If there is a day to splurge and go off your regular diet, it's the holidays. Thanksgiving doesn’t normally include dishes with seafood, but seafood brings something unexpected to the table that’s still festive, American, and something to be grateful for.
Stuffing
One of the more traditional ways to incorporate seafood into Thanksgiving is through the stuffing. Adding seafood to stuffing aka dressing, is quite common in Southern recipes.
New Orleans Oyster Dressing
The traditional stuffing to serve in New Orleans has oysters with recipes dating back hundreds of years. Due to the shellfish industry that flourished in the nearby Gulf of Mexico, oysters are plentiful in this region of the country.
This recipe uses fresh oysters that are cooked with andouille sausage, and the holy trinity of Creole cooking known as celery, onion, and green bell pepper. Toss with freshly toasted bread cubes and chicken broth and top with cracked saltines for a crunchy topping.
Mid-Atlantic Seafood Stuffing
This mid-Atlantic version of seafood stuffing uses lump crabmeat, fresh shrimp, and a can of cream of condensed mushroom soup. Dice up a fresh baguette, mix in eggs, butter, and mirepoix for a ‘new spin on Grandma’s traditional holiday side dish.’
Festive Appetizers
Shrimp cocktail is always a welcome addition to most holiday parties. Here are some additional appetizers stuffed with seafood that would make a welcome addition for your Thanksgiving holiday.
Crab Stuffed Deviled Eggs
For guests that adore deviled eggs any day of the year, the addition of fresh crabmeat makes them extra special. Mix lumps of crabmeat into the cooked yolks along with mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, dijon mustard, horseradish, dried dill, and a dash of sriracha hot sauce.
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
You can also glamorize stuffed mushrooms with the addition of crab. This recipe uses imitation crabmeat, which is an alternative when fresh crabmeat is not available or too pricey. The crab is mixed with mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, egg, and Italian seasoning for a savory seafood filing.
Salmon Mousse
‘A showstopper with five star quality presentation,’ this recipe for savory dill salmon mousse is also easy to make with the help of canned salmon. Who knew you could make such an elegant appetizer with canned salmon? Blended with cream cheese, white wine, fresh dill and set in a mold with the help of gelatin powder, the mousse is topped with black fish eggs and served with crackers.
Beet Cured Salmon Salad
Typically salmon is cured with herbs and salt, however this recipe blends in cooked beets into the curing salt to give the orange salmon a lovely purply pink top hue. It’s such a nice touch and festive applique for a holiday such as Thanksgiving.
Smoked Salmon Rosti
Another traditional appetizer that never seems to get old are thin slices of smoked salmon served on toasted slices of bread. Add a layer of cream cheese mixed with fresh dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest for an attractive, creamy, and crunchy bite to start the meal.
Hot Crab Dip
Hot crab dip is a classic appetizer for game day, and Thanksgiving wouldn’t be an American holiday without a football game that day! Also known as ‘the queen of hot, cheesy appetizers,’ this crab dip is made with cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, smoked paprika, worcestershire sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Make sure to serve piping hot and with plenty of bread, crackers or chips for dipping.
Clams Casino
Adapted from Aunt Donna who made these for nearly every holiday, this recipe is made is much easier with the help of canned clams. Clam shells are stuffed with a mix of canned clams, bacon, onion, bell pepper, Parmesan cheese, Ritz cracker crumbs, Italian seasoning and garlic. Top with raw bacon strips before baking for a bite sized appetizer to snack on before the turkey main dish.
Baked Stuffed Mussels
Also known as Crozze Gratinate in Italy, these baked mussels are steamed, split, and then topped with breadcrumbs seasoned with garlic, lemon zest, chili flakes, and parsley. Mussels are also generally more affordable than crab or lobster, so this is a simple and satisfying way to introduce some seafood to the Thanksgiving table without spending too much money.
Creamy Soups
Soup may not be traditional at the Thanksgiving table, but would anyone turn down a steaming bowl on a chilly fall day? These soups would make a surprising and special addition to your holiday table.
A bisque is the French culinary term for a smooth, creamy soup made from the shells of crustaceans. They are a great way to stretch the flavor of expensive shellfish by extracting the flavor from the shells into a broth that can create a good sized portion.
Lobster Bisque
This recipe uses lobster shells to fortify seafood or chicken stock for extra flavor. Tomato paste helps tint the soup a lovely shade of red orange. A kick of cayenne red pepper is also added for heat, but you can omit that if you prefer.
Shrimp Bisque
If shrimp is more readily available to you than lobster, this recipe uses a traditional roux made of butter and flour to thicken the soup. Fun variations famous chefs use in their shrimp bisques are also included.
Easy Crab Bisque
You can make a shortcut crab bisque with this recipe. Use cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup, condensed tomato soup, half and half, and sherry. Fold in some fresh crabmeat, and this soup comes together in just about as long a time as it takes to heat up.
Thanksgiving Mains
Lobster Tails
Unless you’re from Maine or the New England area, lobster can be a treat reserved for celebrations and special holidays, like Thanksgiving. One of the best ways to enjoy them is simply cooked with melted butter on the side.
But if you don’t cook lobster regularly, this handy guide provides instructions for cooking in the oven, grill, instant pot, air fryer, boiled or steamed, all within 15 minutes.
Salmon Wellington
One way to dress up salmon for a holiday is to wrap it in puff pastry and layer in a creamy filling. Typically made with a filet of beef, Julia Child popularized the dish, and it came it became hallmark of fine dining.
French in origin, the dish became known as Beef Wellington. According to one British legend, this dish was named in honor of the Duke of Wellington for emerging victorious at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Its celebratory origins and rich ingredients (a creamy spinach filling in this recipe) make this dish worthy of a holiday table. It can also be cooked ahead of time and rewarmed to serve.
Shrimp Stuffed Salmon
Another way to dress up salmon is to stuff it. This salmon recipe stuffs the salmon with shrimp and a creamy, spinach filling that is then topped with crunchy panko breadcrumbs. Batter yet, the entire recipe can be made in 30 minutes, from start to finish.
Cornbread with Crawfish Gravy
If you have access to fresh or frozen crawfish, this recipe loads cornbread with crawfish and crabmeat. A creamy gravy is then made ot serve on top that is loaded with more crawfish tails.
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