Add a Taste of the Sea to This Year’s Thanksgiving Dinner

With Thanksgiving just a month away, most family cooks are starting to plan for this momentous feast, searching for new recipes and ideas to improve everyone’s favorite dishes.

Whether you usually bring the stuffing, soup or squash, choosing a seafood recipe is a great way to add some spice to the dinner table!

While seafood isn’t traditionally considered Thanksgiving food, the rich flavors will fit right in to your grand feast. Start a new tradition this holiday season and be prepared for your family to ask for your signature dish again.

Creamy Seafood Chowder

A savory first course, creamy seafood chowder is full of flavor, with shrimp, scallops, crabmeat and clams inside. Paired with crusty bread, this delicious dish is a great way to warm your guests up as they make their way in from the cold.

Ingredients: 

Directions: 

  • Combine 1/2 cup of milk, cream cheese and garlic in a large pot, stirring over low heat. Mix in soup, green onions, carrots, corn, potatoes, parsley and remaining milk.
  • Season with black pepper and cayenne pepper.
  • Simmer 25 minutes without boiling.
  • Mix in shrimp, scallops, crab meat, calamari and clams.
  • Cook 10 more minutes and serve.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Herbed Oyster Stuffing

A tasty twist on a Thanksgiving classic, adding oysters to your stuffing will have all your guests reaching for a second helping. Mixed with bacon, celery and herbs this simple yet gourmet side dish is the perfect way to add a taste of the ocean to your plate.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 lb. French country bread
  • 6 stalks celery
  • 4 shallots
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. thyme leaves
  • 1/2 cup parsley leaves
  • 3 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 1 cup shucked oysters
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • Pepper to taste

Directions: 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
  • Spread bread evenly in an 18 x 12″ baking pan. Bake 30 minutes (until golden brown).
  • Chop celery, shallots, garlic, thyme and parsley. Cut bacon into 1/4″ pieces. Chop oysters and refrigerate.
  • Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, then transfer to bowl with bread.
  • Add celery and shallots to skillet, cooking for 5 minutes (until tender), then transfer to bowl with bread.
  • Add parsley, oysters, oyster liquid and black pepper to bowl with bread as well, then stir.
  • Transfer stuffing to greased baking dish, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.
  • Uncover and bake 20 minutes longer or until top is golden brown.

Recipe from goodhousekeeping.com

Crab Stuffed Artichokes

A unique and creamy vegetable, the artichoke pairs perfectly with crab meat. A tasty side dish that looks like a work of art, more than one of your loved ones will be asking for this recipe at the end of the evening.

Ingredients: 

  • 8 oz. crab meat
  • 1 3/4 cups breadcrumbs
  • 1 minced shallot
  • 1 chopped celery stalk
  • 2 Tbsp. capers
  • 2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 artichokes
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 cups chicken broth

Directions: 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
  • To prepare stuffing: Combine crab meat, breadcrumbs, shallots, celery, capers, Old Bay seasoning, pepper, lemon juice and oil in a bowl.
  • To prepare artichokes: Cut off the top 1 inch of leaves from an artichoke. Remove the outer layer of small, tough leaves from the stem end. Snip all remaining spiky tips from the outer leaves. Cut off the stem to make a flat bottom. (Discard the stem.) Starting at the outer layers and progressing inward, pull the leaves apart to loosen. Pull open the leaves at the center until you see the spiky, lighter leaves around the heart. Pull out those lighter leaves to expose the fuzzy choke. Scoop out the choke with a melon baller or grapefruit spoon and discard. Repeat this step with the remaining artichokes.
  • Spoon 1/2 cup stuffing in the center of each artichoke, then stuff an additional 1/2 cup between the outer leaves with a small spoon.
  • Heat 2 tsp. oil in a Dutch oven, then add garlic and cook until fragrant.
  • Add broth and lemon juice, bringing to a simmer.
  • Stand artichokes upright in the pan, drizzling each with oil.
  • Cover pot and bake in over about 50 minutes.
  • Uncover and bake about 10 minutes longer (until stuffing golden brown).
  • Remove artichokes and serve.

Recipe from eatingwell.com

Lobster Stuffed Squash

Buttery and delicious, acorn squash will add a bright and festive flavor to your dinner table. A fall favorite, we recommend stuffing your squash with lobster for a gourmet treat. Halved, stuffed squash also make a beautiful presentation your guests will love.

Ingredients: 

  • 4 acorn squash
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 lobsters 
  • 12 slices of bacon
  • 3 cups portabella mushrooms
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs

Directions: 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Cut acorn squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.
  • Place squash cut-side up in a baking dish. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roast for 45 minutes.
  • Boil lobster (about 10 minutes).
  • Remove lobster meat after lobster have cooled.
  • Saute mushrooms and leaks in a pan with olive oil.
  • Add bacon and lobster meat to the pan, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  • Divide the mixture between the acorn halves, top with breadcrumbs and bake until warm.

Recipe from cookingdistrict.com


Make your Thanksgiving meal a success with seafood from Cape Porpoise Lobster Company.  Caught off the coast of Maine, our fresh crustaceans and mollusks ship overnight. Place your order online or by phone at 1-800-967-4268.

Have a great seafood recipe you plan to make this Thanksgiving? Share it with us in the comments section below!