Fish pepper soup is a warm and soothing West African soup, simmered in a flavorful, spicy broth made up of catfish, vegetables, and spices. It is so healthy, nourishing, and satisfying!
In Nigeria, no party is complete without pepper soup. You can make it as complex or as simple as you want, but the flavor is what hooks you.
It makes a perfect light meal at home and you can eat it any time of the day, it doesn't matter if the weather is hot or cold. If you’re sick or feel a cold coming on, pepper soup works wonders to make you feel better in no time.
Fish pepper soup is made with just a few ingredients - fish, vegetables, and spices. But don’t let its simplicity fool you; this soup packs a powerful and complex flavor that will hook you in from the first sip!
It is made using a range of spices with complex but warm and earthy flavors. It is quite spicy but very soothing.
Fish pepper soup is one of those dishes that the first time you taste it, you’ll keep trying to guess what flavors make up this mouthwatering and hearty soup.
Ingredients Used
- Catfish: I use about two pounds of catfish which is roughly the size of a large catfish. I like to buy my fish from Asian or Mexican stores in the U.S because it is cleaned out and gutted.
- Spices: I make this recipe using cayenne pepper, bouillon powder, smoked paprika, ground crayfish, salt, and a unique blend of African spices. This spice blend is made of spices commonly found in West Africa but in this post, I give an alternative method on how to make it using ingredients commonly found in grocery stores. If you don't have ground crayfish on hand, you can substitute with coconut aminos.
- Vegetables: Habanero pepper and basil leaves. Habanero pepper gives a lot of heat to this fish pepper soup so it lives up to its name. Basil leaf lends a minty, slightly sweet flavor to this soup and completely transforms it. In Nigeria, the basil leaf variety commonly used in pepper soup is known as Scent leaf.
How To Make Fish Pepper Soup
- To start, boil some water on the stove. If the fish isn’t cleaned out, you will have to gut it and clean it out yourself. Thoroughly clean the inside and outside with lime or lemon to get rid of the sliminess.
- Chop the habanero pepper into tiny pieces. Also, loosely chop the basil leaves and set them aside.
- Cut the fish into medium-sized pieces. When the hot water boils, pour it over the fish and leave for about 30 seconds. Catfish is quite notorious for completely breaking apart when cooked for long periods but doing this will help toughen the skin so that it can withstand prolonged cooking which is essential for this pepper soup.
- Drain out the hot water, rinse under the tap, and place in a pot. Add about 6 cups of water or until the fish is completely submerged. Add the rest of the spices and bring to a boil.
- When the soup starts to boil, add in the rest of the spices and the chopped habanero pepper and let simmer for about 20 more minutes on medium heat. The spices will begin to blend together and create a wonderful fusion of spicy and musky aromatic flavors, which will be completely absorbed by the catfish.
- After 20 minutes, add the chopped basil leaves and almost immediately, you will begin to perceive the minty flavors. Simmer for about 5 more minutes and your fish pepper soup is ready to eat!
If you love catfish as much as I do, try this super flavorful Baked Whole Catfish recipe. It's so good!
Tips and Variations
- This fish pepper soup is made using catfish but you can substitute it with croaker fish, tilapia, or cod fish.
- Only add cayenne pepper if you want it spicier.
- If you want it slightly less spicy, don't chop the habanero pepper. Add it whole and after the soup is done, discard it. You will still feel the heat from the habanero pepper but it will not be overpowering.
- If it's still too spicy for you, then omit the habanero pepper and use the cayenne pepper instead.
- If you don't have ground crayfish, substitute with one tablespoon of coconut aminos.
Try these other low carb flavorful soups!
Ndole (Cameroonian Peanut Soup)
📖 Recipe
Fish Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- 2 lbs catfish
- 1 habanero pepper chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon bouillon powder
- 1 tablespoon pepper soup spice
- 1 teaspoon crayfish substitute with 1 tablespoon fish sauce or coconut aminos
- ½ cup basil leaf loosely chopped
- 1 lime/lemon to clean the fish
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
- Boil some water. Then, gut and clean out the inner parts of the catfish, using lime or lemon to scrub the skin and insides as well.2 lbs catfish, 1 lime/lemon
- Cut the fish into medium-sized pieces.
- Pour the hot water over the fish and leave for about 30 seconds.
- Drain out the hot water, rinse under the tap and place in a pot.
- Add about 6 cups of water or until the fish is completely submerged.
- Add the spices and chopped habanero pepper, and bring to a boil.1 habanero pepper, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon bouillon powder, 1 teaspoon crayfish, 2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon pepper soup spice
- Only add the cayenne pepper if you want it spicier.½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Let simmer for 20 minutes on medium heat.
- Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
- Add the chopped basil leaves and simmer for 5 more minutes.½ cup basil leaf
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This fish pepper soup is made using catfish but you can substitute with tilapia or codfish.
- Only add the cayenne pepper if you want it spicier.
- If you want it slightly less spicy, don't chop the habanero pepper. Add it whole and after the soup is done, discard it.
- If it's still too spicy for you, then omit the habanero pepper and use the cayenne pepper instead.
- If you don't have ground crayfish, substitute with one tablespoon of fish sauce or coconut aminos.
Nutrition
Here are some other really tasty low carb fish recipes!
Tayo Oredola is the founder of Low Carb Africa, where she shares healthy, low carb dishes with global flavors. She is passionate about teaching people how to cook drool-worthy dishes while losing weight and living their best lives. Tayo’s recipes have been featured on MSN, Women’s Health, Parade, Yahoo News, Pure Wow, Essence, and other online publications.
Could I use ground shrimp instead of crayfish? Or would it be better to use coconut aminos? Thanks!
Yes, you could or you could leave it out. The most important ingredient is the pepper soup spice.
which bouillon powder do you use?
You can use any flavor.
Hi. I've been trying to share this recipe with a friend but there is no Share button.
Hi Jeanne, under the post title, "Fish Pepper Soup", you'll see share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and email. Let me know if this helps!