When folks ask me what Southern food means, my answer often includes seafood. The South has the Gulf, the Lowcountry, the Chesapeake, and a fishing culture that goes back generations, and you can taste all of it in dishes like gumbo, fried catfish, and shrimp and grits.
This is the food I grew up around, and it shows up on our table regularly.
This collection brings together the Southern seafood dinners I make most often. You’ll find slow-simmered Lowcountry classics, Friday-night fish fry favorites, and quick shrimp and salmon skillets for the nights you need supper on the table in under 30 minutes.
I’ve grouped them by how you’d want to cook tonight, so you can scan straight to what fits.
⇢ A note on sourcing. Frozen shrimp and salmon work beautifully in nearly every one of these recipes. Don’t let the “fresh seafood” idea stop you from cooking what you love. I keep a bag of each in my freezer year-round.
⭢ Coastal Southern Classics
These are the dishes that put Southern seafood on the map. The Lowcountry boils, the Cajun and Creole pots, the Chesapeake favorites.
Most of them simmer or bake low and slow, building deep, layered flavor from a handful of pantry ingredients and whatever’s coming out of the water that week. If you’ve got time to let something cook, start here.
Slow Cooker Gumbo 🦐
A rich, smoky Louisiana-style gumbo that simmers low and slow in the crockpot. The Cajun trinity, andouille, and shrimp do all the heavy lifting here.
Shrimp & Grits w/ Tomato Gravy 🦐
A tangy, brothy tomato gravy spooned over creamy stone-ground grits and tender shrimp. This is Lowcountry comfort food at its very best.
Love shrimp and grits? Try these other variations:
Crab Imperial 🦀
Sweet lump crab folded into a creamy, herbed sauce and baked until golden and bubbly. A Chesapeake Bay classic that feels special without much effort.
Crab Bisque 🦀
Velvety, restaurant-quality crab bisque made with sweet lump crab, sherry, and a touch of cream. Serve in small portions, it’s incredibly rich.
Sheet Pan Low Country Boil 🦐
All the flavor of a backyard low country boil, baked on one sheet pan. Shrimp, smoked sausage, corn, and potatoes with Old Bay seasoning.
Frogmore Stew 🦐
The traditional one-pot Lowcountry boil that started it all. Everything simmers together in seasoned broth, then gets dumped on a paper-lined table.
Oyster Stew 🦪
A simple, elegant stew of plump oysters in a buttery cream broth. A Southern coastal tradition that’s especially loved on Christmas Eve.
Shrimp Creole 🦐
Tender shrimp simmered in a spicy tomato-based Creole sauce with bell peppers and onions. Serve over rice for an easy New Orleans-style supper.
Dump-and-Bake Jambalaya 🦐
All the smoky, spicy flavor of classic jambalaya without the babysitting. Stir everything into one dish, slide it in the oven, and walk away.
Easy Shrimp Etouffee 🦐
Cajun shrimp etouffee that bakes right alongside the rice. No roux, no fuss, all the rich and spicy flavor of the original New Orleans dish.
⭢ Fried, Blackened & Oven-Baked
The fish fry section. Whether you’re going for a crispy cornmeal crust, a sweet glaze with a broiled finish, or a smoky blackened sear, these are the recipes that lean into bold seasoning and a great crust.
Round any of them out with my Hush Puppies for the full Southern fish-fry experience.
Bourbon Glazed Salmon 🐟
Salmon fillets brushed with a sweet and sticky bourbon brown sugar glaze, then baked until caramelized. Restaurant-quality in under 20 minutes.
Southern Glazed Salmon 🐟
Baked salmon with a sweet-and-spicy red pepper jelly glaze. The Southern-style sauce caramelizes under the broiler for a crispy, flavorful finish.
Blackened Salmon 🐟
Salmon fillets coated in a smoky Cajun spice blend and seared in a screaming-hot cast iron skillet. Just 5 ingredients and 15 minutes from start to finish.
Fried Shrimp 🦐
Classic Southern fried shrimp with a crisp, golden cornmeal-flour crust. Serve them piled high with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, or a squeeze of lemon.
Fried Catfish 🐟
Cornmeal-crusted catfish fried until perfectly crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. The Southern fish fry classic, just like my granddaddy made.
Oven Fried Fish 🐟
All the crunch of a fried fish dinner with none of the deep-fryer mess. White fish fillets get a seasoned coating and bake up golden and flaky.
Cornmeal-Crusted Baked Catfish 🐟
Catfish fillets in a seasoned cornmeal crust, baked instead of fried. You get the Southern flavor with a fraction of the oil and effort.
Fried Oysters 🦪
Plump Gulf oysters in a crisp cornmeal crust, fried until golden. Pile them onto a po’ boy, serve with remoulade, or eat them straight from the platter.
⭢ Easy Shrimp & Salmon Dinners
For the nights you need dinner on the table fast. These are my go-to Southern seafood recipes when the day has gotten away from me: 15-minute skillets, sheet pan dinners, dump-and-bake casseroles, and one perfect sandwich.
Most of them rely on pantry staples and frozen shrimp or salmon, so they’re as easy to keep on standby as they are to put together.
Marinated Grilled Shrimp 🦐
Plump shrimp marinated in a bright, garlicky herb dressing, then quickly grilled on skewers. A summer cookout staple that’s ready in 20 minutes.
Grilled Salmon 🐟
Salmon fillets seasoned with a simple house blend and grilled to flaky perfection in 15 minutes. The most-made salmon recipe on my site for a reason.
Salmon Patties {Croquettes} 🐟
Old-fashioned salmon patties (or croquettes) made with canned salmon, crackers, and onion. A Southern pantry-friendly supper that comes together fast.
Old Bay Garlic Butter Shrimp 🦐
Juicy shrimp tossed in a buttery garlic-Old Bay sauce, ready in 10 minutes flat. Serve over pasta, rice, or with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp 🦐
A 15-minute skillet shrimp dinner with a bright lemon-garlic butter sauce. The honey and Dijon give it a sweet-tangy finish that makes the dish.
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp 🦐
New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp baked in a buttery, peppery, Worcestershire-spiked sauce. Don’t skip the French bread for soaking up every drop.
Garlic Butter Salmon 🐟
Pan-seared salmon basted in a rich garlic butter sauce. Restaurant-quality flavor in under 20 minutes with just a handful of pantry ingredients.
Shrimp and Rice Casserole 🦐
Raw shrimp and rice bake together in one dish with no pre-cooking required. A creamy, family-friendly casserole that’s ready in about an hour.
For a Lowcountry twist on the same idea, try my Savannah Shrimp and Rice Casserole made with bell peppers and a lightly spiced cream sauce.
Easy Shrimp Po’ Boy 🦐
A New Orleans-style po’ boy with crispy baked shrimp, shredded lettuce, tomato, and tangy remoulade on a soft hoagie roll. All the flavor, none of the fryer.
Whether you’ve got an hour to let gumbo simmer or 15 minutes to throw a skillet of shrimp on the stove, there’s a Southern seafood dinner here for the night you’re having.
Save this page, share it with a friend who’s stuck in a dinner rut, and let me know in the comments which one ends up on your table first.
⭢ Related Collections
Looking for more Southern recipes to round out your menu? Pair any of these seafood dinners with one of my other collections:
I love all of your recipe posts but, unfortunately, seafood is too expensive where I live. Are there any substitute “Fauxseafood” ingredients you may be able to suggest for any of these wonderful looking recipes? Thanks so much and happy Sunday!
Hi, Lucky! I totally understand! We love California Roll Bowls and Seafood Salad using imitation crab. Tuna pasta salad, linguine with clam sauce (using canned clams), and even some of the shrimp recipes using smaller frozen shrimp when it goes on sale (like shrimp po boys and shrimp pasta salad) are also budget-friendly options that don’t sacrifice flavor. Hope that helps!