Greek Seafood Noodle Soup with Feta
A vibrant Mediterranean soup brimming with tender shrimp, clams, mussels, and white fish simmered in a brisk tomato broth with orzo pasta and finished with tangy feta cheese and fresh dill. This one-pot meal is elegant enough for dinner guests yet simple enough for a weeknight—no fancy techniques needed, just fresh ingredients and careful timing.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 34 min
- Total
- 54 min
- Makes
- 4 servings (about 2 cups each)
Steps
Before you start
- Ensure all seafood is fresh and properly cleaned (shrimp peeled and deveined, clams and mussels rinsed and debearded)
- Have fish stock warm or at room temperature so it distributes evenly
- Read through the timing to understand when each seafood is added
- Prep all ingredients before you start cooking (mise en place)
Sauté onion and garlic
- Heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil in a large Dutch oven or 5–6 quart pot over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion and sauté for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to turn golden.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly, until very fragrant.
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Ready when: Onion is softened and light golden; garlic is very fragrant
Tip: Don't let garlic brown or it will become bitter and acrid.
Add tomatoes and stock
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes and fish stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- If using white wine, add it now.
- Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
- This should take 3–4 minutes.
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Ready when: Small bubbles break the surface constantly; broth steams gently
Simmer pasta until nearly tender
- Stir in 1.5 cups (150 g) dry orzo pasta and reduce heat to medium.
- Simmer for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is nearly tender but still has a slight bite.
- The pasta will finish softening as the seafood cooks, so don't fully cook it at this stage.
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Ready when: Pasta is nearly tender with a slight resistance when bitten
Tip: Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and ensure even cooking. Taste a strand—it should be soft but not mushy.
Add white fish fillets
- Cut the white fish into 1-inch cubes and stir them gently into the simmering broth.
- Simmer for 3 minutes.
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Ready when: Fish is opaque throughout and flakes easily with a fork
Tip: Keep the heat moderate so the fish doesn't break apart; use a wooden spoon and stir gently.
Add shrimp, clams, and mussels
- Add the peeled shrimp, littleneck clams, and mussels all at once.
- Stir gently to distribute the seafood evenly throughout the broth.
- Simmer for 5–7 minutes until the shrimp are opaque and pink throughout, and the clams and mussels have opened completely.
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Ready when: Shrimp are opaque and bright pink; clams and mussels have fully opened
Tip: Discard any clams or mussels that remain closed after 7 minutes—they were not alive before cooking and may not be safe to eat.
Finish with dill and lemon
- Remove the pot from heat.
- Stir in most of the chopped fresh dill (reserve 1–2 tablespoons for garnish).
- Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the soup.
- Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper to your liking, starting with a pinch and adjusting gradually.
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Tip: The feta cheese will add saltiness when added as a topping, so taste carefully and go easy on the salt initially.
Ladle into bowls
- Ladle the soup into four bowls, dividing the seafood, pasta, and broth evenly.
- Top each bowl with a generous handful of crumbled feta cheese (about 1/4 cup or 37 g per bowl) and a sprinkle of the reserved fresh dill.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side.
Good to know
Tips
- Do not overcook the seafood. Add it at the very end of cooking so the shrimp stays tender and succulent, and the clams and mussels stay juicy. Overcooked shrimp becomes tough and rubbery.
- Discard any clams or mussels that don't open during cooking—they were likely dead before you added them and are not safe to eat.
- Use the freshest, highest-quality seafood you can find. Ask your fishmonger to clean and devein the shrimp on the spot, and inspect the clams and mussels yourself to ensure no shells are cracked or broken.
- Feta adds saltiness, so taste the broth before adding salt. Many home cooks over-salt soup because they forget about the toppings.
Make ahead
The tomato and stock base (completed through step 2) can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Reheat over medium heat until simmering, then proceed with step 3. Do not make the complete soup ahead—the pasta will absorb liquid and become soft, and the seafood's texture and flavor degrade after a few hours.
Storage & reheating
Refrigerator: Store leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 2 days. The pasta will gradually absorb broth, so the soup may thicken; reheat gently over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, and add a splash of warm stock if it seems too thick. Do not store the soup at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Freezer: Not recommended—seafood soup does not freeze well, as the shellfish and fish become tough and rubbery, and the broth can become watery after thawing.
Substitutions
- orzo pasta, dry → linguine or spaghetti, broken in half (use 150–160 g dry pasta). Orzo provides a delicate, spoon-friendly bite, but longer pasta is equally good if you prefer.
- large shrimp (16–20 per lb) → all large shrimp (1.5 lbs / 675 g total) or all mussels (2 lbs / 900 g total). If you prefer to simplify, use one type of seafood instead of a mix. Adjust cooking time as needed—shrimp-only soup may take 4–5 minutes; mussel-only soup may take 6–8 minutes.
- fish stock → vegetable or chicken stock. The soup will taste less briny and more neutral; some Mediterranean character will be muted, but it remains delicious.
- crushed tomatoes, canned → 2 lbs (900 g) fresh ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped. Simmer the fresh tomatoes with the stock for an extra 3–5 minutes to break them down and release their juice before adding the pasta.
