Chorizo and Catfish Stew combines tender pieces of catfish with smoky chorizo sausage, fire-roasted tomatoes, chickpeas, clam juice, and Sazon Goya for an easy one-pot dinner that's ready in just 30 minutes.
As a wild game chef and full-time recipe developer living in Fargo, North Dakota, I've cooked a lot of fish over the years. Some I've caught through the ice in January. Others have come home with me after long summer days spent on rivers and lakes. And while I love a traditional fish fry as much as the next angler, I'm always looking for different ways to turn the fish we catch into approachable meals my wife and our 11-year-old daughter will be excited to sit down and eat.
This easy catfish stew recipe is exactly that kind of meal.
It begins with chorizo sizzling alongside onion and celery, followed by garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, chickpeas, clam juice, and oregano. Finally, pieces of catfish seasoned with Sazon Goya cook gently in the tomato broth. The finished stew is colorful enough that I look forward to carrying the Dutch oven straight to our family dinner table.
Channel Catfish on the Red River
This catfish stew recipe began on a Wednesday afternoon in August when my friend and fellow outdoor writer Jeffrey Miller invited me out on the river to chase channel catfish.
We climbed into a small boat and spent about four hours drifting along the river near Fargo. It was one of those warm North Dakota afternoons when there was nowhere else I needed to be.
Our setup was wonderfully simple: dip bait on hooks with dip tubes.
And it worked.
For four hours, we caught channel catfish pretty consistently. There is a particular pleasure in this kind of fishing. You cast, settle in, watch the rod tip, and wait. Then the rod bends and the hook does what it was designed to do. Soon another catfish is coming toward the boat.
By the time I headed home, I already knew I wanted to do something different with those fillets.
Why Catfish and Chorizo Work Together
The inspiration for this fish and chorizo stew reaches much farther south than North Dakota.
My mom and maternal grandparents were from Tampa, Florida. I grew up eating Cuban food, where ingredients like chorizo and chickpeas regularly appeared at the table. Pairing them with North Dakota channel catfish and the other catfish stew ingredients simply made sense to me.
Seasoning the fish itself with Sazon Goya seasoning rather than simply stirring the seasoning into the pot gives every piece of catfish flavor before it ever meets the broth. If you've been searching for a Sazon Goya fish recipe, this is a simple place to start.
Catfish Stew Ingredients
The catfish stew ingredients are straightforward, and nearly everything except the fish and fresh parsley can wait patiently in your pantry or refrigerator until you need an easy weeknight dinner.
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
- 6 ounces chorizo sausage, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 15-ounce cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, undrained
- 1 8-ounce bottle clam juice
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 ounces boneless, skinless catfish fillets
- 1 Sazon Goya seasoning packet (1 teaspoon)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
How to Make This Recipe for Catfish Stew
- Heat oil in a large (6-quart) Dutch oven or large (4-quart) saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and chorizo and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Stir in tomatoes with liquid, chickpeas with liquid, clam juice, water, oregano, salt, and black pepper, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pat catfish fillets dry with a paper towel and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in a bowl and season with 1 teaspoon of Sazon Goya until well coated. Stir catfish into stew and cook for 3 minutes. Remove Dutch oven from heat, give the stew another good stir, and let sit for 3 minutes more before tasting. Season with more salt and pepper if so desired.
- Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
More of Our Favorite Fish Recipes
If you like this recipe for catfish stew, you should check out some of our other favorite fish recipes:
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Chorizo and Catfish Stew
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
- 6 ounces chorizo sausage, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 15-ounce cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, undrained
- 1 8-ounce bottle clam juice
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 ounces boneless, skinless catfish fillets
- 1 Sazon Goya seasoning packet (1 teaspoon)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large (6-quart) Dutch oven or large (4-quart) saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and chorizo and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Stir in tomatoes with liquid, chickpeas with liquid, clam juice, water, oregano, salt, and black pepper, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pat catfish fillets dry with a paper towel and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in a bowl and season with 1 teaspoon of Sazon Goya until well coated. Stir catfish into stew and cook for 3 minutes. Remove Dutch oven from heat, give the stew another good stir, and let sit for 3 minutes more before tasting. Season with more salt and pepper if so desired.
- Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
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