Eat more fish- that’s one of my biggest healthy eating goals for 2018. Packed with omega-3 fatty acids and lean protein, fish and seafood is a staple of the Mediterranean diet. This Instant Pot Fish Stew is a perfect way to incorporate more fish into your diet! And it only takes 20 minutes to make start to finish in your pressure cooker (but you can make it on your stovetop or slow cooker too!).
I used sea bass to make this. It’s a relatively inexpensive fish, it’s mild tasting, sturdy, and usually wild caught. And it’s easy to find in the freezer section of your grocery store. You can use any other firm white fish, such as cod or halibut, or even tilapia, if you want.
The thing I love about this stew is the fish stars as the main ingredient. It’s bulked up a bit with some potatoes and tomatoes, and flavored simply with fresh lemon juice, fresh dill, and extra-virgin olive oil, with just a pinch of red pepper for spice.
I cut my fish into large pieces- about 2 inches each. This ensured it wouldn’t vanish into the soup. Instead, it was easy to get big, satisfying bites of the sea bass. It also ensured it didn’t overcook.
The fish takes almost no time to cook- only 5 minutes in the simmering stew. In fact, you don’t pressure cook the fish at all in this recipe. Instead, the pressure cooker is used to cook the broth with the potatoes, tomatoes, clam juice, wine, onions, garlic, and red pepper, creating a super flavorful base for the stew with perfectly cooked potatoes. Then, after it’s done pressure cooking, the fish is poached gently for only 5 minutes in the hot broth, leaving it perfectly flaky and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
This Instant Pot Fish Stew is perfect all year round. It’s warm and cozy for the winter (unlike many other fish dishes), but light and bright for the summer (not to mention using an Instant Pot won’t heat up your kitchen!). In the summer, I’ll use fresh tomatoes for this, but I just used canned this time around.
When looking for recipe inspiration, I came across so many similar version of fish stew from all over the Mediterranean- Greece (called Kakavia), Sicily, Provence, etc. Some incorporated many different kinds of seafood (cuttlefish, shellfish, etc.), some used different herbs and spices (like oregano or basil). This is a mash-up from a bunch of different recipes I came across with some of my favorite flavors (dill is my jam), and, in true Bowl of Delicious style, made to be simple and easy to cook up on a busy weeknight.
Don’t have an Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker)? No problem- there are instructions below for making this in your slow cooker or on your stovetop. An Instant Pot makes this recipe super quick and easy- the potatoes only need 5 minutes of cooking time total, whereas on the stovetop they take about 20. I highly recommend getting one if you are a generally “busy” person- your cooking time is cut in half for so many things!
Other Pressure Cooker Soups and Stews
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
- Pressure Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup
- Instant Pot Chili with Ground Beef and Kidney Beans
Check out all my Instant Pot Recipes here!
Here’s an awesome Dutch Oven Crusty Bread recipe to pair with this stew. You may also like this New England Fish Chowder, my dad’s famous, authentic recipe!
Here’s the recipe for Instant Pot Fish Stew. Enjoy!
Instant Pot Fish Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 medium red onion quartered and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
- 8 oz. bottled clam juice (see notes)
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 lb. red or gold potatoes diced
- 15 oz. canned diced tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes, with their juices
- kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
- pinch crushed red pepper or to taste
- 2 lbs. sea bass cut into roughly 2" pieces (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice from about 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
Instructions
- Use the "sauté" function on your instant pot or pressure cooker to cook the onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, until browned and softened (about 3 minutes).
- Add the chopped garlic (4 cloves). Sauté until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Add the white wine (1/2 cup) to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until about half the wine has evaporated (about 1 minute).
- Add the clam juice, water (2.5 cups), potatoes, canned diced tomatoes, plenty of salt and pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper.
- Turn the “sauté” function off, cover and seal your Instant pot, and set manual pressure to “high” for 5 minutes.
- Once your pressure cooker is done, quick release the pressure until the float valve is depressed.
- Open the instant pot and turn the “sauté” function back on. Once soup is simmering (which shouldn’t take long since it’s piping hot already), add the fish pieces and simmer for about 5 minutes, until fish is just cooked and flakes apart easily.
- Turn off "sauté" function and stir in the lemon juice (2 tablespoons) and fresh dill (2 tablespoons), along with the remaining 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve immediately, with a good crusty bread if desired.
Notes
- Feel free to use another firm, white fish, such as cod, monkfish, or halibut, instead of sea bass.
- Stovetop Instructions: To make this on the stovetop, sauté onion and garlic, deglaze with wine, and add clam juice, tomatoes, seasoning, and potatoes as instructed in a large pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Uncover and add fish, continue simmering for 5 minutes or until fish is just cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, oil, and parsley. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve.
- Slow Cooker Instructions: To make this in your slow cooker, add all ingredients except for fish, lemon juice, dill, and 2 tablespoons oil. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours, until potatoes are tender. Add fish in the last 20 minutes of cooking. Turn off heat and stir in dill, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil just before serving, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Clam Juice Substitution: If you have a shellfish allergy, you can replace the clam juice with shellfish free fish stock, or just add another cup of water to the recipe as a replacement.
- I made this recipe in my 6 qt. Instant pot. It should work the same in an 8 qt., but you may need to cut the ingredients in half for a 3 qt. mini.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Barb
If I am using frozen cod filets and making this in an Instant Pot, do I need to adjust the time in step 7?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I haven’t tried this with frozen cod filets. Personally, I always prefer using fully defrosted fish for almost any recipe, as it can cook unevenly, overcooking the outside by the time the inside has thawed and cooked fully. I recommend making sure the fish is fully defrosted before cooking. However, if you give this a try with frozen, I’d love to know how it turns out for you!
Pat Corrin
absolutely delicious, I used veggie broth instead of water and clam juice, also added celery and carrots…..amazing…even better the day after…
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Peter Norman
Although I am a certified plant-based cook, I don’t personally eat that way so whenever I want something special, I go Google hunting. I had lobster stock made after treating a couple of close friends and thought maybe a fish stew of some sort would be a great use for it. Happened across your recipe and emptied my freezer of leftover shrimp, scallops and cod fillets. It was excellent and it lends itself to innovation as all the comment attest. So, tomorrow I’ll add coconut milk and curry, a little more potato for body and enjoy a whole new taste experience. Thanks so much!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Isabel
Easy and delicious. Likely to become one of our regular family dishes.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Julie Graham
Made only two changes: fresh thyme from the garden (1 Tbs. during the pressure cooker segment, 1 Tbs. for the simmering segment) AND I had some hempler bacon (which is smokey, like Neuskies) so cut up three pieces to sautè with the onions. Man this is good. Brava to you, perfect recipe and a keeper forever!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Patrick
I’m not a big fan of dill so I used thyme instead and substituted 1 can of coconut milk for water. Thyme and coconut milk go so well together. Excellent dish that I will add to my rotation.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Bruce D
First time making this soup. I used fish sauce instead of clam juice for allergies and used frozen cod. I put in 1.0 lb of red potatoes and the family loves it. I will make this again. Great Ninja Foodi recipe
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jodie Tanino
I can usually read a recipe and tell if it’s for me. Yours did that. Not too complicated. Nice balance of ingredients and good reviews. I used a red zin because I had a bottle opened! Used cod salmon and shrimp and added a couple bay leaves just because. Smells divine cooking and can’t wait to sit down later for dinner. Thinking of adding lemon juice later before serving. And dill.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hope it turned out well for you! I agree about the simplicity of this recipe – my kind of food to cook!
Robert Marshall
This was GREAT!!
I used the recipe as a “let’s use up some stuff in the fridge” recipe. Instead of onion I used a small leek and shallot. Instead of water and clam juice I used a tetra pack of Seafood Stock. I have Meyer Lemons in my yard so they’re not as sour as the normal ones. My pinch of red pepper flakes was more like a 1/2 tsp. I used Gewurtztraminer instead of Pinot Grigio because that’s my favorite wine, and it was on sale. And I had three different types of fish (tilapia, Rock Fish and something else I can remember).
Turned out as great as I hoped, and I’ll definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing!!
It turne
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing your modifications – everything sounds delicious!
Santi
Substituted coconut milk for the clam juice and added a quarter cup of sweet white miso paste. The dill and miso play well off each other.
Great recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh wow, love those substitutions! Thanks for sharing and glad you liked it!
Robert Marshall
Sounds like it made a bit of a Southeast Asia flavor profile! Going to have to remember that!
Jerry
It was a little bland but good comfort food. Adding smoked paprika and french green beans made it great.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Love the idea of adding smoked paprika and green beans!
Britt W
Wow! A really great recipe, much thanks! I made just a few changes based on what I had available and preferences: First off, I love seafood with bacon, so instead of olive oil, I diced up a couple strips of premium bacon, then sautéed the onions in the drippings. I had no clam juice, so I increased the white wine a bit and used stock instead of water. For the fish, I had some high quality IQF portions of Pacific Cod, Halibut, and Pollock available, as well as some raw shrimp. I used fresh thyme instead of dill, since that was available in my herb garden. Otherwise, I used my Ninja Foodi vs an Instant Pot. Delightful & decadent! I can’t even wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow once the flavors are even more developed! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe! I will certainly make it again & again!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yum, I love the idea of using bacon in this! So glad you liked it :-)
paul utah
I’ve cooked fish stew but never in an instant pot. Instead of the clam juice i used vegetable stock and at the end added shrimp and scallops. everything was great. I liked cooking on the instant pot because it’s faster and the stove top would heat up my kitchen. Not so much with the instant pot. Thanks for the recipe. The dill made it extra tasty too plus i added 1/2 stick of butter too!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Ooo I love the idea of using shellfish and adding butter! So glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing your modifications :-)