Bisque soup is the ultimate comfort food. With its rich creamy texture and delicious flavors it’s no wonder bisque has been a popular soup choice for centuries. As a food blogger, I’m always interested in learning more about different dishes, their history, and how to make them. So I decided to dive deeper into the creamy, comforting world of bisque soup.
What Exactly is Bisque Soup?
The word “bisque” comes from the French word “bisk” which means twice cooked. Traditional bisque soups were made by simmering crustacean shells, straining them out, then adding cream or pureed vegetables to thicken the broth. The soup was simmered again before serving.
These days, bisque has come to mean any thick, creamy soup, usually containing seafood but sometimes made with vegetables or other ingredients. The hallmarks of a great bisque are its smooth, velvety texture and rich flavor.
While bisque was originally strictly a seafood affair it has expanded to include soups made with vegetables poultry, or meat. But creamy seafood bisques remain the most popular and classic version.
A Brief History of Bisque Soup
Bisque likely originated in France in the 17th or 18th century. In Europe, it was traditionally made with crayfish or lobster. The shells and sometimes meat were simmered to extract flavor, strained out, and the broth was pureed with cream and/or pureed rice to create the signature velvety texture.
Bisque grew popular in America in the late 19th century as a first course for formal dinners. Recipes calling for heavy cream and butter became common. In the 1970s, bisque saw another surge in popularity thanks to rising incomes and the growing popularity of French cuisine. Julia Child’s famous lobster bisque likely deserves some credit too!
These days, bisque remains a restaurant menu staple and a favorite creamy soup to make at home. While classic seafood bisques are still prized, all kinds of ingredients can be used to make delicious bisque soups.
Key Characteristics of Bisque Soup
So what sets bisque apart from other soups? Here are some key characteristics that define this creamy soup:
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Smooth, velvety texture: The hallmark of bisque is its perfectly smooth, creamy texture without any lumps or chunks. This is achieved by pureeing some of the ingredients and/or thickening with cream.
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Rich flavor: Bisques are richly flavored, often from long-simmered seafood shells or stocks. The creamy base also adds richness.
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Thick consistency: Bisques have a thicker, heartier consistency than brothy soups. But they are not as thick as chowders which contain larger chunks.
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Often contains seafood: The most classic bisques contain shellfish like shrimp, crab, lobster or crayfish. But all kinds of ingredients can be used.
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Simmered twice: Traditionally bisques are simmered once to extract flavor, strained, then simmered again after pureeing and cream is added.
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Creamy base: Most bisques contain dairy like heavy cream, half and half, or sometimes milk to achieve the signature creamy texture.
How to Make Bisque Soup at Home
The good news is bisque soup is easier to make at home than you may think. Here are some tips:
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Start with seafood stock: For seafood bisque, simmer shrimp shells, lobster shells, fish bones, etc to make a flavorful stock. Strain before using.
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Saute aromatics: Onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and herbs are often cooked at the start to add depth.
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Simmer rice: Rice is typically simmered in the broth to help thicken and add body when pureed.
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Puree the soup: Use an immersion blender or blender to puree to the signature smooth texture.
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Finish with cream: Heavy cream, half and half, or milk is stirred in at the end to enrich the bisque.
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Garnish with seafood: Shrimp, crab, lobster meat, etc makes for an elegant presentation.
It’s easy to adapt bisque to use whatever ingredients you have. The steps remain largely the same. Just remember to puree the soup, then stir in hot cream at the end for that quintessential bisque experience.
Delicious Bisque Soup Recipes to Try
Now that we’ve covered what bisque soup is and how to make it, let’s look at some delicious bisque recipes to try at home:
Classic Seafood Bisque
This recipe uses shrimp shells to make the seafood stock base with onions, celery, garlic, and herbs. The broth is simmered with rice then pureed. Heavy cream is stirred in at the end for a rich, classic bisque.
Roasted Vegetable Bisque
Roasting vegetables like zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and onions caramelizes their flavors. Pureeing them into a creamy soup makes for an amazing bisque without any cream needed!
Butternut Squash Bisque
Pureed butternut squash gives this autumnal bisque its natural creamy texture. Sauteed onion, garlic, thyme, and a touch of cream enhance the squash’s sweet flavor.
Cheddar Bacon Corn Chowder
This creamy chowder-bisque hybrid is packed with corn flavor. Pureed potatoes help thicken it while bacon, cheddar, and cream make it indulgent.
Chicken & Wild Rice Bisque
Chicken is simmered with wild rice in a creamy broth with sherry and herbs. Half and half adds richness once pureed. Simple but elegant!
Those are just a few of the limitless bisque options out there. Endless ingredient combinations can be used to create bisque soups. Feel free to get creative!
Tips for Serving Bisque Soup
Bisque soup makes for an elegant starter course for a dinner party but also comforts on a chilly weeknight. Here are some serving tips:
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Garnish with freshly chopped herbs, green onions, or a swirl of cream.
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Offer a salad after the bisque as a light, refreshing follow-up.
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Pair with a crusty baguette, crackers, or oyster crackers.
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For dinner, add a salad and bread for a satisfying meal.
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For a rich appetizer, serve small portions in cups or mugs.
However you choose to serve it, bisque soup is sure to impress and satisfy. This creamy, comforting classic is a soup to savor. I hope after reading this you feel inspired to dip into the delicious world of bisque. Let the pureeing and simmering begin!
Bring On the Bisque
We’re breaking out the butter, heavy cream and half-and-half for this ultra-rich, ultra-luxe seafood bisque recipe. For new in-laws, picky kids, work friends, or really anyone else, this is the perfect thing to serve. Studded with tender, flavorful crawfish, shrimp, and crab, our bisque recipe feels—and tastes—exceedingly fancy with exactly zero fuss. It’s a holiday tradition in our house, and we know it’ll find a happy home in yours, too!.
When you hear the word “bisque,” you should think of a thick, creamy soup that is usually made with seafood and cream. It’s a lot like seafood chowder, but without the potatoes. A simple example of bisque is pear and buttermilk bisque. Our crab and shrimp seafood bisque came straight from Louisiana, through a friend-of-an-aunt-of-a-friend. And it’s been in regular rotation at our house since we first tasted it. It has crawfish, crab, shrimp, Old Bay seasoning, and even Tony’s Cajun Seasoning, which are all things you’d want in a traditional Cajun stew. But it tastes like something you’d get at the most expensive French restaurant in town. Is bisque healthy? Noooooo. But is it delicious? Abso-freaking-lutely.
You have everything you need to make what sounds like the best seafood bisque you’ve ever had after a quick trip to the store. Screenshot this grocery list, and you’re good to go:
- Fish: Crawfish meat, shrimp, and crab meat. It’s easier to make bisque when you buy seafood that’s labeled “meat,” like “crab meat” or “crawfish meat.” This means that the seafood has already been shelled, prepared, and sometimes even par-cooked.
- Butter, heavy cream, and half-and-half can all be found in the dairy aisle. Yes, you need all of it. No, don’t think about subbing in skim milk instead. A bisque is no place for austerity! .
- Produce: Green onions and corn. That’s it. Our bisque is definitely not a veggie-heavy dish.
- Pantry
What to Serve with Bisque
When you make our creamy seafood bisque recipe it’s pretty much the star of the mealtime show. Which is exactly as it should be. Still, there are a few things we’ve found that compliment the whole thing quite nicely:
- Crisp, high-acid white wine. Keep it French, and opt for a crystalline Sancerre. The salty minerality goes well with seafood, and the acidity in the wine cuts through the creaminess of the soup.
- Loaf of sourdough bread. Place it in the middle of the table and cut it up as you eat. Use it to soak up every last bit of seafood soup. Dip, drench, and finally sweep it across what looks like an empty bowl.
- Simple side salad. You could serve the salad as a refreshing palate cleanser after the main course (but before dessert, of course). Our Simple Butter Lettuce Salad is easy to make and goes well with any rich dish.
Shrimp Bisque | ImmaculateBites
Is bisque a soup?
Bisque is a specific kind of soup. So all bisques are soup, but not all soups are bisques. The most similar type of soup to bisque is chowder. Unlike bisque, which should be smooth and creamy, chowder has hearty chunks of meat or vegetables. Chowder is almost always thickened with a roux instead of blended ingredients.
Is bisque a French word?
Don’t let the fancy French name scare you, because bisque is as simple as it is delicious. It’s the perfect season to curl up on the couch with something warm. For cold nights, a bowl of creamy bisque will fulfill all of your comfort food cravings. So many people throw that French-sounding word around, but really, what is bisque?
What is a vegetable bisque?
Today, the definition of bisque has expanded to include vegetable bisques, like tomato and butternut squash. The word is more related to the smooth texture of the dish and the use of cream. Most modern bisques are thickened using rice.
What is a bisque made of?
A bisque is more often, though not exclusively, made from shellfish be it crab, lobster, crayfish and the like. Here, the delicious briny lobster meat swims in a thick, well-seasoned cream. Do not, however, be fooled by the simplicity of this recipe.