Shrimp boils are a classic festive meal to share with a group. They’re really fun and easy to make at home anytime you need to feed a crowd.
So, you want to make a shrimp boil at home? This is the best and easiest way to do it! This is a great recipe to make for a crowd because the ingredients are simple and don’t need you to do a lot of prep. You’re mostly just cooking and then laying it all out there.
Below, you’ll find info for how to make a shrimp boil, but also a Shrimp Boil Calculator, basically telling you how much of each ingredient you need per person. Grab a big pot and let’s get boiling!
Scroll down to learn more about how to make a shrimp boil at home, or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
- Video: How To Do A Shrimp Boil
- What Kind Of Shrimp To Use
- Which Veggies Go In A Shrimp Boil?
- What Kind Of Sausage To Use
- Seasonings For A Shrimp Boil
- Shrimp Boil Calculator (Ingredient Amounts Per Person)
- How To Serve A Shrimp Boil
- More Seafood Recipes
- Podcast Episode: Making A Shrimp Boil
- Shrimp Boil Recipe
Video: How To Do A Shrimp Boil
What Kind Of Shrimp To Use
Shrimp are the most important ingredient of a shrimp boil. I like to use uncooked large shrimp, but medium and jumbo also work well. I give more thorough amount calculations below, but you’ll want about a third of a pound of shrimp per person.
My favorite shrimp to use are already peeled but have the tail on. That way, the tail acts as a handle if you want to dip the shrimp in butter. And of course you want to dip the shrimp in butter, right? You can use easy-peel shrimp instead of already-peeled, if you have those.
Which Veggies Go In A Shrimp Boil?
Corn on the cob is in there for sure! Fresh corn on the cob is much better than frozen here. I shuck the corn cobs and then break them in half. I go with a bit less than one cob of corn per person, or rather, a bit more than 1/2 of a cob of corn per person. For 8 people, 6 cobs of corn works about right.
I use red potatoes in my shrimp boil, and I think that’s pretty standard. If they’re about the size of a golf ball, you don’t have to cut them in half. Just give them a rinse and you’re good to go.
I also include whole garlic cloves in my shrimp boil. They add a touch of flavor to the simmering liquid but, more importantly, they act as a wonderful condiment to the dish. Use garlic cloves that still have the peel on. Then people can squeeze the garlic onto their food as they eat, kind of like roasted garlic.
Onions are a wonderful addition. I leave them in fairly large pieces. If they’re in season, Vidalia onions are my favorite here, or some kind of sweet onion. Red onion works too. Or regular yellow or white onions if that’s what you have.
What Kind Of Sausage To Use
There is usually sausage in a shrimp boil. It really adds some depth, saltiness, and flavor to the simmering liquid and therefore to everything. It’s also nice and meaty so it turns the seafood meal into a really hearty event.
Andouille sausage is traditional but if you can’t find that, then kielbasa, or really any fully-cooked sausage links, will do.
Seasonings For A Shrimp Boil
The final essential ingredient is the Old Bay Seasoning. This just works and I can’t explain why. It’s a mixture of all kinds of things, including celery salt, which doesn’t show up in many recipes. Somehow though, it’s just got this magic that works on shrimp boils. If you’d like to make your own homemade version of Old Bay, it’s a wonderful thing to try.
I also squeeze lemon into the simmering liquid and serve the shrimp boil with extra lemon wedges. Make sure to put a bottle of hot sauce on the table too. It’s required.
A few bowls of melted butter with some minced garlic mixed in is a great thing to set out for people to dip their food in too. Read more about this below.
Shrimp Boil Calculator (Ingredient Amounts Per Person)
Shrimp per Person: 1/3 of a pound, rounding up to the nearest half pound. So for 6 people that will be 2 pounds. For 10 people it will be about 3 and a half pounds.
Corn on the Cob: You’re breaking the cobs in half, and not everyone will take two. So I say it’s 3/4 of a cob of corn per person (but still just break them in half), and round up to the nearest full cob. So for 6 people you’ll want 5 cobs of corn. For 10 people you’ll want 8 cobs of corn.
Potatoes: If you’re using the small red potatoes, you want about 3 per person. So for 6 people you want 18 and for 10 people you want 30. If you’re using a different kind of potato or if you want to go by weight, then you’ll want about 1/3 of a pound of potatoes per person.
Sausage: You’ll need about 2 ounces of sausage per person.
Onions: Use 1/4 to 1/2 of a medium onion per person.
Garlic Cloves: Two garlic cloves per person is enough, but I always add a handful or two more.
Old Bay: You’ll want 1/2 cup of Old Bay seasoning per 6 quarts of water.
Lemons: Use 2 lemons per 6 quarts of water. You halve these, squeeze them into the water, and then toss the peels in there. You’ll also want about a quarter of a lemon per person in wedges (that’s about 2 wedges per person) for serving alongside the cooked shrimp boil.
How To Serve A Shrimp Boil
To have a shrimp boil at home, line your table, or a space in your yard on the lawn, with plastic garbage bags topped with sheets of newspaper. If you don’t have newspaper, ask your local grocery store if you can have some of their newsprint flyers to use. It’s worth a shot! If they say no, you can buy a newspaper or two.
Set out several sets of tongs (to make it easier for people to serve themselves), paper plates, utensils, and LOTS of napkins. Oh, and hot sauce. Did I mention hot sauce?
I also like to put out little bowls of melted butter with minced garlic in them for dipping the shrimp. And the potatoes, and the sausage, and the corn. You get the idea. It’s delicious.
Speaking of butter, another thing I do is to rescue some of the simmering water (about 1/2 cup) from the pot just before draining it. Then add some butter in small pieces to that and mix it up. The butter melts and you get a nice lightly flavored butter sauce. Drizzle that over all of the food before serving, regardless of which of the two serving methods below you choose to use.
There are two ways to actually serve the shrimp boil. The first is to drain the liquid out of your pot and then dump the pot of delicious food out into the middle of the newspaper. There’s a real wow-appeal to watching this big pot of food being turned out onto the lawn or the middle of a big table. This can be tricky though, mostly because it’s hard to drain the water from the pot. Ask someone who is strong to hold the pot lid over the pot and slowly pour the hot water out of the pot, using the lid to hold back the food, just letting the water out. If you have a large strainer, you can use that and pour the whole contents of the pot into it. Then put the food back into the now-empty pot. Drizzle everything with that butter mixture I mentioned, then go do the VOILA moment with the pot on the lawn. You know you want to!
The second way to serve a shrimp boil is to use a slotted spoon to rescue all of the food from the pot and then arrange it onto a serving platter. Drizzle it with that butter mixture and take the plate to the table. It’s a bit less theatrical but much less risky and much less messy.
However you choose to serve your shrimp boil, it’s going to be delicious and it will definitely be a fun time.
I hope you have a wonderful meal! – Christine :)
More Seafood Recipes
- Easy Crawfish Boil
- Shrimp Fajitas Recipe
- Sheet Pan Salmon Dinner
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Crispy Skin Salmon
- Quick Spicy Mussel Soup
Podcast Episode: Making A Shrimp Boil
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this shrimp boil, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Shrimp Boil Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Shrimp boils are a classic festive meal to share with a group. They’re really fun and easy to make at home anytime you need to feed a crowd.
Ingredients
- 2 whole lemons, plus 2 more lemons cut into wedges for serving
- 1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning
- 12 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 3 large onions, peeled and quartered
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 and 1/2 lbs. whole small red potatoes, cut any that are a bit bigger in half
- 16 ounces andouille or kielbasa sausage, cut into 12–16 pieces
- 6 cobs of corn, shucked and broken in half
- 3 lbs. large (count: 31-35/lb) shrimp (deveined and either shell off or easy-peel)
- 3 Tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces*
- 1 bottle of hot sauce
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with 6 quarts of water.
- Cut the whole lemons in half. Squeeze the juice into the water and add the squeezed lemon halves as well.
- Add the Old Bay, garlic cloves, onion, and salt.
- Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes. Cover and cook until they’re just tender, 9-10 minutes.
- Add the sausage and corn. Cook covered for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the shrimp and cook covered until pink, 2-3 minutes.
- Scoop out 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the butter to the liquid and stir until it melts.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp, sausage, and vegetables to a large platter.
- Drizzle with the butter mixture.
- To Serve: Line the dining table with plastic garbage bags and cover that with sheets of newspaper. Pile the shrimp, sausage and vegetables right on the paper, or leave everything on the platter. Put out the lemon wedges and a bottle of hot sauce. Let everyone know to use the lemon wedges, hot sauce, and squeezed garlic cloves as condiments. Make sure there are a lot of napkins on hand before you dig in!
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*Note: The butter is going to be mixed with some cooking liquid to make a quick light sauce to drizzle over everything before serving. If you’d also like butter as a dip for the shrimp and veggies, melt an additional 1/2 cup of butter and add cloves of minced garlic to it. Taste and add salt, if desired.
This recipe originally appeared in May 2013 and was revised and republished in April 2024.
This is SO perfect, haven’t made it yet, but have done shrimp boils in the past and know this is a winner! We have having a summer family gathering, there will be 18 of us from 1 yo to 83, 4 generations of Sortinos. Having a recipe that is adaptable to that large a group is exactly what I needed for figuring out proportions! I will let you know how it turns out, but certain it will be PERFECT and so fun for a summer meal on the river!
That sounds so fun, Karen! I bet it will be a wonderful time. :)
This recipe was fairly simple and straightforward. The instructions given were simple and easy. The dish itself is absolutely perfect! So fresh and flavorful. Will definitely make again.
I’m so happy to hear that, Carla! Thank you for commenting. :)
Um, KKELLER, what wine?? Are you talking about Pimm’s? It’s not wine, it’s gin based I believe, and fruity. Gentrified?? You must be fun to be around if your so triggered by a shrimp boil. Nothing at all wrong with this boil. I’m from the deep south and we do this all the time. Shrimp/mudbugs (crawfish), sausage, potatoes, mushrooms, onion, lemon and Old Bay/seafood boil. Get over it, it’s fine, nothing triggery to see here…
This article is EXTREMELY frustrating since I grew up in the south where we have REAL seafood boils . You don’t pair it with wine . Y’all really know how to gentrify everything .
Yum! I love the spin on the classic shrimp boil! We both have shrimp boii on the mind. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never done a true shrimp boil! Only on the grill! Must give our recipe a try!
I love how you served this up by *dumping* it all in the center of the table and letting everyone have at it. While I can’t eat fish of any kind, your meal does look delicious and I know my husband would dive right in.
As for the Pimm’s…a former co-worker of mine is British and we were served Pimm’s at a summer BBQ we attended at their home a few years ago. I enjoyed in very much.
I LOVE Shrimp Boil!! Looks delish!
I love my Pimms in the summer!
A shrimp boil is always a good excuse to throw a beach party.
I have only really ever had Pimms when in the UK (except for the party I mentioned). I wonder why. You are absolutely right that it is the perfect summer drink. I’m going to make sure to find a bottle and play around with some cocktails this summer! What do you like to mix your Pimms with?
This is a very beautiful way of making the shrimps! I love them anyway prepared!
I was lucky enough to be invited for dinner when this recipe was on the menu. It was delicious, colorful, and soooo much fun watching Christi dump it right onto the table. I will be making this for one of our dinner parties too.
Except, I think you’re the one who actually made it. I can’t remember what I was doing but I do remember handing you the recipe and disappearing! It was delicious and fun for sure :)
This is something my hubs and I have always wanted to try! I’ve wondered how it could really be that great, too, but you’ve convinced me! ;)
This looks wonderful! I’ve always wanted to so a shrimp boil! Thank you for promoting the giveaway too! So glad that I got to meet you this weekend!
AWESOMENESS! I’ve lost a few afternoons to Pimm’s punch myself C:
I love everything about this…shrimp boil, wine pairing, and info about the potato trip with Black Gold Farms!
One of my favorite summer meals when we have company.
Love this recipe, Christine! Beautiful!