BEST Shrimp Boil Recipe!

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Last Updated on April 30, 2025 by Toya

You absolutely must try this delicious shrimp boil recipe asap! Made with juicy shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes cooked in the most delicious shrimp boil sauce ever, you’ll really love this easy shrimp boil recipe!

What is a Shrimp Boil?

A shrimp boil is a one-pot recipe made primarily of shrimp, potatoes, and corn cooked in a delicious butter sauce. Shrimp boil is a great recipe for summer or for weekends with the family. 

Most people love making seafood boil recipes like this easy seafood boil with eggs or this delicious seafood boil in a bag. Many other people enjoy making crab boil recipes or even cajun seafood boil recipes. However, if you only have shrimp on hand, and you want to enjoy a boil recipe with your family. Or if you just don’t like the other types of seafood, then a shrimp boil is your best bet!  Just follow the instructions below to see how to make the best shrimp boil recipe in 45 minutes!

The Tools You’ll Need

• Large Pot – You can use any large pot including a large deep stock pot, dutch oven or even a large deep skillet like I did. What you need is for your pot to be roomy enough to hold everything — shrimp, corn, sausage, potatoes — without boiling over.
• Colander – You need one to drain all the boiled ingredients quickly. A large one with handles, like this one is easiest to work with.
• Tongs – Handy for grabbing and serving everything right out of the pot.
• Garlic Press (Optional)– A handy tool if you hate mincing garlic. This one is a great garlic press you can grab on amazon.
• Sharp Knife – To chop the potatoes, sausages, onion, garlic etc.
• Bowls – For storing various ingredients like the shrimp, the shrimp seasoning etc.
• Measuring Cups and Spoons – To measure all the ingredients accurately. These are my favorite measuring spoons and cups.
  

Shrimp Boil Ingredients (+ Substitution options)

• 2 pounds Shrimp (the largest shrimp you can get) — I prefer to use large shrimp with the tails on. I usually pick up a bag of the largest frozen shrimp I can find and thaw them out a few minutes before I start cooking the shrimp boil.
• 3 ears of Corn — Corn on the cob is a must for this recipe as corn kernels will not work here. 
• 1 pound Smoked Sausage — Andouille sausage or Keilbasa sauce is great. But you can use any type of smoked sausage you prefer. You can also check out my best sausage recommendations for a seafood boil.
• 1 ½ cups Chicken stock — This is needed to add flavor to the shrimp boil sauce. It is also a must if you want to cut down on the amount of butter used to make the shrimp boil butter sauce. You can also use seafood stock, or a flavorful seafood broth here instead. 
• Water — Needed to par-cook the corn and potatoes beforehand.
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons Oil — Needed to pan-sear the sausages.
• 1 Pound  Potatoes — Any type of potato can be used here. If you have baby potatoes then keep them whole, but if you have larger potatoes, cut them down to about 1 ½ inch pieces. 
• 4 Tablespoons Shrimp seasoning — A must-have for making a delicious shrimp boil. I used a combination of these spices to make my shrimp seasoning (1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, ½ tsp lemon pepper, ½ tsp red chili flakes, 1 ½ tsp oregano, 1 ½ tsp thyme, ¾ tsp salt. 
• 4 Bay leaves — I used bay leaves in most of my seafood recipes, but you can skip them if you prefer.
• 2 Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning (optional) — Adds that deliciously complex seafood boil flavor that most people love to this shrimp boil recipe. But you can leave it out if you prefer.
• ¾ Tablespoon of Hot sauce (optional) — If you like spicy food, then use any type of hot sauce including Franks hot sauce, etc.
• 1 Head of Garlic — Freshly minced garlic adds a delicious flavor to this recipe. You can substitute with store-bought minced garlic if you prefer, but garlic powder is not a good sub here.
• 1 Large Onion — Freshly chopped onions add flavor and a bit of thickness and body to the shrimp boil sauce used to coat the shrimp, potatoes, and sausages. Do not substitute with onion powder.
• 1 ½ Sticks of Butter — Unsalted butter is needed here. Do not sub with salted butter.

How to a Make Shrimp Boil

Prepare all of your ingredients — That includes mincing the garlic (grab this garlic press to make it easier and thank me later), chopping up the onions, cleaning the shrimp, chopping the potatoes, chopping the sausages into 1-inch pieces, and making the shrimp seasoning.

Par-cook the vegetables — Next, grab a deep pot and fill it ¾ of the way with water. Add 1 tablespoon of old bay seasoning (or homemade shrimp seasoning) to the water and cook the corn and potatoes for 10 — 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes and corn. You can reserve the 1 ½ cups of that broth if you do not have chicken stock on hand.

Pan-sear the sausage — Use the same pot to pan sear the sausage with some oil for a minute or two on each side. Then set those aside for now.

Make the shrimp boil sauce — Add the butter to the same pot over medium heat and let it melt (you can use either a deep skillet, stock pot oven dutch oven.) Then add the minced garlic (If you hate mincing garlic like I do, you’ll need a handy garlic press to make this  step easier), and chopped onions and cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. 

Then add 3 tablespoons of shrimp seasoning and 1 tablespoon of old bay to the skillet. Mix well and cook for another minute or two. 

Pour the chicken broth (or the reserved broth from earlier) into the skillet and mix. Bring this to a simmer.

Cook the shrimp — Next, add the shrimp to the sauce and cook for 2 minutes. 

Add the sausage, potatoes, and corn — Immediately, add the par-cooked potatoes, corn, and cooked sausage to the skillet and coat with the sauce. Let this cook for 4 minutes so everything comes together nicely. 

Serve as desired. You can serve it with some crusty sourdough bread, or with these yummy ramen noodles.

How Long to Boil Shrimp?

Shrimp cooks really quickly and overcooking ruins the texture of shrimp. As such, you typically only need to boil shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side. 

What goes well with a Shrimp Boil?

Shrimp boil can be served with sides like mashed potatoes, sourdough bread, mac and cheese, coleslaw, green salad, fruit salad, a side of ramen noodles, and drinks like white wine, fruit punch, and lemonade!

Storing Leftovers

Store any shrimp boil leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove and enjoy.

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05/01/2025 11:28 pm GMT

Variations

Shrimp boil with eggs —If you want to add some eggs to this recipe, simply boil 6 eggs for 10 minutes – Cook them together with the corn and potatoes. Add them in 4 minutes after the corn and potatoes have started to boil.

Ready to make this easy shrimp boil recipe? Check out the recipe card below for measurements and full instructions. 

Continue to Content

BEST Shrimp Boil Recipe!

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

You absolutely must try this delicious shrimp boil recipe asap! Made with juicy shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes cooked in the most delicious shrimp boil sauce ever, you’ll really love this easy shrimp boil recipe!

Print

Ingredients

• 2 lbs shrimp (the largest shrimp you can get)
• 3 ears of corn
• 1 pound smoked sausage
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock (or reserved stock)
• 1 pound potatoes
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons Oil
• 4 tablespoons Shrimp seasoning 
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning (optional)
• ¾ tablespoon of hot sauce (optional)
• 1 head of garlic minced
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 ½ sticks of butter

Instructions

1. Prepare all of your ingredients — That includes mincing the garlic (grab this garlic press to make it easier and thank me later), chopping up the onions, cleaning the shrimp, chopping the potatoes, chopping the sausages into 1-inch pieces, and making the shrimp seasoning.
2. Par-cook the vegetables — Next, grab a deep pot and fill it ¾ of the way with water. Add 1 tablespoon of old bay seasoning (or homemade shrimp seasoning) to the water and cook the corn and potatoes for 10 — 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes and corn. You can reserve the 1 ½ cups of that broth if you do not have chicken stock on hand.
3. Pan-sear the sausage — Use the same pot to pan sear the sausage with some oil for a minute or two on each side. Then set those aside for now.
4. Make the shrimp boil sauce — Add the butter to the same pot over medium heat and let it melt (you can use either a deep skillet, stock pot oven dutch oven.) Then add the minced garlic (If you hate mincing garlic like I do, you’ll need a handy garlic press to make this  step easier), and chopped onions and cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. 
5. Then add 3 tablespoons of shrimp seasoning and 1 tablespoon of old bay to the skillet. Mix well and cook for another minute or two. 
6. Pour the chicken broth (or the reserved broth from earlier) into the skillet and mix. Bring this to a simmer.
7. Cook the shrimp — Next, add the shrimp to the sauce and cook for 2 minutes. 
8. Add the sausage, potatoes, and corn — Immediately, add the par-cooked potatoes, corn, and cooked sausage to the skillet and coat with the sauce. Let this cook for 4 minutes so everything comes together nicely. 
9. Serve as desired. You can serve it with some crusty sourdough bread, or with these yummy ramen noodles.

Notes

To Make this recipe you will need:

• Large Pot – You can use any large pot including a large deep stock pot, dutch oven or even a large deep skillet like I did. What you need is for your pot to be roomy enough to hold everything — shrimp, corn, sausage, potatoes — without boiling over.
• Colander – You need one to drain all the boiled ingredients quickly. A large one with handles, like this one is easiest to work with.
• Tongs – Handy for grabbing and serving everything right out of the pot.
• Garlic Press (Optional)– A handy tool if you hate mincing garlic. This one is a great garlic press you can grab on amazon.
• Sharp Knife – To chop the potatoes, sausages, onion, garlic etc.
• Bowls – For storing various ingredients like the shrimp, the shrimp seasoning etc.
• Measuring Cups and Spoons – To measure all the ingredients accurately. These are my favorite measuring spoons and cups.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 769Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 434mgSodium: 2733mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 50g