5 Mermaid Dinner Recipe Ideas for Seafood-Loving Mers

After swimming all day in your mermaid tail, nothing feels better than sitting down to a homecooked meal, and you’ll love these mermaid dinner recipe ideas! Go for something simple for those warm, autumn days, or release your inner chef for a tsunami of flavor!

Meat in the middle

When you don’t want to cook on a hot stove, a crab salad sandwich will instantly transport you to the coast! Mermaid food recipes don’t have to be anything fancy, and this one from Dinner then Dessert is simple enough that the kids will love it too! Pair it with sea salt chips to complete the meal.

Ingredients

• 1 pound imitation crab meat
• 1 minced shallot or red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl until all the pieces are evenly coated.
2. Refrigerate for one hour before serving by itself, in a salad, or on a flaky croissant!

Do you want to change it up so it looks like real mermaid food? Use toasted nori (seaweed) instead of bread and make a crab salad hand roll!

Look extra sharp

If you’re looking for ocean-themed food recipes for the pickiest of eaters, use shell pasta! Kids love mac and cheese, and using shell pasta can remind them of the ocean without using too many foreign ingredients. Try out this shells and cheese recipe from Food Network for cheesy goodness!

Ingredients

• 1 pound shell pasta
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups grated Cheddar-Jack cheese
• 8 ounces diced Velveeta (or other processed cheese)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

Instructions

1. To start, cook the shell pasta according to the package directions.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the milk and butter over medium heat. Next, add the cheeses and stir until melted. Add the remaining seasonings.
3. Drain the water from the shell pasta and mix it into the cheese sauce. Serve immediately.

If you want to make it fancy, consider adding a couple of extra ingredients for a coastal flair. Mixing in lobster or shrimp will offer more flavor that seafood-loving mers enjoy! You can even bake the mac with bread crumbs on top that will make this dish look like seashells buried under the sand!

Let the good times roll

Sushi combines the deliciousness of seafood and nutritious vegetables all in a seaweed wrapping! It also makes for a light meal so you can get back out to the ocean as soon as possible! Try this California sushi roll recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen for a popular roll that doesn’t include raw fish.

Ingredients

For the sushi rice:

• 2 cups Japanese short or medium grain rice
• 2 cups water (for cooking on a stovetop) or 2 1/2 cups water (for rice cooker use)
• 5 tablespoons sushi vinegar (or make your own with 4 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons salt)

For sushi roll filling:

• 1/2 pound imitation crab leg meat
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced into thin strips
• Toasted nori seaweed sheets
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Sriracha mayo (about 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon of Sriracha chili sauce mixed together)
• Soy sauce (for dipping)

Instructions

Cooking sushi rice:

1. Before you start, rinse the rice with cold water to remove excess starch. You’ll know it’s done when the water runs clear. Drain well.
2. Next, add the rice and 2 (or 2 1/2) cups of water together to cook. Using a rice cooker is easier, but the stovetop works just fine too! For the stovetop, bring rice and water to a boil over high heat and cover. Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium and let it cook for 7 to 8 minutes (or until the rice absorbs all the water). You’ll know it’s done when the bubbling stops!
3. Next, reduce the heat to low and let it cook for an additional 6 minutes. Then, remove the pan from the heat and let it sit, still covered, for 15 minutes.
4. Transfer the cooked rice to a mixing bowl, breaking up any clumps. While the rice is still warm, stir in the sushi vinegar.

Assembling the roll:

1. If you have a sushi mat, cover it with plastic wrap. (You can still wrap sushi without a mat, but it won’t be as easy!)
2. Break your nori sheets in half and place a piece on your sushi mat. Spread a handful of rice over the nori so it covers the entire piece. You may want to wet your fingertips to prevent the rice from sticking to you. Then, flip the nori and rice over so the rice side is facing down.
3. Place the filling (imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber) across the center of the nori lengthwise. Don’t overfill it or it won’t roll completely.
4. Roll everything together and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. You can also add sriracha mayo to the top for an extra spicy kick!
5. Slice the roll into 1-inch pieces and serve with soy sauce for dipping.

The steps may look long at first, but it’s simpler than it seems! Once you have it down, you’ll be making mermaid’s food like a professional!

Enjoy bunches of flavor

If you’d like a mermaid dinner recipe that feels like it should be in a mermaid-themed restaurant, give this fish florentine recipe from Skinny Taste a try! It combines pan-seared fish and a creamy sauce with such harmony that you’ll have to share it with your pod!

Ingredients

• 4 pieces skinless white fish fillet (such as halibut or bass)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 9 ounces baby spinach
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup half & half
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. On medium heat and in a medium skillet, cook the garlic and bell pepper in half of the olive oil and butter for about 4 minutes.
2. Next, add the baby spinach and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the spinach wilts, and then add the cream cheese, half & half, and Parmesan cheese. Mix until well combined and melted.
3. In a separate skillet, add the remaining olive oil and butter on medium-high heat. Season both sides of each fish fillet with salt and pepper, and place them in the pan. Cook the first side for 6 minutes, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes until the fish is completely cooked through.
4. Serve a fish fillet atop the spinach mixture and enjoy!

The mer community is torn on whether or not mermaids eat fish, but this tasty dish is worth trying out! Who knows, it may become a new family favorite!

Be a little shellfish and get seconds

Shrimp is more than just a mermaid party food! Cafe Delites has a fintastic recipe for creamy garlic butter Tuscan shrimp that tastes just like it came from the Italian coast. If you’re a mer that loves Italian food, give this one a try and tell us what you think!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 6 diced garlic cloves
• 1 pound shrimp
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 5 ounces jarred sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 1 3/4 cups half & half
• 3 cups baby spinach leaves
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place a large skillet on medium-high heat. Melt the butter and fry the garlic in it for about a minute. Then, add the shrimp and cook through, which should take about 2 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
2. Add the onion and sun-dried tomatoes (drained of the oil) to the remaining butter in the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. 
3. Reduce to low-medium heat, and add the half & half. Add salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a simmer.
4. Wilt the spinach in the sauce, and then add the Parmesan cheese. If you’d like a thicker sauce than this, add a cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water).
5. Add the shrimp back to the pan, as well as the herbs and parsley. Mix thoroughly and serve over pasta, rice, or steamed vegetables.

This recipe is so delicious that we won’t blame you if you feel a tad shellfish and want to keep it all to yourself! However, sharing with your pod may make you some new friends that adore your cooking skills!

Take a trip to the sea with a mermaid dinner recipe!

A mermaid dinner recipe can take you back to the beach with delectable flavors that you can only find in the ocean! So if you’re missing the water and longing for a meal to remind you how wonderful it is to be swimming, try out one of these ocean-themed food recipes!

Which mermaid food recipe is calling out to you? Tell us which one you want to try in the comments!

 

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