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 mins
Cook Time27 minutes mins
Total Time37 minutes mins
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Cajun
Servings: 6 hearty servings
Calories: 527kcal
large stockpot
asian spider
whisk
- 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
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
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
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- 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
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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!
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- The cooking times will vary if you use other seafood like mussels, clams, live crawfish, calamari, etc.
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