Name: Homemade Cajun Seafood Boil Recipe with Spicy Garlic Butter
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Old Bay seasoning; 1/2 cup smoked paprika; 6 tablespoons Cajun seasoning; 4 tablespoons onion powder; 4 tablespoons garlic powder; 3 tablespoons cayenne; 3 tablespoons red pepper flakes; 3 tablespoons dried thyme; 3 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons ground mustard; 2 tablespoons celery seed; 1 tablespoon ground coriander; 20 quarts water ((or enough water to fill up your pot a little over halfway. Leave enough room for the seafood, corn, and potatoes)); 6.5 tablespoons kosher salt ((to taste; you may not need to add as much depending on the amount of salt in your seasoning mixture) ); 12 cloves garlic (smashed); 3 medium onions (quartered ); 3 whole lemons (cut into rounds); 1/4 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce; 6 whole bay leaves; 3 pounds red potatoes; 3 pounds whole shrimp; 3 pounds mussels; 2 pounds snow crab clusters; 2 pounds andouille sausage (cut into 3-inch pieces); 6 ears sweet corn (halved or cut into thirds); 2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks, or 1 pound); 10 cloves garlic (minced); 1 medium lemon (juice and zest); 1 teaspoon kosher salt ((to taste, you may not need to add any salt depending on the amount of salt in your seasoning mixture) ); 2-3 cups liquid from the boil to thin the sauce

This Cajun Seafood Boil is loaded with shrimp, mussels, snow crab, andouille sausage, corn, and potatoes, all boiled in a deeply flavorful spicy broth before being drizzled with the most incredible spicy garlic butter sauce! It's messy, it's fun, and it's absolutely delicious. Perfect for feeding a crowd at your next backyard gathering, summer party, or special occasions like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mardi Gras, and birthdays!

cajun seafood boil on a baking sheet with fresh parsley, lemon, potatoes, butter, and beer.

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Bring the Taste of South Louisiana to Your Kitchen! ⚜️🦞🌶️

Almost all of my favorite memories from visiting my dad in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, involved food! 😊If you visit South Louisiana, especially in the springtime, you're bound to find yourself at a seafood boil with friends and family.

If you've never had the chance to roll up your sleeves and gather around a newspaper-filled table with a cold beer in hand while the scent of bold spices and delicious seafood fills the air, now you can! We've been recreating this experience at home for years in the Midwest, and please believe us when we say it never gets old.

There's something so fun about spreading everything out on a big table and just going for it - no fancy plates, no utensils, just good food and good company!

This recipe starts with our homemade Cajun seasoning blend that's packed with flavor - Old Bay, smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic, and so much more.

The real star of the show, though? That spicy Cajun garlic butter sauce! It's rich, garlicky, buttery, and has just the right amount of kick. We drizzle it generously over everything before serving, but make sure to save plenty on the side for dipping.

While this does take some time (hello, waiting for a massive pot of water to boil!), the actual hands-on work is pretty minimal. Just toss everything in at the right times, make that Cajun garlic butter sauce, and you're ready to eat!

Want more Cajun and Creole-inspired goodness? Try our fan-favorite Cajun chicken alfredo, or this delicious baked crawfish dip!

🦀Ingredients

Despite the long ingredient list, this recipe really just involves a bit of prep work, but it's genuinely easy to make! Start with your seafood of choice, corn, potatoes, and sausage (a MUST for a Louisiana seafood boil), some aromatics, and a well-stocked spice cabinet!

This recipe makes a LOT of food - perfect for 8-10 hungry people! We're using 8 pounds of seafood total, which works out to between ¾ - 1 pound of seafood per person, which is the standard recommendation! If you have some serious seafood lovers, or very hungry guests, plan for 1.5-2 pounds of seafood per person. For children, aim for ½ pound of seafood per child!

You'll need a really large stockpot (we're talking at least 30+ quart capacity, preferably 40!) to fit everything. You can also split everything up between two pots as well.

Ingredient Notes

The beauty of a seafood boil is that you can truly customize it based on what's fresh, what's in season, and what you love!

We used whole shrimp, mussels, and snow crab clusters for this recipe, but there's so much room to make it your own.

Clams 🦪work beautifully in place of mussels - they'll soak up all that spicy, garlicky broth just the same.
If you're feeling fancy, add some lobster tails.🦞
Shrimp.🦐 We can't stress this enough - go big, and grab some with the shell-on if you can find them. Leaving the shells on is traditional, adds a ton of flavor, and helps prevent the shrimp from overcooking. By the time they're cooked, they practically peel themselves anyway, like in our New Orleans BBQ shrimp recipe. Pro tip: Gulf shrimp would be the best for this recipe!
- Look for jumbo or extra-large shrimp, and pay attention to the count number on the package. The smaller the number, the bigger the shrimp. We used 13/15 count (meaning 13-15 shrimp per pound), which are perfect for a boil since they will cook faster than other seafood.

🦀Ingredient Spotlight - Crab

We use pre-cooked snow crab legs, but if you want to really level it up, swap them for king crab legs. Most crab legs you find at the store (whether fresh or frozen) are already cooked, which is why they have that orange-red color.

This is actually perfect for a seafood boil because you're really just heating them through and letting them soak up all those delicious spices. If your crab legs are orange, they're pre-cooked and ready to go, just like with our baked crab legs.

If Crawfish Are In Season🦞

When we think of Louisiana, we think of crawfish, and they are VERY common in seafood boils when they are in prime season, which is generally March - May! There's nothing quite like fresh Louisiana crawfish, and they would be incredible in this boil.

With that said, the window to get the best crawfish is short, so we tend to leave it out of this particular recipe. If you can't find them fresh locally (like us, since we live in Michigan!), you can order frozen, pre-cooked crawfish online.

❄️🧊Using Frozen Seafood

Living in the Midwest, we know that finding fresh seafood isn't always easy, especially if you're far from the coast. The good news? Frozen seafood works perfectly for this recipe! Most of the snow crab you'll find at the grocery store has already been cooked and frozen, which is totally fine.

If you're using frozen seafood, make sure everything is fully thawed before it goes into the pot. The best way to thaw frozen seafood is to place it in a sealed bag and submerge it in cold water for 15-20 minutes. This brings it up to temperature gently without compromising the texture.

Once your seafood is prepped and thawed, keep it refrigerated or on ice until you're ready to add it to the pot. Seafood and shellfish can spoil quickly in a hot kitchen, and no one wants to deal with food safety issues!

⏰ Important Timing Note: Plan Ahead!

The biggest time commitment in this recipe isn't the cooking - it's waiting for 20 quarts of water to come to a boil! This can take anywhere from 60-90 minutes on a stovetop, so start heating your water well before you want to eat.

We usually fill the pot and turn on the heat first thing, then prep all our ingredients while we wait. Trust us, you don't want to be standing around hungry waiting for water to boil!

♨️Pro tip: If you have an outdoor propane burner, use it! The water will come to a boil much faster than on your kitchen stovetop.

How to Make a Cajun Seafood Boil with Cajun Garlic Butter

The key to a great seafood boil is timing - you want everything to finish cooking at the same time without anything getting overdone. Here's how to nail it every time:

large white ceramic mixing bowl full of seasonings, surrounded by small bowls.

Step 1: Make your seasoning blend by combining Old Bay, smoked paprika, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, red pepper flakes, thyme, black pepper, ground mustard, celery seed, and coriander in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.

This recipe makes A LOT of seasoning, and you'll use most of it (about 2¾ cups) in the boil itself. The remaining seasoning goes into that incredible garlic butter sauce, so nothing goes to waste! Store any extra in an airtight container in your pantry for up to 6 months.

🧂We opted for a salt-free Cajun seasoning in the blend since we're adding plenty of kosher salt separately. This gives you better control over the final salt level.

If your Cajun seasoning contains salt, you may want to reduce the added salt to taste.

🌶️If you're sensitive to spice, you can dial back the cayenne and red pepper flakes. For extra heat lovers (like my husband Chamere!), add more cayenne to taste!

🫗Boil the Water!

Fill your largest stockpot about halfway to two-thirds full with water (and potentially, beer!) You need to leave enough room for all the seafood, vegetables, and sausage to fit without overflowing. Bring it to a boil over high heat.

Remember, this step takes patience - we're talking an hour or more! Get the water going early, then prep everything else while you wait.😉

If your stockpot isn't large enough to hold everything comfortably, split it between two smaller pots. Just divide the seasonings and ingredients proportionally between them.

🍺Add beer! Sometimes, we add beer to the boiling liquid. It adds incredible depth and flavor! Use a pale ale, lager, wheat beer, or IPA to complement the boil, and whatever you enjoy drinking! This is optional, but we will say it adds a ton of complex flavor.

Large stock pot filled with seasoned water with onions, lemon slices, bay leaves, and spicy seasonings.

Step 2: Once the water is boiling, add the kosher salt, bay leaves, quartered onions, Louisiana-style hot sauce, lemon rounds, smashed garlic cloves, and 2¾ cups of your seasoning blend. Reserve the remaining seasoning for the garlic butter sauce.

Give everything a good stir and let it boil for a few minutes so all those flavors can meld together. The broth should smell incredible at this point!

🧂We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in all our recipes because it's less salty than other types of salt and dissolves better due to its shape. If you're using Morton's kosher salt or table salt, reduce the amount by about half. The amount of salt you need will also depend on how much salt is in your Cajun seasoning blend, so always taste and adjust!

We recommend using sweet, yellow onions for the best flavor.

Some folks like to add orange slices and/or orange juice to the pot!

🌶️We're using Louisiana-style hot sauce here (like Crystal, Louisiana Brand, or Tabasco) - it's thinner and more vinegary than thick hot sauces. This adds a tangy heat to the broth without overpowering it. Crystal Hot Sauce is our favorite!

cooked lemons, garlic, and onions in a spicy broth.

Step 3: Add the red potatoes to the pot and boil for about 12 minutes. You want them mostly tender but not fully cooked through - they'll continue cooking as you add the other ingredients. Test them with a fork after 10 minutes. They should have some resistance in the center, but be starting to soften around the edges.

🥔Red potatoes hold their shape beautifully during the long cooking time, and their waxy texture is perfect for soaking up all that seasoned broth. Yukon golds also work well! We don't recommend russets here as they tend to fall apart.

🥚Want to add hard-boiled eggs? This is a traditional Southern addition! Add peeled hard-boiled eggs during this step with the potatoes so they can soak up all that flavorful broth.

stock pot with shrimp, crab legs, sausage, mussels, and other aromatics in large pot.

Step 4: Add the shrimp, mussels, snow crab clusters, and andouille sausage to the pot. Make sure everything is submerged, then cover and let it gently boil for 5-10 minutes, and that's it!

After 10 minutes, add the halved corn and cook for 5 more minutes. The corn just needs to heat through and become tender.

🌽Don't add the corn too early, or it'll get mushy! It only takes a few minutes to cook through.

Don't let the water boil too aggressively or you risk overcooking the seafood! A gentle, rolling boil is what you're after.

⚜️Andouille sausage is traditional in Louisiana seafood boils and adds incredible smoky, spicy depth of flavor.

Can't find andouille? Smoked kielbasa or any spicy smoked sausage works well as a substitute.

Different seafood cooks at different rates, so if you're mixing and matching, here's what you need to know:

Pre-cooked crab (like most snow crab and king crab) only needs 5-7 minutes to heat through.
Crawfish need about 4-5 minutes for small ones.
Mussels and clams need about 5 minutes, or until their shells open up (discard any that don't open).
Shrimp cook the fastest at 3-5 minutes depending on size - they're done when they turn pink and curl slightly.

Our cooking time in this recipe accounts for the mix of seafood we're using, but adjust as needed based on what you choose!

melted butter in a saucepan with freshly minced garlic.

Step 5: While the seafood is cooking, make the spicy Cajun garlic butter sauce. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.

Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook slowly, stirring often, for about 3-4 minutes to infuse all that garlic flavor into the butter without burning it.

🧈Use high-quality unsalted butter. With 4 sticks going into the sauce, the butter quality can make a big impact on the flavor! We like to use European-style butter (Plugrà is our favorite!) with higher butterfat content when we can.

spiced cajun butter with hand zesting a lemon overtop.

Step 6: Now add your reserved seasoning blend gradually, tasting as you go. Start with a few tablespoons and build up from there. You should have about 11 tablespoons of seasoning left, but you might not want to use all of it depending on how spicy you like things!

Stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Hand pouring seafood stock into a skillet full of spicy garlic butter to make a dipping sauce.

Step 7: Add 2-3 cups of the liquid from the seafood boil to thin the sauce. This not only thins it to a pourable consistency but also adds even more flavor from the seasoned broth.

Taste and adjust the seasonings - you might want to add a pinch more salt or an extra squeeze of lemon.

Make-ahead tip: You can make a version of this Cajun garlic butter seafood boil sauce that uses beer instead of reserved boil broth! We do this for our sheet pan shrimp boil (that doesn't actually boil, and is made in the oven) so it doesn't create extra liquid to use.

If making the sauce ahead, it can be done up to 5-6 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze for up to 3 months, and defrost overnight in the fridge.

Drain everything from the pot using a large colander or strainer. For a classic seafood boil presentation, spread newspaper or butcher paper on a large table and dump it right on! We did this on a baking sheet for easier cleanup. 😉

Drizzle generously with some of the garlic butter sauce, scatter fresh parsley over the top if you'd like, and add extra lemon wedges for squeezing. Serve immediately with the remaining garlic butter sauce on the side for dipping!

Add a few cold beers and plenty of Louisiana-style hot sauce on the table complete the experience. Don't forget to put out a bowl for shells and plenty of napkins - you'll need them! 😄

Cajun seafood boil on a baking sheet with newspaper lining, with potatoes, corn, shrimp, sausage, and more.

💡Pro tip: Consider wearing gloves and bibs to keep your hands and clothes clean like they do at the restaurants!

🦀First time cracking crab legs? You don't need any special tools! Simply crack the legs at the joints with your hands and pull out the tendons. Then run your fork inside the shell to break it open, or use your hands to crack the shell in half. Wrapping the crab legs in a towel or wearing gloves helps protect your hands.

🍻What to Serve with Seafood Boil

Honestly, this meal is so loaded with seafood, sausage, potatoes, and corn that you don't need much else! But we love having some crusty bread or garlic bread on the side for soaking up that incredible garlic butter sauce.

Our cornbread biscuits would be absolutely perfect alongside this - they're great for mopping up every last drop of that buttery sauce!

A simple coleslaw or green salad can help cut through the richness if you want something fresh and crunchy alongside.

And of course, plenty of cold beer is a must!

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