How To Make Seafood Boil In A Bag Step By Step

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Last Updated on August 18, 2023 by Toya

This recipe for how to make seafood boil in a bag is the best! If you’ve ever wanted to make a seafood boil, then you need to learn how to make this seafood boil recipe in a bag right now. It’s a great easy dinner or lunch idea made in under 1 hour and produces the juiciest shellfish and vegetables! 

seafood boil in a bag served 4

What is a seafood boil bag?

A seafood boil bag is simply a type of bag that is resistant to high temperatures. They’re usually just oven bags that people use to cook seafood boil recipes inside of.

What is a seafood bag boil recipe?

This is a seafood boil recipe that is cooked in an oven-safe bag that usually includes shellfish, vegetables, and some buttery seafood sauce.

Sometimes seafood bag boil recipes are made in an oven and other times they are made by dunking the sealed bag of seafood in a large pot of boiling water on the stovetop.

Some people also just cook the seafood boil recipe on the stovetop or inside an oven, then place the cooked seafood and vegetables inside of a bag together with their favorite sauce and serve it right inside of the bag! Keep reading to see exactly how to make a seafood boil in a bag step by step.

Why is seafood boil served in a bag?

Seafood boil is served in a bag to keep the shrimp, crab legs, mussels, crawfish, clams, lobster tails, and whatever other seafood you include in the seafood boil juicy and tender during cooking. It is also a less messy way to enjoy seafood and not have to do a lot of cleaning afterward. 

What kind of bags can you boil seafood in?

15 Counts Large Oven-Safe Bags - 20×24 inches
$9.99 ($1.49 / Ounce)

Every time I make seafood boil bags, I use Newcos heat-resistant oven bags.

They’re very large, reasonably priced and they are very strong.

Plus, these oven bags come with handy zip ties so you can close them easily and securely. 

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08/24/2023 01:18 am GMT
These oven bags made of heat-resistant nylon are your best bet. I get my seafood boil oven bags from Newcos on Amazon at a reasonable price. They’re large enough to hold up to 11 pounds of seafood and still close up easily. I’ve tried numerous other ones and found this one works best. They are also versatile and can be used to make all types of seafood boil recipes, but also for perfectly cooked turkey, chicken, vegetables, etc.

They’re great for roasting, reheating, and microwaving.

Plus, they’re able to close easily as they come with ties while holding up to 11 pounds of seafood boil and can be exposed to high temperatures safely.

With all these features you could want, a very affordable price, and great quality, this is an amazing buy! 

Find out now why it’s one of the best choices today on amazon.

Ingredients for seafood boil cooked in a bag

  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 1 lb king crab legs
  • 1 lb  precooked crawfish
  • 1 lb red potatoes
  • 1 lb sausages
  • 4 ears of corn, cut into 3-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons of seafood boil seasoning
  • Fresh parsley, to garnish
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 5 bay leaves

Tools needed to make a seafood boil bag recipe

  • A large oven bag and tie – This is needed to cook the seafood boil in. The tie is convenient for tying the bag to seal the stem in during cooking.
  • A large bowl – A large bowl is needed to provide some stability so that as you’re adding all the seafood boil ingredients into the bag, it does not move and slide everywhere. 
  • A baking sheet – This tool is used to place the bag of seafood boil on so the liquid doesn’t pour out and make a mess inside of the oven as the food cooks.
  • Foil – Not a necessity, but add some extra protection to the baking sheet, and makes cleaning even easier in case of spills. 
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How to make seafood boil in a bag

To make this super easy seafood boil recipe in a bag, start by gathering all the ingredients in one place.

ingredients for seafood bag boil

Then Clean up the crab legs, shrimp, crawfish, and mussels. Also chop up the sausages, the corn, and the potatoes.

Precook the corn by boiling it for ten minutes. Precook the medium-sized potatoes by boiling them for 25 minutes.

If you have smaller potatoes boil them for 12 minutes, if you have large potatoes precook them by boiling them for 30 minutes. 

Precooking these is important as you don’t want them raw when they’re placed inside that seafood bag for cooking. They need a head start so you don’t have to leave the seafood boil (with the shrimp, the mussels, crawfish, and the crab legs) in the oven to overcook for too long.

Next, find a large bowl or container and place the oven bag over it to get some stability.

open the oven bag over a large bowl

Then add all the ingredients into the oven bag including the seafood boil seasoning, the lime juice, the melted butter, and the bay leaves. 

add all the seafood boil ingredients into the bag

Toss everything together to make sure everything is coated nicely. Then close up the bag with the tie, place the seafood bag inside a baking dish, and place it into an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 22 minutes.

Increase the heat to 400 degrees for the last 6 minutes of cooking.

sealed bag with seafood boil ingredients

Once the 28 minutes are up, open up the bag to let out the steam. You can enjoy the seafood served in a bag, or…

cooked seafood boil in a bag

You can remove the seafood from the bag and place it in a dish before serving. Garnish with some fresh chopped parsley and serve with some garlic butter sauce, this easy crab boil sauce, or Blove’s sauce. You can also pair this seafood served in a bag with some of my famous sourdough bread or a side of chopped vegetables and a refreshing glass of Swerve lemonade.

seafood boil recipe in bag served 2

When it comes to making seafood in a bag many people tend to worry that things may go wrong. Thankfully, with this simple, straightforward recipe, you can rest assured that your meal will come out tasting amazing every time!

FAQs about cooking seafood inside of a bag

How to warm up seafood boil in a bag

The best way to reheat sea food in a bag is on the stovetop.

For this method of reheating, simply add at least 4 cups of water to a large, deep pot and bring that to a boil. Once the water has reached a boil, place the sealed sea food boil bag into the boiling water making sure that the bag of seafood boil does not touch the sides of the pot.

Let the seafood boil and sit in this pot of boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Remove, then pour out onto a platter and serve. Or, let it cool for a few minutes, then untie/unseal to release the heat and enjoy.

How to cook seafood boil in a bag

There are a few ways to cook a seafood bag boil recipe. You can either place all the ingredients in an oven bag, pop that into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees as is shown step by step here.

Or, you can also place all the ingredients in an oven bag, then place the oven bag into a large, deep pot of boiling water and cook for 15-20 minutes on medium heat. I always like to precook my potatoes before placing them in the bag to ensure they’re cooked through when the seafood boil 

How to make cajun seafood boil in a bag

If you’re craving a cajun seafood boil recipe in a bag, you can make it by simply replacing your regular seafood boil seasoning with cajun seasoning. 

How long to bake seafood boil in a bag

Many people bake their seafood bag and boil them for 20 minutes. I personally find 28 minutes to be my sweet spot, especially if my potatoes are larger and were not cut into smaller pieces or precooked beforehand. 

Now that you know how to cook seafood boil in a bag let me know if you tried it out and how you liked it below!

Why you’ll love this seafood in a bag

  • Flavorful, satisfying, and requires very little cleanup
  • Full of delicious seafood and vegetables
  • Easy to make
  • Made in an oven – so it’s very convenient 
  • Makes 4 servings

How to make seafood boil in a bag (1)

More seafood boil recipes 

Seafood Boil In A Bag

Seafood Boil In A Bag Recipe

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 6 minutes
Cook Time: 28 minutes
Additional Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 59 minutes

This seafood boil bag recipe is the best! If you’ve ever wanted to make a seafood boil, then you need to learn how to make this seafood boil in a bag right now. It’s a great easy dinner or lunch idea made in under 1 hour and produces the most juicy shellfish and vegetables! 

Ingredients

  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 1 lb king crab legs
  • 1 lb precooked crawfish
  • 1 lb red potatoes
  • 1 lb sausages
  • 4 ears of corn, cut into 3 inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons of seafood boil seasoning
  • Fresh parsley, to garnish
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 5 bay leaves

Instructions

  1. Start by gathering all the ingredients in one place. Also, grab some large oven bags.
  2. Then clean up the crab legs, shrimp, crawfish, and mussels. Also chop up the sausages, the corn, and the potatoes.
  3. Precook the corn by boiling it for 5 minutes. Precook the medium-sized potatoes by boiling them for 25 minutes.
  4. Next, find a large bowl or container and place the oven bag over it to get some stability.
  5. Then add all the ingredients into the oven bag including the seafood boil seasoning, the lime juice, the melted butter, and the bay leaves. 
  6. Then close up the bag with the tie, place the seafood bag inside a baking dish, and place it into an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 22 minutes.
  7. Increase the heat to 400 degrees for the last 6 minutes of cooking.
  8. Once the 28 minutes are up, open up the bag to let out the steam. You can enjoy it directly from the bag, OR…
  9. You can remove the seafood from the bag and place it in a dish before serving. Garnish with some fresh chopped parsley. and serve with some garlic butter sauce or Blove’s sauce

Notes

If you have smaller potatoes boil them for 12 minutes, if you have large potatoes precook them by boiling them for 30 minutes. 

Precooking these is important as you don’t want them raw when they’re placed inside that seafood bag for cooking. They need a head start so you don’t have to leave the seafood boil (with the shrimp, the mussels, crawfish and the crab legs) in the oven to overcook for too long.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: about 1 lb of seafood boil
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 865Total Fat: 49gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 451mgSodium: 2890mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 69g

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