With poke joints popping up everywhere and the sushi craze showing no sign of dying down, it shouldn’t be a surprise we love a good seafood meal. What is surprising, though, is Americans aren’t eating the recommended amount of seafood: The USDA recommends two servings (or 8 ounces) of seafood per week, but the last count revealed most people are clocking in at an average of 2.7 ounces.
OK, fine, we’ll eat more poke bowls. Fish comes with so many more unique health benefits than just protein, including heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D for bone health, and vitamin B6 for better immune function. By eating just 2.7 ounces of it per week, we’re not getting all that good stuff. Let’s change that by putting these 21 seafood recipes in the rotation. They take only 20 minutes or less, making Mission: Eat More Fish that much more likely to succeed.
1. Cilantro Lime Shrimp With Mango Avocado Salsa
Get your next meal started on a zesty, colorful note with this vibrant appetizer, where sweet mango, creamy avocado, herby cilantro, and fresh lime are paired with shrimp. Flavors like that are sure to wake up any palate.
2. Creamy Seafood Chowder
Ready in just 20 minutes (without any butter in sight), this isn’t your regular chowder, but it still has all the hearty, creamy flavor of the traditionally rich soup, thanks to a blend of potatoes, flour, and milk. The best part is there’s no rule on which type of seafood to use—just choose your favorite.
3. Quick, Easy Fish Stew
Seafood and wine are a match made in heaven, so it only makes sense that a good splash of sauvignon blanc (or any dry white, really) would take this stew over the top. Plus, unlike most stews, this one doesn’t need to simmer for ages—20 minutes, and it’s on the table.
4. Crusty Baguette With Seafood Spread
Bread. Seafood. Cheese. Does it get much better than that? Actually, it can—from searing the shrimp to toasting the bread to mixing up the spread, this appetizer takes just 15 minutes from start to finish.
5. Thai Coconut Soup
A nondairy alternative to chowder, this soup brings in Thai ingredients such as coconut milk, fish sauce, and cilantro to make sure no flavor or texture gets lost. It may not be exactly what you’d find in Bangkok, but it’s perfect for anyone who can’t find items such as lemongrass or curry paste at the store.
6. Spicy Crab Bites
This is one time being crabby isn’t a bad thing. A dash of herbs, a sprinkle of breadcrumbs, and some tasty binding agents elevate the imitation meat for a more affordable, easier, and healthier version of traditional crab cakes.
7. Honey-Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad
The dressing in this salad doubles as the marinade for the shrimp, keeping the ingredient list and the prep time short. What’s more, it contains so many simple but strong flavors (Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, honey), the shrimp needs to soak in it for only 15 minutes to absorb all that sweet and zesty deliciousness.
8. Blackened Mahi-Mahi Sandwich
Cooking the mahi-mahi is the most labor-intensive part of this sandwich (if you call 8 minutes of pan-searing hard work). The rest of it is a simple assembly job. As a bonus, the 20-minute timeframe even includes baking the sweet potato “fries.”
9. Tuna Pita Pockets
This speedy recipe lightens up classic tuna salad by swapping out some of the mayo for Greek yogurt and adding red grapes for a refreshing, slightly sweet crunch. It’s perfectly filling but also light and quick on those days you don’t have more than 15 minutes to throw a meal together.
10. Tuna Spinach Salad
This tuna salad is a step-up from the deli counter variety, thanks to a generous serving of baby spinach plus tomato for extra fiber. Greek yogurt and mozzarella cheese (in place of mayo) add more protein while creating the all-important rich and creamy texture.
11. Avocado Shrimp Flatbread Sandwich
With seared shrimp, creamy avocado, and salty feta, the filling for these sandwiches holds up well to the thick flatbread used here, but we’re guessing it works equally well in a wrap, nestled into pita pockets, or even on top of a bed of greens. However you choose to eat it, one thing’s for sure—all the protein and healthy fat packed into the mix will leave you super satisfied.
12. Warm Bay Scallop Salad With Zucchini and Asparagus
If you’re not entirely familiar with cooking scallops, start with this simple recipe. Cooked in heart-healthy ghee (yum) alongside shallots, garlic, and veggies, they won’t disappoint.
13. Superfood Salmon Salad With Coconut Orange Vinaigrette
This salad isn’t using the word superfood lightly. It combines salmon, spinach, avocado, kale, and pomegranate, so every single bite counts.
14. Clean-Eating Tuna Salmon Salad Sandwich
With cottage cheese, salmon, and tuna, this sandwich might be the highest-protein meal you eat all day. Chow down on it as a post-workout snack, a high-powered lunch, or a super-easy, no-cook dinner.
15. Seafood Paella
Paella is usually a pretty elaborate dish requiring a fancy pan, tons of components, and a lot of cooking time. Not this one! Using just 10 ingredients and 20 minutes (not to mention a regular frying pan), it doesn’t skimp on the seafood or the saffron-kissed broth, but it dramatically slashes the amount of effort required to bring it together.
16. Better-Than-Takeout Shrimp Fried Rice
We’ve never met a shrimp fried rice we didn’t like, but this homemade version, using quick-cooking rice, low-sodium soy sauce, and much less oil than the take-out kind, is fast and tasty enough to make it into the regular dinner rotation.You can even go a step further on healthifying it by using fiber-rich brown rice instead of white.
17. Healthy Lemon Parmesan Sardine Pasta
With high concentrations of inflammation-reducing fatty acids, sardines are incredibly healthy. But let’s be honest—they aren’t known for being particularly exciting to eat. This recipe makes it easy to enjoy them by tossing them with one food almost everyone likes: pasta. It’s a simple but incredibly smart move.
18. Easy Quinoa Fish Taco Bowls
By swapping in quinoa for tortillas, this take on fish tacos makes the dish not only gluten-free but also much more free-form, so the amount of filling isn’t limited to how much the wrap can hold. Pile it on: From seafood and avocado to black beans and cabbage, all the ingredients are pretty darn healthy for you.
19. One-Pan Herb-Roasted Arctic Char With Asparagus and Tomatoes
We love meals that come together in a single pan, like this super-easy, 15-minute fish and veggie dish. While you wait for the oven to do its thing, whip up the optional (and, might we add, very simple) avocado-basil sauce to drizzle on top for some extra flavor and healthy fat. You won’t regret it.
20. 20-Minute Shrimp and Spinach Curry
Can’t decide between Thai or Indian for dinner? This curry lets you have both. With red curry paste lending a distinctive Thai taste, but cumin, turmeric, and curry powder bringing in some Indian touches, it’s a perfect fusion of flavors and a fun way to enjoy shrimp.
21. Miso Ginger-Glazed Salmon
Most glazes are sweet, but this one minimizes added sugar and goes for savory flavors such as soy, miso paste, and sesame oil. Not only does the combo work great on the salmon, but the dish also comes together in just 10 minutes—that’s enough time to prep some quick-cooking rice or quinoa and roasted veggies, to make this a full meal.
