Easy Shrimp Boil is a one-pot Southern classic bursting with bold flavor, perfectly cooked, and ready to enjoy in an hour! Try it out soon!
A seafood boil is the perfect dish for a summer gathering, and if you love this, you’ll also love my Marinated Grilled Shrimp and my Blackened Shrimp Recipe! For other tasty recipes, check out my entire Shrimp Recipe collection for more ideas!
Sabrina’s Easy Shrimp Boil Recipe
Serving this recipe at your summer pool party will be the hit of the summer and what everyone will be talking about for months to come. This tasty recipe comes together all in one pot and is served right on top of the table. How fun is that!?! The best part about this recipe is that it comes with protein and sides all in one! It can’t get any easier!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 lemon , cut in half
- 1 large yellow onion , cut into 8 wedges
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 cloves garlic , crushed
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 4 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons dill seeds
- 2 teaspoons whole allspice
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound red potatoes , cut into quarters
- 4 ears corn , cut into three inch sections
- 1 1/4 pounds large shrimp , unpeeled
- 1 pound cooked andouille sausage , sliced
- 4 cups ice cubes
- 3 lemons , cut in half for serving
- Parsley for garnish , optional
- hot sauce , optional
Instructions
- Combine first 12 ingredients (through cayenne pepper) and 8 cups water in a large pot (preferably with a strainer insert).
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, and corn and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove them, along with the onions to a pan and add in the shrimp and sausage until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
- Turn off heat, add 4 cups ice cubes, and let the pot sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove shrimp and sausage and combine with the corn and potatoes and onions on a baking sheet.
- Serve with hot sauce on the side (optional) and halved lemons.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Chef’s Notes
For this shrimp boil recipe, I leave the shrimp unpeeled while they cook. This helps lock in a lot of the juices and flavor, along with the seasoned broth, and makes the shrimp incredibly tender and juicy. You can also ask for the shrimp to be deveined when you buy it. Shrimp cooks very quickly; I only boil them for 3 minutes before adding ice to the broth. If you add the shrimp too soon, they will be overcooked and rubbery.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
This Shrimp Boil is a classic Southern recipe that is perfect to feed a crowd on a warm day. This recipe has fresh shrimp, andouille sausage, potatoes, and corn still on the cob. While it may look complicated because of so many ingredients, it’s really not since most of them are spices. I use homemade seasoning instead of Old Bay seasoning because it’s quick and easy, and I already have all of these seasonings in my house, so it’s one less thing to buy. You will be enjoying this boil in about an hour with prep time included. You can add crab or crayfish to this shrimp boil, and I always serve this with plenty of lemon wedges!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes and no. While you can’t really make a Shrimp Boil ahead of time, you can certainly prep ingredients to help make your life a little easier when it comes time to make the recipe. You can cut your lemons and onions and store them in airtight containers or ziplocks. You can pre-crush your garlic and store it in an airtight container. You could make the spice blend and keep it in a Ziplock. You could also make a double or quadruple batch so that you don’t need to get all the spices out next time. You could pre-slice your sausage and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Then when it comes to actual party time it’s much faster to get everything going!
Pairing Suggestions
For your perfect summer seafood boil, try amazing sides like Cole Slaw and Macaroni Salad. Honey Bacon Baked Beans and Super Creamy Macaroni and Cheese would also be delicious sides! Of course, you don’t need all of these but if you like to be a little over the top make at least one or two of them.
How to Store
- Serve: Enjoy this Shrimp Boil as soon as it is ready! Be sure to put it away before it has been out for 2 hours. If you are enjoying it in hot weather, it’s best to put away closer to the 1 hour mark if you can.
- Store: Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge. Leftovers should last for 2-3 days. Reheat on the stove in a sauce pan on medium heat with some of the broth.
- Freeze: You can freeze any leftovers that you have for up to 3 months. If you do this make sure to store some of the liquid with it as well. The texture of the shrimp and potatoes will not taste the same once they have been thawed and reheated, so it may be best to just make a new batch.
Ideas to Serve
Drain the boil, then pour it out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or onto a table covered with newspaper. You don’t need to have any silverware for guests as it is traditional for them to pick everything up with their hands. Make sure to set out a few rolls of paper towels as well as a few “shell bowls” so that the shrimp shells don’t end up next to the uneaten food. When it’s time to clean up the throw the parchment or newspaper in the trash! It doesn’t get any easier!
Variations
- Seafood: You can make this recipe with a variety of seafood. I’ve made it using other ingredients like crab. You could also make it with craw fish, clams, or lobster tails.
- Sausage: You can use kielbasa instead of andouille sausage. Smoke sausage or chorizo would also work well.
- Veggies: Whole heads of garlic instead of just cloves can be used. Russet potatoes instead of red potatoes. Yukon golds would also be a nice potato to use!
- Water: A shrimp boil is all about flavor so if you want to replace some of your water, or all of it, with beer or chicken stock that would help impart more flavor into the food!
- Shrimp: I don’t recommend using frozen shrimp for this recipe because the cooking time will be different, and it won’t be as flavorful as fresh shrimp. But if that’s what you have, defrost the shrimp thoroughly before boiling.
- Seasoning: I like to use my own spice blend since I have everything on hand. The nice thing is you can further customize the blend to your liking. However, you could just purchase Old Bay if that is easier.
Homemade Shrimp Boil Spice Blend
- 2 tablespoons kosher Salt
- 1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
- 4 teaspoons yellow Mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons Dill seeds
- 2 teaspoons whole Allspice
- 1 teaspoon Black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon Crushed red pepper flakes
- Mix: Combine all of the ingredients and store them in a glass jar or airtight container.
Related Recipes
More Tasty Shrimp Dishes
These photos were used in a previous version of this post:
Curious. what does the ice do? Thanks!
Shrimp cooks very quickly; we only boil it for 3 minutes before adding ice to the broth. If you add the shrimp too soon, it will be overcooked and rubbery. Brings the cooking time to an immediate end so you don’t overcook the shrimp and allows the shrimp to absorb the flavors.
Hi! If we are making this with Old Bay seasoning instead of homemade (I don’t have a lot of ingredients listed), how much is needed for this recipe? Thanks in advance!
I’ve never testd it but I would think you would need about 1/4 cup of Old Bay to substitute the seasonings. Remember, you can always add more to your liking. Enjoy!
This shrimp dinner was amazing! I love how easy it is to make!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Can’t believe this is ready in just 45 minutes! So easy and delicious!
Definitely! I hope you enjoy it.
So easy and flavorful – we will make this one again and again!
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
I made this for a dinner with friends and it was a huge hit! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Anna! Thanks for the 5 stars.
We were invited to a shrimp boil last weekend and it was incredible! I can’t wait to make do this on my own!
Hi Sabrina – can this be made in an instapot?
I’ve not tested it but I’m sure there’s a recipe online with similar ingredients that you could follow as a guideline to help. Good luck!
Sabrina I’d love to make this recipe but my husband is allergic to Fish…..Is there anything else I could use instead of Shrimp?
You could use chicken instead. 🙂
Meanwhile, slice along the back of each shrimp through the shells; remove the veins and rinse the shrimp. Add to the pot, cover and cook until the shrimp curl and are just opaque, 2 to 3 minutes.
You had me at easy and okay shrimp!
Thanks for the advice about how to do a shrimp boil AND how to clean up afterwards!
No problem!
Best thing to come out of One Pot! I love this!
This shrimp boil of yours is also known in the Carolina’s and Southern East Coast as Frogmore stew, or “a low country South Carolina dish”. In Virginia it’s known as a Low-Country Boil and some areas of the south refer to it as Beaufordt Stew.
Now I have had this “Boil” in many parts of the country including CA and found the technique in making it when to add spices and how much is a matter of technique. Sorry to say but I have never had a “Boil” in CA that had much taste or flavor. I found the best “Boil” to be in central South Carolina.
Love summer shrimp boils!
Love all the colors and flavors in this dish!
This dish screams summer to me! My family will love it!
I don’t cook seafood very often, but when I do I love meals like this one! So quick and easy!
Seriously! How great for a party!
It seems easy and quick meal to make. Scrumptious as usual …and thx for slime recipe as well, my kid would be very happy with it 🙂
One of my favorite meals ever!
Perfect way to beat those odors and still enjoy such a perfect summer meal!