A light and fragrant fish stew with bags of flavour!
We’re marinating salmon and haddock in beautiful spices, then frying up with onions, peppers and garlic before finishing off with tomatoes and cream.
A fantastic lighter dinner!

White bowl filled with fish stew in a white surface. There is a spoon sticking out of the bowl.
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Oh I love it when I manage to get a fish dish on the table that everyone enjoys.

Chris generally complains when I tell him I’m cooking fish, and the kids will take it, but I know in their hearts they’re thinking about spag bol or a nice big lasagne.

This fish dish works a treat though. Light, but also just a little bit creamy – with the addition of a good splash of coconut cream. Cooked up together with peppers, chopped tomatoes and plenty of spice and it makes a delicious (and low carb) meal in itself.

📋 What do we need?

Ingredients for fish stew on a white table

I’m like to use salmon and haddock, but you can add in most firm or flaky fleshed types of fish.
See the recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients.

🔪 How to make this fish stew

Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.

  • Chop up the onions, peppers and the fish.
  • Marinade the fish in salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, lime juice, ginger and garlic. You don’t need to marinate any longer than about 20 minutes.
  • Fry up the onions and peppers in a little oil, then add in the fish, along with brown sugar, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and coconut cream.
  • Simmer for about 7-8 minutes, until the fish is cooked through and tender.
  • Serve with fresh coriander and wedges of lime.
8 image collage showing how to make fish stew.

👩‍🍳PRO TIP For even more variety try adding some prawns or even some mussels in there too – yummmmm!!

Close up overhead image of fish stew in a white bowl, topped with fresh coriander.

🍽️ What to serve it with


Is rice served with stew wrong? I can’t help it, I do like my carbs 😉

Overhead image of fish stew in a white bowl, topped with coriander. The bowl is on a light surface. There are chopped limes in shot at the top of the image.

📺 Watch how to make it

🍲 More fantastic stews, soups and casseroles

Still hungry for more?  Why not try one of these stews and soups inspired by different countries around the world:

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5 from 3 votes

Easy Fish Stew

Easy Fish Stew – light, fragrant and full of flavour!
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4 -5 servings
Course: Dinner

Ingredients

  • 500 g (1.1 lbs or approx 4 fillets) mixed skinless and boneless salmon and haddock (or cod/pollack), roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander cilantro
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 thumb-sized piece ginger peeled and minced
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 brown onion
  • 1 red bell pepper deseeded and chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper deseeded and chopped
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 x 400g (1 x 14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree paste for US
  • 120 ml (1/2 cup) coconut cream

To Serve:

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Instructions 

  • Place the fish in a bowl with the salt, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, lime juice, ginger, and garlic. Mix everything together and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
    500 g (1.1 lbs or approx 4 fillets) mixed skinless and boneless salmon and haddock, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp ground coriander, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp paprika, juice of 1 lime, 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, 2 cloves garlic
  • Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions on a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until soft.
    1 tbsp olive oil, 1 brown onion
  • Add in the bell peppers and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
    1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper
  • Add in the fish (including the marinade) along with the brown sugar, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, and coconut cream.
    1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 x 400g (1 x 14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 120 ml (1/2 cup) coconut cream
  • Heat until nearly bubbling (don’t let it boil), then leave to simmer very gently for 7-8 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
  • Serve with boiled rice and topped with fresh coriander.
    fresh coriander, boiled rice

Video

Notes

Nutritional Information is per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 354mg | Potassium: 913mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1230IU | Vitamin C: 98.9mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2.5mg

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

This post was first published in January 2016. Updated August 2021 with new photos and houskeeping.

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

Welcome to Kitchen Sanctuary

Hi, I'm Nicky and I love to cook! I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

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Comments

  1. Daniel Carter says:

    Hi Nicki, I thought i followed the recipe exactly the right but the texture came out far too thick in comparison to how your finished image looked. I’ve messed up somewhere with the coconut cream, how do you prepare it? Do you mix it with water or use coconut milk instead?

    1. Nicky Corbishley says:

      Hi Daniel, did you use regular tinned coconut cream? or was it a block of creamed coconut (creamed coconut is the type you’d usually mix with water first).

  2. Dawn says:

    How is coconut cream different than coconut milk, is it sweetened? I’m in the USA and don’t want to buy the wrong thing. Thanks!

  3. Nick Andrews says:

    Is it really 1 TBSP coriander and just 1/2 teaspoon cumin? Want to try this today

  4. Sadie says:

    5 stars
    This is fabulous 😋
    I picked up some price reduced hot smoked salmon, which I paired with cod and prawns.
    Reduced the sugar by half and added a few chilli flakes, and OMG – served in a bowl with a big hunk of homemade crusty bread…. just Wow!!!
    A big bowl of low calorie deliciousness 🥰