This seafood boil contains fresh shrimp, lobster, clams, crab, potatoes, corn and sausage, all boiled in a flavorful broth. An impressive meal in one pot that’s perfect for feeding a crowd!
Fresh seafood never fails to delight, and when I’m really looking for a show stopping recipe I make bacon wrapped scallops, garlic butter shrimp or this fantastic seafood boil.
When I’m looking to enjoy some fresh shellfish, I often end up making a mixed seafood boil. It’s a great option because everything gets tossed into one pot, it’s fun to eat, and of course, it’s loaded with tons of flavor! It’s also a great way to make more expensive ingredients like lobster and crab stretch further, since they’re combined with less expensive items like corn and potatoes.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A SEAFOOD BOIL?
This recipe contains shrimp, lobster, crab, clams, potatoes, corn and sausage. All of the ingredients are boiled in a seasoned broth, then tossed in a little butter. Add a sprinkling of parsley and some lemon wedges, and dinner is served.
TIPS FOR SEAFOOD BOIL
- I recommend buying the biggest shrimp you can find for this recipe. I use 16-20 count jumbo shrimp.
- I used Maine lobster tails and Dungeness crab legs, but you can use other varieties including spiny lobster tail, snow crab or king crab.
- Fresh corn on the cob tastes best in this recipe – you can use white, yellow or bi-color corn.
- I use small Yukon gold potatoes, but red potatoes are also a great choice.
- You can use kielbasa or Andouille sausage. Andouille sausage can be a bit spicy, so I’d recommend using that variety if you prefer a little heat.
- The types of seafood listed in the recipe are just a suggestion – you can use other types such as mussels, scallops or even chunks of firm fish such as swordfish.
- Make sure you discard any clams that haven’t opened up before you serve your boil.
- I recommend serving your boil immediately, as seafood is highly perishable and tastes best when freshly cooked.
- You can use shell-on or peeled shrimp. I personally prefer peeled shrimp because they’re easier to eat.
HOW LONG TO BOIL SEAFOOD
The seafood ingredients in this recipe cook at different rates, so you’ll want to put the longest cooking items in the boil first, then add the others later on.
- Lobster: 8-12 minutes
- Clams: 5-10 minutes
- Crab: 6-8 minutes for pre-cooked crab, 20 minutes for raw crab
- Shrimp: 2-3 minutes
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SEAFOOD BOIL
A seafood boil can be served as-is, but some people prefer to add more side dishes to round out the meal. Some great options include a green salad, french or sourdough bread, coleslaw, or potato salad. I typically keep things simple with a loaf of garlic bread and sometimes a green veggie such as zucchini, asparagus or green beans.
You just can’t go wrong with a mixed boil, especially when you’re entertaining. The tender seafood pairs so well with the creamy potatoes, smoky sausage and sweet corn. Everyone will be coming back for more!
OTHER GREAT SEAFOOD RECIPES
Seafood Boil
Ingredients
- 3 lemons divided use
- 1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning plus more for garnish
- 8 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 onion peeled and cut into 6 pieces
- 1 pound small Yukon gold potatoes halved
- 4 ears corn on the cob cut into 3-4 inch pieces
- 3 lobster tails
- 1 pound clams scrubbed
- 1 pound crab legs pre-cooked
- 1 pound smoked sausage cut into 1 inch pieces, kielbasa or andouille are preferred
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (leave tails on)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cut 2 of the lemons into quarters. Slice the remaining lemon into wedges and reserve the wedges for garnish.
- Fill a large pot with 14-16 cups of water. Place the 2 quartered lemons in the water along with the Old Bay seasoning, garlic and onion. Bring to a boil.
- Add the potatoes to the pot and cook for 8 minutes.
- Add the lobster tails and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the clams, crab, and corn, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Drain the seafood mixture from the pot, reserving 1 cup of the broth.
- Melt the butter in a small bowl and whisk it into the reserved broth. Pour the broth over the seafood mixture.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon wedges. Sprinkle with additional Old Bay seasoning to taste, then serve immediately.
Any issues adding Crayfish and Cajun pepper to the mix?
That will work!
Thanks
Can I use the same recipe but in a bag instead?
What type of bag are you referring to?
Made this for Mother’s Day and everyone loved it! Both cooking sheets were near clean towards the end and we have great left overs for lunch tomorrow, I am 100% looking forwards towards eating the rest tomorrow. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
I’m making for my granddaughters 28th Birthday sounds so good can hardly wait thank you
I made and it wa delicious
Could I throw in some chunks of fish?
That should be fine, add at the very end!
Is it possible to use frozen seafood. I have crab legs, shirmp and mussels..everything is frozen.
That should be fine you’ll just need to increase the cook time by a few minutes!
I let the frozen stuff sit in cold water for a little while prepping and the potatoes cook.
Delicious ! I made this for dinner and we loved it . Thank you!
I am getting ready to cook this now. With the different cook times you have for each item, Do I remove that item from the pot after its cook time is over or do I just add the next item in with everything else
Just add all the items to the pot in the order, you don’t take anything out in between.
Where can you buy the old bay seasoning?
It’s available in the spice aisle of almost every grocery store!
I finally made this for my husbands birthday and it was amazing!
Can I substitute oysters for clams?
Yes that’s fine!
The only problem is at 13 minutes of cook time, the lobster gets overcooked. It should be closer to 6-8 minutes. Otherwise everything was great.
How big of a pot do you use?
You want to use the biggest pot you have, at least 8 quarts!
Is 16 quart pot too big?
It should be fine!
The biggest pot for seafood
Should the seafood be frozen or thawed?
It should be thawed!
Thanks
thanks for the advice i mean this was really helpful…thanks once again
hello! do we add the seafood per instructions after each cooking time?
Yes that’s correct!
Do u cook the sausage before you add it to the pot
I use pre-cooked sausage so it just needs to be heated up!
Wanting to do this for Xmas eve for 30 adults. What size pot did you use to accomodate the amount of food.
This recipe is designed to feed 6, you can adjust the number of servings up to 30 on the recipe card to get the correct measurements. I cooked the amount for 6 people in a 12 quart stockpot, you may need to use multiple pots.
Can you use uncooked whole crabs or uncooked crab legs ? Do you know how long those would take to boil?
Either will work, cooked crab should take 4-5 minutes, uncooked whole crabs 20 minutes, uncooked crab legs 8-10 minutes.
Love seafood boil,going to cook one myself
We made this for 30 people and used lobster, crab and shrimp for the seafood. Everything turned out perfectly cooked. We poured everything onto a large island covered in layers of craft paper and that made an impressive presentation. Everyone raved about the food and it was fun to make. We will be making this again – it’s a new favorite!