Here's a great Shrimp Boil Recipe, also known as a Low Country Boil Recipe to feed from 6 to 200 people along with tips and tricks to help. While shrimp boil is common on the Gulf coast, you can also make it at home, wherever you are in the world.
When we moved to Texas to start our vineyard, it took another 5 years for our house in Alabama to sell! When it did, it was paaaarrrty time!
And, what better way to party than with the perfect shrimp boil recipe!
Shrimp Boils or Low Country Boils are very common on the Gulf coast. But for some reason, there are just not that many of them in West Texas! But our location and lack of coastline didn't stop us.
Our oldest daughter and her husband vacationed on the Texas coast and brought back shrimp. A lot of frozen shrimp! As a result, they have had quite a few shrimp boils.
Her husband worked out the proportions of the ingredients for the following recipe. It was great - I didn't even have to worry about researching to create the perfect recipe!
All I had to do was tell him how many people I wanted to feed and viola. He provided the recipe!
Seasoning Instructions
It was recently brought to my attention that my international readers may not have access to the Zatarain's spice mix that I use. So, I came up with a Shrimp Boil Seasoning that works great!
The following mix is equal to 1 bag of the Zatarain's spice mix. Be sure to increase the amounts for the quantity you are making.
Shrimp Boil Seasoning:
- 4 tablespoons dill seeds
- 4 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 4 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 4 teaspoons cayenne (this has a nice kick to it but is not super hot)
- 8 bay leaves
Instructions
In this recipe, I'm providing proportions to feed from 6 to 200 people.
For our celebration, we expected around 110 people and 100 ended up attending.
This is an easy recipe that just requires a bit of time. Be sure to have everything washed, cut, and kept separately - this can be done the day before.
- Bring water to a boil. Add potatoes and seasoning bags. Wait 10 minutes.
- Add carrots, corn, and sausage. Wait 10 minutes.
- Add bell peppers, celery, jalapenos, and habaneros. Let cook for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Add the frozen shrimp. Wait for 5 - 8 minutes. The shrimp should be pink and tender.
- Drain the water and dump the shrimp boil onto a table with a festive plastic tablecloth or place it in a serving dish - allow everyone to help themselves!
Serving Suggestions
While this Shrimp Boil or Low Country Boil is a meal to itself, you can certainly serve side dishes if you want. Here are my top suggestions:
- Creamy Coleslaw Recipe - a delicious and healthy side that's perfect for BBQs.
- Bread - Sourdough Bread or Whole Wheat Bread are both delicious and you can even make the dough into rolls if you choose.
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes - a quick recipe that is a delicious alternative to mashed potatoes.
Tips
Not only is this shrimp boil recipe delicious, but it's also deceptively easy to make. Whether you are serving a large crowd or a small gathering, this meal lends itself to minimal work the day of your event.
- Be sure to purchase shrimp that is in the shell and de-veined. Why? When you are boiling the shrimp in a pot of water, it will dry out and not taste as good if you use pre-shelled ones.
- If you are cooking in large quantities, make sure you plan ahead with your supplies and time. We used 10-gallon stockpots over propane burners. Obviously, that is a lot more water than people normally boil, so be sure to allow plenty of time. It took us about 30 minutes to get the water to boil.
- To save time on the day of your event, chop the meat and vegetables the day before. You can definitely delegate that work to a trusted child or teenager if you need extra help getting everything done.
- If you do not want to serve the shrimp boil on a plastic tablecloth put all the cooked food into serving containers, which is what I did.
That's it! While we had a bunch of fun making and eating our shrimp boil, the sweetest part was celebrating and enjoying the company of our friends and family.
📋 Recipe
Shrimp Boil
Ingredients
To Serve 6
- 2 bags seasoning I use Zatarain's - See Notes for options.
- 3 pounds red potatoes
- 1 bags baby carrots
- 1 large bags of small corn on the cob frozen
- 1 bell pepper
- ½ bunch celery
- 1 jalapeños
- 1/10 habanero pepper
- 3 pounds shrimp
- 3 pounds sausage
To serve 25:
- 7 bags seasoning I use Zatarain's - See Notes for options.
- 13 pounds red potatoes
- 3 bags baby carrots
- 3 large bags of small corn on the cob frozen
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 bunches celery
- 2 - 3 jalapeños
- ½ habanero pepper
- 13 pounds shrimp frozen
- 13 pounds sausage
To Serve 50:
- 15 bags seasoning I use Zatarain's - See Notes for options.
- 25 pounds red potatoes
- 5 bags baby carrots
- 6 large bags of small corn on the cob frozen
- 6 bell peppers
- 3 bunches celery
- 4 - 6 jalapeños
- 1 - 1 ½ habanero pepper
- 25 pounds shrimp frozen
- 25 pounds sausage
To Serve 100:
- 30 bags seasoning I use Zatarain's - See Notes for options.
- 50 pounds red potatoes
- 10 bags baby carrots
- 12 large bags of small corn on the cob frozen
- 10 bell peppers
- 5 bunches celery
- 8 - 12 jalapeños
- 2 - 3 habanero pepper
- 50 pounds shrimp frozen
- 50 pounds sausage
Instructions
Keeping everything separate:
-
Wash and cut potatoes into large chunks
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Wash and cut celery and bell peppers into large slices
-
Slice jalapenos
-
Cut sausage into ¾" - 1" slices
Cooking:
-
We cook in batches using the amounts for 25 people. Total cooking time is 60 minutes after the water boils and you begin adding the ingredients.
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Bring water to a boil.
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Place seasoning bags in a mesh bag or cheesecloth.
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Add potatoes and seasoning bags.
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Wait 10 minutes.
-
Add carrots, corn, and sausage.
-
Wait 10 minutes.
-
Add bell peppers, celery, jalapenos and habaneros.
-
Let cook 5 - 10 minutes.
-
Add the frozen shrimp.
-
Wait for 5 - 8 minutes. The shrimp should be pink and tender.
To Serve:
-
Drain the water and dump the shrimp boil onto a table with a plastic tablecloth or place in serving dish - allow everyone to help themselves!
-
Enjoy!
Notes
Helpful Tips For Making A Shrimp Boil
- First, be sure to purchase shrimp that is in the shell and de-veined. ]
- Second, if you are cooking in large quantities we use 10-gallon stockpots over propane burners. Obviously, that is a lot more water than people normally boil, so be sure to allow plenty of time. It took us about 30 minutes to get the water to boil.
If you do not have access to Zatarain's spice mix: Use the following tied in a muslin cloth to equal 1 bag of the Zatarain's mix.
- 4 tablespoons dill seeds
- 4 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 4 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 4 teaspoons cayenne (this had a nice kick to it but wasn’t super hot)
- 8 bay leaves
KimH says
Yum!! I'd love to have a shrimp boil right about now.. We used to have crawdad boils in North Texas quite often... and in Ohio we have clam bakes... Love love love!! Thanks for sharing your recipe!!
Miachel says
Ooh, I miss crawfish boils in New York! Thanks for the recipe, I'm going to share with my mom.
Tyler Egan says
Can I fit enough for 40 people in one 10 gallon stock pot?
Dina-Marie says
Tyler, we usually cook it in batches using the recipe for 25 people - this keeps the hot food coming! I really don't think more would cook well. I have updated the recipe to avoid any confusion for others - thank you for asking!
Jake says
Id like to do a boil for 30-35, I'd also like it to be crawfish and shrimp! It will have all the other ingredients. How many pounds of shrimp and crawfish do you recommend?
Dina-Marie says
Jake, depending on how much you like crawfish, I would split the amount of shrimp called for and do the same amount of crawfish.
Rocky says
You suggest waiting 30 minutes after adding shrimp. Is this correct? Other recipes call for waiting just 3-5 minutes at most.
Dina-Marie says
Rocky, thank you for catching my mistake! I add the frozen shrimp and wait 5 - 8 minutes. The shrimp should be tender and pink. If you overcook it, it will become soft and mushy.
Christen says
Hello. Will the recipe for 25 be enough for 40-50 people? I noticed it is pretty much half the amount of the recipe for 100.
Dina-Marie says
Christen, I use the recipe for 25 when our family is all together and there are 20 of us including children. But, I also serve sides like coleslaw, salad and rolls. I would probably double it for 50 people so, you would have to cook it in 2 batches. We have done that also when entertaining more folks and it works out well to let everyone begin eating while the second batch is cooking.
Lori says
How much water do you use?
Dina-Marie says
Lori, we fill our 10 gallon pot about 2/3 full and if necessary dip out some as the last ingredients are added.
Candie Macdonald says
Hi! Great instructions. This will be very helpful. I am hosting a Crab Boil this weekend. Do you know how much snow crab legs and crawfish I would need for 25 ppl? I am adding this along with the shrimp. Thank you! Candie
Dina-Marie says
Candie, I have not done that but would probably use the same amount as for the shrimp. It would just depend on how much you want in it - I hope this helps!
Judy smith says
What about using the liquid concentrated shrimp and crab boil? How much for a crowd of 75 using 2 - 60 quart pots
Dina-Marie says
Judy, I am not familiar with the liquid - sorry!
s says
I.e. a fundraiser or after church lunch
If you were to charge a person by the foil pouch, 1) how much of each item would go into the foil pouch for 1 serving and 2) how much would you charge per foil pouch?
Dina-Marie says
S, That is hard to say. I would probably do it by the bowl since if you serve 1 piece of corn that would take up a lot of space in your pouch. As far as the pricing, you would just have to figure the cost of all ingredients to see how much the recipe costs and what to charge to make your profit.