjoyed for years.

Oyster Stew Recipe

This recipe makes the best oyster stew I’ve ever had. And I love that this is so easy to make on any cold night when the craving hits! There’s nothing like the deliciously rich seafood flavor of the oysters and the creaminess of the onions and milk from this stew! It is so comforting, satisfying and is ready in minutes.

Oyster Stew Recipe | ยฉaddapinch.com

The best oysters for this oyster stew are fresh. As in, the fresher, the better. But, if I have a craving for this stew and am nowhere near fresh oysters, I have found that the seafood section of my grocery store usually has a very good selection of oysters that work perfectly.

How to Make Fresh Oyster Stew

Ingredients

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

  • fresh oysters – pint packed in their juice
  • butter
  • yellow onion – chopped
  • whole milk
  • half-and-half
  • salt and pepper – use to taste

Step by Step Instructions

Prep. Drain juice from the pint of fresh oysters into a small bowl and set aside for later use. Do not discard the juice, or “oyster liquor”.

Melt butter. Add butter to a large saucepan and melt over medium-low heat until completely melted.

Cook onion. Add chopped onions to melted butter and cook until translucent and tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Cook liquids. Stir in your reserved juices, or oyster liquor, and cook until reduced mostly reduced, about 10 minutes. Then add in the milk and half-and-half and heat to simmer. Do not let the liquids reach a boil as this will cause your milk to curdle.

Add oysters. Now stir in the fresh oysters and allow to simmer until the edges of the oysters begin to curl, about 8 minutes.

Remove from heat. Once edges of oysters have started to curl, removed the oyster stew from the heat. Allow to cool slightly.

Season and serve. Then, stir in salt and pepper to taste and serve with crackers.

Oyster Stew Recipe | ยฉaddapinch.com

Other Favorite Stews and Soups

There’s nothing like a delicious soup or stew when you want a comfort food, especially on a chilly day! Here are a few more of our family favorites you may want to try as well.

Grandmother’s Potato Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

Classic Chili

Southern Chicken and Dumplings

Beef Stew

Here’s my Grandmother’s Oyster Stew Recipe. Hope you like it as much my Granddaddy and I always have.

Oyster Stew Recipe

4.99 from 55 votes
This Oyster Stew Recipe is full of delicious seafood flavor. Get this family favorite oyster stew recipe you are sure to love.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 pint oysters,, fresh, packed in their juice
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 sweet onion, chopped
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions 

  • Drain juice from oysters into small bowl. Set aside.
  • Add butter to large saucepan. Heat on medium-low heat until melted.
  • Add chopped onions and cook until translucent and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Add oyster liquor and cook until mostly reduced, about 10 minutes.
  • Stir in milk and half-and-half and heat to simmer. Do not allow to boil as it will cause your milk to curdle. 
  • Add oysters and continue on simmer until outer edges of oysters curl, about 8 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly, and add salt and black pepper, to taste.
  • Serve with mini saltines or oyster crackers.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 191mg | Potassium: 474mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 779IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 316mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

4.99 from 55 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Review




183 Comments

  1. Eldon Nelson says:

    I’m going to use this oysters stew recipe for Christmas. I have never used onion before, what is schooled celery?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      I hope you enjoy the oyster stew, Eldon!
      As far as the “schooled celery” I am not sure, except I did see a reader comment where she used that term. I think she must have made a typo. ๐Ÿ™‚
      Have a great Christmas!

  2. jeff dunap says:

    Go vegan! Substitute butter for olive oil and use unsweetened unflavored almond milk insteadย 

  3. Casey Bushaw says:

    Love oyster stew always have but never made it gonna try this recipe out… How much does this recipe make..

  4. Patsy says:

    Love Oyster stew ,..this recipe is good but I like to schooled celery as well. YUM!!

  5. Pasty J. says:

    Love Oyster stew ,..this recipe is good but I like to schooled celery as well. YUM!!

  6. Laurea says:

    5 stars
    Thank you SO much for this recipe, Robyn!! I grew up in the South (where I still live) and my mom died unexpectedly and suddenly when I was just 18. So I never got to really learn all of her recipes from her directly. But I have memories of helping cook her oyster stew and this sounds exactly like her recipe. God bless you for sharing not only a delicious recipe, but for also rekindling great childhood memories for so many of us!ย 

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      This is such a touching comment, Laurea. I am so glad that this brought up good childhood memories for you. Thank you for telling me how much you enjoyed this. I’m happy to have you here – I hope you find more recipes here that you like as well. xo

  7. ron says:

    why would the milk curdle and ruin the stew when i put in the oysters?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Hi Ron,
      There is an enzyme in fresh oysters that causes curdling if temperature too high. Hope you enjoy it!

  8. Marvin Hodge says:

    I just made half of this recipe and devoured it! However, I did tweek it abit.

    I used ghee instead oif butter and all Half & Half instead of milk since I didn’t have any and I enjoy the extra richness.

    When the oyster water was about 1/2 reduced I added the oysters to let them cook before adding the half & half to simmer.

    In addition to salt and pepper I added celery seedsand paprika, raised the broth to simmer and enjoyed.

  9. Doug says:

    5 stars
    This recipe is the best!ย 

  10. Teresa Vanderpool says:

    5 stars
    DELICIOUS !!