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an overhead view of a platter of Cajun seafood boil with crab, shrimp, and crawfish
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4.75 from 4 votes

Cajun Seafood Boil

Learn how to make a flavorful Cajun seafood boil recipe with a Cajun-spiced garlic butter sauce, featuring crawfish, shrimp, crab, sausage, corn, and potatoes soaking up the spicy, flavorful broth.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time27 minutes
Total Time37 minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Cajun
Servings: 6 hearty servings
Calories: 527kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Cajun seafood boil seasoning
  • ¼ cup Cajun Seasoning homemade or use Tony Chachere's or Slap ya Mama brand
  • 4 lemons halved
  • 1 large yellow onion quartered
  • 1 lb baby potatoes cut in half
  • 12 ounces Andouille sausage sliced into 2 inch pieces
  • 3 lbs snow crab legs thawed and scrubbed
  • 2 lbs frozen crawfish thawed and rinsed
  • 2.5 lbs 13/15 white shrimp shells on, deveined
  • 6 corn on the cob cut into 2 inch pieces, each

Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce

  • 16 ounces salted butter
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 6 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce more or less to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest grated
  • 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
  • juice of 2 lemons about ¼ cup
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  • Put the cajun seafood boil seasoning, the Cajun seasoning, potatoes, lemons, sausage, and onion quarters into your stockpot, then fill it with water about ¾ of the way full. Bring to a boil on the stove top and let boil for 10 minutes.
    ½ cup Cajun seafood boil seasoning, ¼ cup Cajun Seasoning, 4 lemons, 1 large yellow onion, 1 lb baby potatoes, 12 ounces Andouille sausage
  • Add the snow crab legs and corn to the pot, let cook for another 10 minutes. (While this is going, make the butter sauce using the instructions below).
    3 lbs snow crab legs, 6 corn on the cob
  • Turn off the heat, add the crawfish and shrimp and cover the pot with a lid for 5-7 minutes so they can gently cook and soak up the seasoning. When the shrimp is pink and
    2 lbs frozen crawfish, 2.5 lbs 13/15 white shrimp
  • Use an Asian spider or slotted spoon to scoop all the juicy seafood and fixin's from the pot and onto a newspaper lined baking sheet or into a large enough mixing bowl to fit everything.
  • Pour half of the butter sauce all over the seafood and give a little toss to coat everything. Have the extra sauce for dipping.

Make the Cajun Garlic Butter Seafood Sauce

  • In a separate saucepan over medium heat, melt down the butter. As it's melting, whisk in the mustard, garlic, hot sauce, parsley, lemon zest, and Cajun seasoning. Let cook for about 1 minute so the garlic has a chance to cook the raw taste out.
    16 ounces salted butter, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, 6 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon hot sauce, ¼ cup fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
  • Whisk in the lemon juice, chicken broth, and worcestershire sauce. Let this simmer for 10 minutes and reduce slightly.
    juice of 2 lemons, ½ cup chicken broth, 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

Notes

Storage and Reheating

Store any leftovers in an airtight container or zip top bag in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Rewarm in simmering water seasoned with a little cajun seafood boil on the stove for a few minutes to rewarm everything.

Variations and Pro Tips

    • Use Frozen Seafood -  fresh seafood is only for if you are buying in season shellfish! Frozen seafood was frozen at its peak, so it's more likely to be
    • What about eggs? - boiling eggs in a seafood boil is a distinctly Floridian thing. If you want to add them, you can, but remove them after about 8-10 minutes, shock and shell them before adding them to the platter of seafood.
    • Buy shell-on, deveined shrimp - this is what makes this recipe so quick and easy! I find mine at Costco, or if it's shrimp season here I'll head to my local mom and pop fishmonger and ask them for a few pounds deveined.
    • Adjust seasoning as needed - the best seafood boil recipe is a flavorful boil, but it shouldn't end up burning your face off. Adjust the seasoning for the butter sauce and add more water if the broth is too spicy!
    • The cooking times will vary if you use other seafood like mussels, clams, live crawfish, calamari, etc.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 527kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 336mg | Sodium: 2042mg | Potassium: 1161mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 558IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 3mg