
Treat yourself to this easy to make smoked oyster stew. You probably have the ingredients to make it in your pantry.
Growing up as a child, my mother rewarded me by sharing a can of smoked oysters with me. Yeah, I know, oysters aren’t at the top of the list of treats to give a child, but I loved them. I even liked the giant raw Japanese oysters over ice that my mother’s friend had for an appetizer when we went to dinner at her house. Ok, I admit it, I’m strange.
When I make oyster cornbread dressing, I always use fresh oysters because canned ones just don’t work. They have too much flavor. Oysters in cornbread dressing are there for umami, not so much for flavor. As far as oyster stew goes, it should also have fresh oysters because they are the star of the show.

So why this recipe? Honestly, I had a can on hand and I wanted oyster stew, so I thought, what the heck? How bad could it be? Well, let me tell you, aside from the fact that the soup was dead easy to make, it was really, really delicious. Instead of fresh potatoes, I recommend using canned potatoes because they are already cooked so the oysters won’t be able to overcook. Canned corn, again because it’s already cooked, rounds out the soup’s flavor. The soup base is clam juice, water, and milk, so it’s also low fat – but tasty enough to serve at a fancy dinner. I recommend having it as a starter with a glass of white wine.
Email Me the Recipe
Smoked Oyster Stew
If you purchase any of the products through these affiliate links, I get a few pennies that help keep The Good Plate open. I use these products myself and want you to be able to easily find them.
Ingredients
- 1 Red onion, chopped
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 6 oz smoked oysters
- 1 12 oz can corn, drained
- 1 12 oz can sliced potatoes, drained
- ¼ cup clam juice
- 1 teaspoon *vegetable base
- 1 cup water, boiling
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon True Lemon
- ⅛ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- 1 6 oz smoked oystersDrain the oysters, but do not throw away the oil.
- Put the oil in the bottom of a pot and heat it.
- 1 Red onion, 1 cloves garlicSaute the onion and garlic in the oil until the onion is translucent.
- 1 12 oz can corn, 1 12 oz can sliced potatoesAdd the oysters, corn, and potatoes.
- Use a potato masher to break the pieces of potato up, but not completely.
- 1/4 cup clam juiceAdd the clam juice.
- 1 teaspoon vegetable base, 1 cup waterMix the boiling water with the vegetable base and add that to the pot.
- 1 cup milkAdd the milk and taste for seasoning.
- 1/4 teaspoon True Lemon, 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauceAdd the true lemon and Tabasco sauce.
- Cook on very low until heated and serve.