This flavorful Seafood Boil contains smoked sausage, shrimp, crab legs, juicy corn, tender potatoes, and more! There’s truly something for everyone in this filling seafood dinner recipe.
Easy Seafood Boil Recipe
Welcome to the delightful world of seafood boils! This culinary tradition, celebrated across coastal regions worldwide, promises an exciting blend of flavor, community, and the joy of a shared dining experience. Thus, if you can’t decide what to have for dinner tonight, this Seafood Boil is going to solve all of your problems. It’s got everything, and by everything, I mean shrimp, crab legs, sausage, corn, and potatoes.
The best part about this meal is that the whole thing can be made in just under an hour. With all that food, you would think it would take a lot longer, but the process is pretty quick! And once everything is cooked, you choose your favorite garnishes, pass around the lemon wedges, and enjoy.
If you need an even quicker boil, try my Shrimp Boil in Foil Packets. 🙌
What You’ll Need
Wondering what’s needed to whip up this feast? Here’s your essential seafood boil checklist:
- Cooking Oil: Vegetable or any other, for sautéing the sausage.
- Smoked Sausage: Sliced into ½-inch pieces.
- Garlic: Enhances flavor.
- Seasoning: Keep it simple with old bay seasoning and bay leaves.
- Broth: Preferably low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth.
- Water & Beer: To blend with the broth. A light beer, like a pale lager, is recommended.
- Corn: Sliced into 2-inch pieces for quicker cooking.
- Potatoes: Opt for fingerling or yukon gold potatoes.
- Seafood: Pre-cooked snow crab legs and raw shrimp.
- Butter: Melted. You can use salted or unsalted.
- Garnish: Fresh ground black pepper and chopped fresh parsley.
- Serving: Optionally, serve on newspaper layers with lemon wedges and hot sauce.
How to Make a Seafood Boil
While seafood boils do require a lot of ingredients, the cooking process remains pretty simple. Here’s how I go about constructing my seafood boils:
- Cook the Sausage: Heat oil in a large stockpot set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage pieces to the hot oil and cook until browned on all sides. Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
- Stir in Old Bay Seasoning: Then stir in broth, water, beer, and bay leaves. Add corn and potatoes and bring to a boil.
- Let Simmer: Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
- Add Crab Legs and Shrimp: Continue to cook until shrimp are cooked through. Remove from heat and drain, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Whisk the melted butter into the 1 cup reserved liquid. Pour the butter mixture over the seafood.
- Prepare to Serve: Spread a couple of newspapers over a table and arrange the seafood boil right on top of the newspapers. Season with fresh cracked pepper, garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce on the side.
How Long to Boil Seafood
I think it would be helpful to break down the specific cooking times for each piece of seafood. Since they’re all different, it can be hard to time everything so each ingredient is cooked perfectly. Here’s the breakdown:
- Snow Crab Legs will need between 3 and 5 minutes to boil because they are pre-cooked. If you decide to use fresh crab, it can take up to 20 minutes to cook through.
- Raw Shrimp usually takes between 2 to 3 minutes to cook.
- Also, though it’s not seafood, smoked sausage should take about 2 to 3 minutes to brown.
Success Tips
This vibrant meal is a feast for the eyes, especially when served on newspapers with garnishes. Here are a few pointers for a successful seafood boil:
- Versatility of Ingredients: No need to stick to the recipe strictly. Add other proteins like lobster, clams, or different sausages to your liking.
- Fresh Vegetables: While frozen seafood is acceptable, use fresh corn for the best flavor. Don’t hesitate to include other vegetables, like green beans or peas.
- Avoid Overcooking Shrimp: Overcooked shrimp turns rubbery. If the crab needs more time, remove the cooked shrimp from the pot.
- Cook Potatoes Separately: If concerned about potatoes cooking thoroughly, boil them separately and add them with the crab legs.
- Adding Heat: Include some red pepper flakes for a spicier seafood boil.
Serving Suggestions
I know it’s already a lot of food, but you can serve this seafood boil with extra sides if you want to! Here are a few ideas:
- Salad: I like to make a big green goddess salad for everybody to share, or sometimes some coleslaw if it’s warm out. Potato salad is a winner as well!
- Bread: Garlic bread is always a favorite or even just some toasted bread with butter.
- Roasted Vegetables: Air Fryer Roasted Broccoli, Asparagus, and other veggies pair perfectly with seafood.
ENJOY!
Seafood Boil Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 14 ounces smoked sausage, like andouille, cut into ½-inch slices
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup old bay seasoning
- 10 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 12 ounces light beer
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 ears of corn, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved (or you can use yukon gold potatoes)
- 1 pound precooked snow crab legs
- 1 pound fresh shrimp
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- salt, to taste
- fresh ground black pepper, for garnish
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- lemon wedges, for serving
- hot sauce, for serving, optional
- newspapers, for serving the meal on, optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large stockpot set over medium-high heat.
- Add the sausage pieces to the hot oil and cook until browned on all sides. Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
- Stir in the old bay seasoning; then stir in the chicken broth, water, beer, and bay leaves. Add corn and potatoes and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook, uncovered, for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and corn are tender.
- Add the crab legs and shrimp; continue to cook for 3 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked through.
- Remove from heat and drain, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Discard bay leaves.
- Whisk the melted butter into the 1 cup reserved liquid.
- Pour the garlic butter mixture over the seafood.
- Spread a couple of newspapers over a table and arrange the seafood boil right on top of the newspapers.
- Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce.
Notes
- Ingredient Subs: The recipe is versatile – you can substitute or add lobster, clams, or different sausages.
- Fresh Veggies: Frozen seafood is acceptable, but fresh corn is recommended for superior flavor. Add other vegetables as desired.
- Shrimp: Avoid rubbery shrimp by removing them from the pot if the crab needs more time to cook.
- Potatoes: If you’re concerned about potatoes cooking through, boil them separately and add them with the crab legs and shrimp.
- Heat Adjustment: Add pepper flakes if you like spicier seafood.
- Storing: Refrigerate this meal in an airtight container for 3 days. It makes for great leftover lunches!
- To reheat: Add a little extra chicken broth to a stockpot with your leftovers, and cook over low heat until everything is warmed through. I don’t recommend microwaving your leftovers.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
