Published On: 11.22.20 | 

By: 33629

Easy seafood dishes to try this Thanksgiving

Oysters are versatile. Pictured here are baked oysters. Fried oysters are famous, but they also can make for a tasty dressing ingredient. (Heather Soulen/NOAA Fisheries)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so it’s prime time to start thinking about what you’ll serve. If you’re a seafood lover, try branching out this year. These seafood recipes are delicious and won’t keep you trapped in the kitchen all day.

Whether you try these recipes or stick to your own seafood favorites, remember that seafood harvested in the U.S. is a sustainable choice. U.S. fishermen and farmers operate under some of the most robust and transparent environmental laws in the world.

Appetizers

Start your holiday meal off on the right foot with a delicious seafood starter. These recipes look great and taste even better.

These crab cakes are a terrific appetizer. They’re also quick and easy. (Seafood Nutrition Partnership)

Easy crab cakes

Whether you call them crab cakes or crab croquettes, use leftover mashed potatoes and delicious lump crab for this mouth-watering, easy crab cake appetizer or side. If you don’t have crab on hand, use canned salmon or tuna.

Servings: 3 or 6

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups mashed potatoes
  • 1 (8-ounce) can lump crab meat
  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, gently fold together potatoes and crab. Make 6 croquette disks, shaping them firmly.
  2. Make a breading station by placing in a line the flour on a plate, beaten eggs in a bowl, and a mix of the panko and Parmesan on another plate.
  3. Carefully dredge each croquette disk in flour, then eggs, then coat well with panko-Parmesan mixture.
  4. Heat a skillet to medium-high and add olive oil. Gently add 3 of the croquettes, cooking them until lightly browned on each side. Remove croquettes and place on a paper towel. Drizzle a little more olive oil into the pan and add the final 3 croquettes, browning on each side. Remove and let croquettes slightly cool, then serve.

Annessa Chumbley, RDN

More appetizer recipes

Soups and salads

These tasty dishes will be worth making room for on your Thanksgiving table.

Fresh bluefish vegetable soup. (North Carolina Sea Grant, marinersmenu.org)

Fresh bluefish vegetable soup

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh bluefish skinless fillets, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • ½ cup green onion, chopped, including tops
  • 1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon garlic, pressed
  • 32 ounces chicken broth
  • 1 (14-ounce can) chopped tomatoes, undrained
  • 1½ cups red potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

  1. In large pot, melt butter. Lightly sauté onion, green onion, celery and garlic.
  2. Add broth, tomatoes, potatoes, salt, pepper, thyme and cayenne. Cover and bring to a gentle boil for 20 minutes or until potatoes are almost done.
  3. Lower heat, add fish and simmer until done, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Joyce Taylor

Salad recipes

Main meal and sides

Farmed shellfish sides add more than great taste to your seafood meal. Musselsoysters and other shellfish are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Serving seafood as a main dish is also a good way to add key nutrients and healthy proteins to your meal.

Steamed mussels. (Heather Soulen/NOAA Fisheries)

Steamed mussels

Ingredients

  • 48 mussels in shells (approximately 2 dozen mussels per pound)
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons basil
  • 1 cup white wine

Instructions

  1. Rinse and debeard mussels.
  2. Place parsley, onion, garlic, oregano, basil and wine in a large saucepan. Add mussels.
  3. Cover with a tight lid and steam on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until shells open. Agitate the pan during this time to cook the mussels evenly.

Oregon Sea Grant

Other main dish and sides recipes


Find more recipes for the seafood you love on FishWatch. Want to learn more about seafood but don’t know where to start? FishWatch also arms you with the facts about what makes U.S. seafood sustainable from the ocean or farm to your plate.