Brazilian Shrimp Stew with Coconut and Lime

This outstanding Brazilian shrimp stew recipe is filled with flavors such as coconut, lime and tomato. Served over coconut rice, this is ready in under thirty minutes!

Everyone need a quick and delicious recipe in their back pocket and this shrimp stew recipe certainly qualifies.

This shrimp stew is actually a recipe from Brazil, commonly made with dende oil, which is a red palm oil that is found there.

In this recipe I chose olive oil, because I haven't been to Brazil to get the real thing.

But it is on my list!

Simple to put together, this dish comes together in less than 30 minutes.

How to make Brazilian Shrimp Stew:

The first step is making the tomato sauce. Once that is done, it's time to add the shrimp.

See how quick this is?

Begin this easy recipe with a large saucepan or a deep skillet, placed over medium heat with the olive oil.

Add chopped onion, 3 chopped garlic cloves, chopped red peppers or even a yellow bell pepper, jalapenos and some red pepper flakes to the oil.

Saute 5 minutes and then add diced tomatoes, coconut milk, lime juice, cilantro and green onions.

If you want a smoother sauce, use your immersion blender to combine the tomatoes, coconut milk, and lime juice into a smooth tomato sauce and then add the green onions and cilantro.

We like the texture as is, but everyone has their own opinion!

Bring this tomato, coconut lime sauce to a gentle boil and simmer over low heat to let the flavors come together.

At this point you can turn off your burner and let this sit until you are ready to add your large shrimp.

If by chance the sauce thickened up more than you would like while standing, just stir in a bit of water or some rich shrimp stock until the sauce is the consistency you prefer.

When you are ready bring the tomato mixture back up to a simmer, give it a stir with a wooden spoon, and add some freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Stir in your fresh shrimp and cook until the shrimp have turned pink to red, which is the right color.

Do not overcook or your shrimp will be dry and no one likes dry shrimp!

What to Serve with Brazilian Shrimp Stew:

I chose to serve this with coconut rice that is easily made with more lime juice and the rest of the can of coconut milk.

Or just lots of white rice and crusty bread with a simple hearts of palm and avocado salad as a side dish is perfect.

Make sure you have it ready to go, because this delicious stew cooks fast.

The rice takes about 20 minutes and the shrimp cooks faster so make sure you've thought about your timing.

There are many good shrimp recipes, but this easy shrimp stew recipe is one of my favorites.

Make it pretty and sprinkle with fresh parsley, but I prefer cilantro. and some coconut flakes, which as you can see I forgot in this photo!

Coconut adds such a rich and noticeable flavor to many dishes that I now consider coconut milk a staple in my pantry.

(Below is the original post from 2013.)

By the time Sunday night rolls around, I am not in a great frame of mind to cook.

I’ve laid around, with any luck, over the weekend, and sometimes it is hard to get inspired.

Going out is not an option for us right now as our budget is very tight.

I’m not a fast food person and even if I caved and let my husband go to Chipotle, I’d have a hard time justifying the $8 or so that he would spend on a burrito.

I’m hoping this changes very soon because I am more than ready for a break; cooking and otherwise.

In the meantime I guess it is good that I can cook.

I get bored easily when cooking so when someone asks me what my specialty is I have a hard time answering.

Truthfully, it is whatever I’m cooking that day.

I love to read about food, and when times are good I love to dine out.

Somewhere in my odd mind I tuck these food thoughts away and at other random moments they reappear.

I tend to want certain foods based on when I had them during my travels.

Several conferences in Baltimore and New Orleans during the spring months in the pre kid era, now cause me now to want crab cakes and Cajun food in the spring.

And of course last year I was in Jerusalem, so now I add Middle Eastern food to the mix.

When I was pregnant I had strong cravings for McDonald’s cheeseburgers but that ended about 22 years ago, thank goodness; though I still crave sesame shrimp and much to my chagrin, that restaurant closed a long time ago.

I still love dim sum during Chinese New Year and my need for potstickers never disappears.

April and this year in March, has me thinking matzo and so I need Passover recipes.

Summer is entirely filled with corn and so it goes.

I’m sure if you follow this blog long enough you could spot a trend.

But what does this have to do with Sunday night? Not much really.

However I love finding good recipes and this one has me escaping to Brazil; at least in my mind.

(Denver does have a good Brazilian restaurant that is fun to try if you ever need something to do.)

This rustic shrimp stew is a little like I imagine Brazil to be-peppery, rich, but not to rich, and very, very, colorful.

A quick recipe, this Brazilian shrimp stew, was good on a Sunday night and it even gave us leftovers for the week.

It is perfect dinner party fodder as you can get it ready and add the shrimp 5 minutes before you are ready to serve.

I made a coconut lime rice that was perfect, and with the addition of a salad, you definitely have a meal that everyone would be happy with.

Add this to your favorite dinner recipes collection, becuase I know you will want it again.

It is one great recipe that our whole family loves. Just a few simple ingredients that come together like magic.

The strange thing is that this dish has me singing this song-“You put the lime in the coconut and mix’em both up.

You put the lime in the coconut and drink ‘em both together. You put the lime in the coconut-then you’ll feel better.”

The strange thing is-I think it might be working!

Need Some More?

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