Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe)

A crowd-pleasing Portuguese seafood built around coriander, red chilli and dry white wine — roughly 80 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 9 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and pan. At medium difficulty across 9 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's pescatarian — fish but no meat.
What you'll need
Shopping list (12)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan, and fry the onion and pepper on a medium heat until softened but not browned.
- Finely chop the coriander stalks (keep the leaves for later), and add to the pan with the chilli and chopped garlic.
- Fry for another few minutes.
- Add the wine, saffron and bay leaf and let it simmer until reduced by half.
- Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and 300ml water and bring to a gentle boil. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon on the side of the pan and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are just tender, and the tomatoes have broken down.
- Season well, then gently push the fish into the sauce, and arrange the squid, prawns, clams and mussels on the surface.
- Put the lid on and cook for 6-8 minutes until the mussel and clam shells have opened, the prawns are cooked and the fish is flaky.
- Toast the bread, rub lightly with the halved garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil.
- Serve the stew scatted with chopped coriander leaves, and the toasts for dunking.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Large pot · Saucepan
Watch how it's made

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Ingredient substitutions
- White Wine
- chicken or vegetable stock + 1 tsp vinegar
What to serve with Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe)
Tips & common questions
How long does Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe) take to make?
About 80 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 9 steps and 16 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of white wine?
Try chicken or vegetable stock + 1 tsp vinegar. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Recipe data for Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe) via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.







