This Creamy Seafood Newburg Soup recipe turns the classic seafood dish into a rich and satisfying soup. Made with shrimp, cod, vegetables, cream, and Old Bay seasoning.
In the late 19th century, a wealthy sea captain named Ben Wenberg brought the idea for a creamy lobster dish to the famous Delmonico restaurant in New York City. They loved it and added it to the menu, where it was eventually named Lobster Newberg. Made with lobster, cream, butter, sherry, eggs, and cayenne pepper, the dish was a hit.
Over time, however, other more affordable and accessible types of seafood replaced the lobster, and the indulgent dish became known as Seafood Newburg (the spelling apparently changed along the way, too). To make the dish, pieces of seafood are cooked in a velvety cream sauce and served over rice, puff pastry, or toast.
My version, seafood newburg soup, adapted from a recipe in Rachel Ray 365: No Repeats, retains all of the flavors of the original dishes. I just add more vegetables and mushrooms, and enough broth and half-and-half that's so rich and buttery that you'll want to slurp it right from the bowl.
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🦐 Ingredients
Key Ingredients
- Shrimp and Cod are an affordable seafood pairing that balances each other well. The shrimp maintains a bit of bite while the cod flakes into the soup.
- Potatoes - Add body and substance to the soup. Whatever variety you have handy is fine.
- Mushrooms add an umami earthiness that boosts the soup's flavor and complements the seafood. I often use crimini, but white mushrooms are good, too.
- Celery, scallions, and onions bring savory vegetable flavors.
- Half and half offers a combination of milk and heavy cream that adds a nice, creamy texture without too much heaviness. Use a fresh, high-quality half-and-half from your local dairy farmer. In Vermont, I most often use Monument Farms.
- Old Bay seasoning is a perfect complement to seafood and it comes from Maryland, where they know something about seafood. It includes a unique combination of paprika, black pepper, celery salt, cayenne, cinnamon, and ginger.
- Sherry contributes a little acidity and sweetness. I consider it the soup's secret ingredient.
🥛Substitutions & Variations
- Make it richer - use heavy cream instead of half-and-half
- Try other seafood - use an equal amount of lobster, clams, scallops, and/or haddock
- Make it gluten-free - replace the flour with 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water
- Add more seafood flavor - try seafood stock in place of the vegetable broth
- For some heat - add ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper with the Old Bay
🥘Instructions
How to make Seafood Newburg Soup:
Prep the vegetables. Peel the potatoes and cut them into ½-inch cubes. Roughly chop the onions, mushrooms, celery, and scallions.
Saute the vegetables in the olive oil and butter until soft with the bay leaf, salt, and Old Bay.
While the vegetables cook, chut the seafood into bite-sized pieces.
Coat the vegetables with flour. Cook for a minute, then deglaze the pan with the wine until absorbed.
Add the broth, potatoes, and seafood to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 12 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Stir in the cream. Cook another couple of minutes until heated through. Remove the bay leaf and serve with toast.
🥣Top Tip
The most critical part of the recipe is towards the end. You want to keep the heat at a steady but gentle boil to avoid overcooking the seafood. Then, you want to ensure the heat is even lower once the half-and-half is added to avoid the chance of curdling.
💭FAQ
Seafood Newburg consists of seafood such as lobster, shrimp, or crab cooked in a creamy sauce made with butter, cream, and egg yolks flavored with sherry or cognac.
The original dish was named Seafood Wenberg after the sea captain who brought the recipe to Delmonico's restaurant in NYC. But the Delmonico brothers and Captain Ben Wenberg had a falling out, and the dish was changed to Lobster Newburg. When other types of seafood replaced the lobster, it became Seafood Newburg.
You can use vermouth instead of sherry or even a splash of brandy.
🍞 Pairing
These recipes would go great with this seafood newburg:
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Seafood Newburg Soup
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: about 6 servings 1x
Description
This Creamy Seafood Newburg Soup recipe turns the classic seafood dish into a rich and satisfying soup. Made with shrimp, cod, vegetables, cream, and Old Bay seasoning.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes
- 3 stalks celery
- 8 ounces white mushrooms
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 scallions
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning, plus more for serving
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 pound cod or other white fish
- 3 tbsp flour
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups half-and-half or cream
- toast, for serving
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables. Peel and chop the potatoes into ½-inch dice. Roughly chop the celery, mushrooms, onion, and scallions.
- Cook the vegetables. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the celery, mushrooms, onion, bay leaf, salt, and Old Bay and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and cooked down.
- Make the soup. While the vegetables are cooking, chop the shrimp and fish into bite-sized pieces. Then, sprinkle the flour over the pan and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for about a minute, then add the sherry and cook for another minute while stirring. Pour in the broth and the potatoes.
- Add the seafood. Cover the pot, turn up the heat, and bring the soup to a simmer. Reduce the heat to a gentle boil and cook for about 6 minutes. Add the seafood and continue to cook another 6-8 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the seafood is cooked through. Stir in the cream and allow it to warm for a few minutes over low heat.
- Serve. Fish out the bay leaf. Pour the soup into bowls and serve topped with scallions, a generous sprinkle of Old Bay, and a piece of toast on the side.
Notes
If you don't like shrimp and cod, you can use an equal amount of whatever seafood you prefer, such as lobster, crab, clams, or another white fish.
For a lighter soup, use all milk. For a richer soup, try all cream. I like to use half and half to balance the two.
Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soups & Stews
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
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Sue says
Delicious and quick prep.
Steve says
Thanks, Sue! Happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Carl says
Thicken with corn starch instead of flour. Blend with cold water.
Martha says
Have had Steve’s and have made my own. Delicious!!
Steve says
Thanks, Martha! Glad you liked it.
Alex says
How necessary is the flour? Could that be left out along with the potato for a low carb variant?
Steve says
Hey Alex. The flour helps to thicken the soup. If you have a favorite low-carb thickener, such as xanthan gum or almond flour, you could try using one of those. I haven't tried using them in soups, so I can't say how much exactly. Or you could just leave it out and have a thinner soup.