Oyster Stew Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Southern Chicken and Dumplings
Here’s my Grandmother’s Oyster Stew Recipe. Hope you like it as much my Granddaddy and I always have.
Oyster Stew Recipe
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I’m going to use this oysters stew recipe for Christmas. I have never used onion before, what is schooled celery?
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. ๐
Have a great Christmas!
Go vegan! Substitute butter for olive oil and use unsweetened unflavored almond milk insteadย
Love oyster stew always have but never made it gonna try this recipe out… How much does this recipe make..
Love Oyster stew ,..this recipe is good but I like to schooled celery as well. YUM!!
Love Oyster stew ,..this recipe is good but I like to schooled celery as well. YUM!!
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
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
why would the milk curdle and ruin the stew when i put in the oysters?
Hi Ron,
There is an enzyme in fresh oysters that causes curdling if temperature too high. Hope you enjoy it!
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.
This recipe is the best!ย
DELICIOUS !!