This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
I’ve been working on creating the perfect fish and shrimp soup and this one really hit the spot. The fish is perfectly tender and flaky.
Light, but full of flavor; a major comfort soup. Ukha is a traditional Russian soup and you can absolutely use a freshly caught fish just like our ancestors would have except I was too lazy to pick the bones out of a fish. And I was too lazy to go fishing and catch a fish. That being said, my fish came from the freezer aisle of Fred Meyer. Don’t judge me.
Ingredients for Fish and Shrimp soup:
10 cups water
2 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
1 Tbsp salt
3 medium potatoes
2 medium carrot, thinly sliced
12 oz tilapia fish fillets, cut into 1″ pieces
1/2 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
1. In a large soup pot over high heat, add 10 cups water, 2 cups vegetable broth and 1 Tbsp salt. Dice your potatoes and add them to the pot. Bring to a boil and continue to cook the potatoes 10 minutes after boiling.
2. Add sliced carrots into the pot and cook another 10 min while prepping your mirpoix/zazharka (step 3).
3. In a large skillet, add 3 Tbsp olive oil over med/high heat. Add finely diced onion and thinly sliced celery and saute until soft and golden (7 min). Toss this mixture into the pot.
4. Add shelled shrimp and chopped fish to the pot. Also, toss in your 2 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash, 1/8 tsp pepper, 2 Tbsp fresh parsley. Return to a boil and cook another 5 minutes or until fish and shrimp are fully cooked. Salt more to taste if desired and remove from heat. Serve with a sprig of fresh parsley or dill.
Yum. Yum.
Credits: Big thank you to my sis, Alla who gave me fierce fish soup cravings after I tried a bowl at her house. Also, a great big thank you to Valentina N. who shared her fish and shrimp soup recipe with me and taught me that tilapia and shrimp mingle really well together.
Shrimp and Fish Soup (Ukha)

Ingredients
- 10 cups water
- 2 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 3 medium potatoes
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 12 oz tilapia fish fillets, cut into 1" pieces
- 1/2 lb shrimp
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
Instructions
- In a large soup pot over high heat, add 10 cups water, 2 cups broth and 1 Tbsp salt. Dice your potatoes and add them to the pot. Bring to a boil and continue to cook the potatoes 10 minutes after boiling.
- Add sliced carrots into the pot and cook another 10 min while prepping your mirpoix/zazharka (step 3).
- In a large skillet, add 3 Tbsp olive oil over med/high heat. Add finely diced onion and thinly sliced celery and saute until soft and golden (7 min). Toss this mixture into the pot.
- Add shelled shrimp and chopped fish to the pot. Also, toss in your 2 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp Dash, 1/8 tsp pepper, 2 Tbsp fresh parsley. Return to a boil and cook another 5 minutes or until fish and shrimp are fully cooked. Salt more to taste if desired and remove from heat. Serve with a sprig of fresh parsley or dill for garnish.
And because a gazillion of you have asked for the nutrition info:
I call this shot “Chilling in the hot tub”…
turned out amazing! i used red snapper instead of talipa & added garlic to the mix.
5 star
Thanks for sharing that with us, Jaclyn. That’s very useful information!
Hi Natasha,
Can you substitute Chicken Broth or is Vegetable Broth preferred?
Thanks
Hi George! I havenโt tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
i used half chicken broth, half seafood broth instead of veg broth and it tasted amazing
Nice to know that the end result was great! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Delicious and so easy! I added green beans and spinach from my garden.
Iโm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Outstanding soup
Thank you for the wonderful review, Karen!
Hello Natasha. My Belarussian friend said traditional uha should be with vodka. Is it true? Best regards
Hi Daris, I honestly couldn’t say. That is interesting, I wonder if anyone else has heard of this?
Hello Darius and Natasha, I like a good challenge so I did some research and many Russian sites do state the use of vodka, about 1/2 cup. All the sites were in agreement that the vodka does flash off the alcohol, imparting little taste. On another note, I have been to Russia, and I will say Russians and Vodka is like Peanut Butter and Jelly ๐
How interesting! Thank you for sharing that with us Lee!
I cook for about 100 unhoused and people in need every Saturday. I was wondering if you could add a serving size button to your site? It helps me calculate the recipe ingredients to that larger amount.
The serving size is listed with each recipe. Iโll keep your suggestion in mind to add the feature to adjust it manually!
I have shared Natasha’s recipe on my site (we have an agreement with this) and my site can do the serving size for. By no means am I trying to take away from Natasha’s recipe or her site.
Yes this is true! Thanks Lee ๐
Thanks Natasha for your recipes. Everything I tried was great! This soup is delisious easy to cook and low calories. I will definitely recommend your blog to my friends.
Anna, thank you for such a nice review ๐ฌ and you are very welcome!
Haven’t had uha in 15 years, was looking up recipes and found yours. Prego craving! Thank you so much for posting an adapted recipe, I had no idea where to look for okun’ fish. Haha. I’m sure it’s delicious!
I hope you LOVE it (and hope it satisfies your cravings!) Congratulations and God bless you in your pregnancy ๐
I will make the soup tomorrow .Will see! Thank you for recipe.
Okun’ fish is bass here. Smallmouth or largemouth bass are the most common. What we used to catch in Ukraine I would classify as ‘peacock’ bass. Hope this helps
Natasha this is a wonderful soup, super delicious and light๐๐ป I been making it for a while now but didn’t know that I never left a comment about it.
I got my mom and sister into making it as well๐
Simple ingredients and easy to make! Definitely a must try to whoever haven’t yet๐
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe just as much as I do! Thanks for spreading the love and sharing your excellent review Tatyana!
I made this today with Shark Catfish, which is a whitefish and not a catfish taste, followed the recipe (had to make some Mrs. Dash Seasoning) and for a Thai flair, added Straw Mushrooms. Perfect! Thank you Natasha, 5th recipe tested, 5th recipe 100% spot on. The Thai family, and there is a lot here, are loving it!
My pleasure Lee! I’m so glad your loving the recipes! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review! ๐
I am not a fan of tilapia and was wondering if you tried to substitute it for salon or cod?
Hi Natalia, I think you could make this work well with a variety of fish. There is definitely room to experiment ๐
I would shy away from salmon, stick with a common whitefish in your area. Salmon is good in a sauce type of dish, probably over powering in this dish. Sea Bass, Ocean Perch, Barramundi, Shark Catfish would be good choices.
I tried this and I absolutely love it and will be making it time and time again it’s definitely delicious.
I’m so happy you love it! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review ๐
Great recipe. My family and I loved it! I made a slight change by adding some barley and fresh lemon juice. Delicious!
Those changes sound nice! Thank you so much for sharing that with us ๐
Dear Natasha! Thank you for this wonderful soup! I have only one question – what is the Mr. Dish? I guess it is spice but I’d like to be more sure. Thank you in advance!
Kate, Mrs. Dash is all purpose, salt-free seasoning, used in a variety of dishes. I always have it on hand.
What an interesting take on traditional uha! So delicious! And simple
Enjoying every sip of it right now, after finally putting up our Christmas tree (with lots of “help” from my little ones lol)
What a sweet scene. ๐ I’m so happy you are enjoying the soup and isn’t it the “best” and most unique looking tree when kids help out? lol
This soup recipe is simply awesome.
Thanks for the great review! I’m so glad you liked it ๐
Thanks for the recipe! We don’t eat shellfish so I added more fish, it was delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! ๐
This fish soup was so incredible! I will be making it again and again. I’ll probably add some fresh crab or lobster the next time. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Yum! Crab or lobster sound phenomenal! ๐
I’ve been looking for a good fish soup recipe and this was perfect! I substituted turnip for the potatoes, used cod instead of tilapia and added some baby spinach. Perfection! Great recipe!
Thanks for the great review Laura and great job on improvising :).
Just made a pot of this goodness. Can’t wait to have a few bowls ๐ I like to let it sit for an hour our so.. you can taste the flavors a lot more. Oh and for those that like their ukha spicy, try adding a *little* cayenne pepper in the end. Yum!
I’m so happy you liked it! I love your idea of adding cayenne pepper at the end. Mmm… ๐