Air fryer shrimp boil is amazing! Loaded with potatoes, corn on the cob and tender shrimp this one pot meal is quick and easy to make. If you have only made Instant Pot shrimp before, adding vegetables into the mix and crisping everything is wonderful.
Have you given air fryer shrimp boil a whirl yet? I bet you never thought something like this could be done but OH MY it is a winner winner for dinner. Using petite potatoes and classic seasonings like Old Bay, I dare say this easy air fryer recipe comes out better than on the stovetop or oven. (affiliate links present)
Low Country Shrimp Boil
Ok so you don’t actually need a pot of water to “boil” these babies this time. That is one of the wonders of it overall. NO waiting for those bubbles to appear which makes it fast to make for sure. Because each ingredient has different cook times you’ll need to follow our directions closely below.
If you do though you’ll get perfectly tender air fryer roasted potatoes and your frozen shrimp in air fryer will become pink to perfection too. You don’t even need any side dishes for this since vegetables are added to the mix too, just dump and serve with melted butter for the best meal ever. Make cajun or mild.
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Shrimp Boil in Air Fryer
We made air fryer corn on the cob when we first got this baby and have never boiled it again after that. The texture is so much better and you don’t lose any nutrients like you do if they’re submerged in water either. The fact that you can just dump everything in without any prep is a game changer on busy days I tell you.
Air Fryer Cajun Shrimp Boil
You can certainly add heat to this if you like, or keep it mild. Use cajun seasoning bottled or just some dry Sriracha or red pepper flakes to make it spicy to your liking. That is the beauty of cooking in air fryer because you can open and close to adjust things. As a Ninja Foodi recipe you just lift the lid that is attached.
How long does it take to cook shrimp in an air fryer?
That depends on whether you are using frozen or air fryer fried shrimp with some breading, and they’re defrosted. Either way though there isn’t a huge whopping difference. Between 5-12 minutes is the range really. Another slight variance is if you have the shells on or off too. If you want a real crisp to the outside then remove those babies.
Don’t forget to devein them if they are fresh, frozen usually come already prepared so you don’t have to worry about that yucky step.
No you aren’t really boiling, ever. Occasionally if I am cooking something quite firm like broccoli I will add a bit of water underneath the air fryer basket so it does create a bit of steam. That will help get your pieces tender which I highly recommend, but that is far from boiling.
This is what your second step would look like. Since taters take the longest you will let them get tender for a while first, then cook fresh corn can be added, and then your seafood. It’s a similar transition when you make Crock Pot shrimp boil. Everything takes different cook times.
Zatarain’s shrimp boil
If you want to make this “classic” style you can buy their seasoning blend here. I have my own mixture of things I already had in my cupboard below, so make your choice. The most important part of it all is the timing so don’t vary from that.
Shrimp Boil Ingredients
- 2-3 cobs of corn without husks broken in half or thirds
- 4 cups of petite potatoes, those bags of different colored ones is best to grab
- 2 cups of frozen large shrimp, find them bagged in the frozen section of your grocery store. These were shelled
- Olive oil will help the seasonings stick
- This is my favorite Old Bay recipe ever y’all
- I add garlic salt to just about everything
You could slice an onion and throw them in there with the potatoes too if you wanted. Of course add salt and pepper to taste at the end when you serve this up too.
Shrimp and Potatoes
Since this meat takes such a short time to cook you want to add those at the very end. The beauty of cooking them this way vs. Instant Pot shrimp is you can check on them often. Let’s say you could only find medium size, I’d check them 1-2 minutes before the timing shown below. If they are still a bit translucent though, then just close again.
Add another minute and check again. I love that. It’s a great way to not ever overcook anything since you can pause it basically, and resume for more time by just closing the drawer again. Here’s basically how it’s done:
- Preheat your air fryer oven to 350 for 5 minutes. Wash your petite potatoes and dry with paper towels.
- Prick with fork, put into a bowl, drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil.
- Sprinkle on 1/2 tbsp old bay seasoning and garlic salt….and any other cajun seasonings you want…
- Air fry for 12 minutes. Then add in your corn on the cob pieces and continue to air fry for another 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl drizzle your frozen shrimp with the remaining olive oil and seasonings. Toss together so it’s coated. Then add into basket on top of other ingredients.
- Reset air fryer to 375 degrees and cook for 7 minutes. Open, toss your ingredients together, poke potatoes to ensure they are cooked thru and enjoy!
In less than 30 minutes this is done and it’s an easy shrimp recipe everyone will RAVE over. If you do have leftovers they will save to reheat the next day. Always allow it to cool o course before transferring to a freezer bag. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can add a bit of broth to a pan and heat again to enjoy later. Nothing should go to waste this way. 😉
Ninja Foodi Shrimp Boil
We have a lot of other recipes for air fryer on our site too. If you just want to cook the meat quickly you can do so with just a bit of oil, seasonings, at 400 degrees for like 5 minutes. Shake it halfway through to rotate them but this is a high protein snack I do sometimes for myself.
Now if you want to use your Ninja Foodi or other pressure cooker to make this same thing, follow our Instant Pot shrimp boil recipe.
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Air Fryer Shrimp Boil
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 4 c potatoes, baby, petite
- 3 cobs corn, halved
- 2 c shrimp, large, frozen
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp old bay
- 1 tbsp garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 for 5 minutes. Wash potatoes and dry with paper towels, prick with fork, put into a bowl and drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle on 1/2 tbsp old bay and garlic salt.
- Air fry for 12 minutes. Then add in your corn on the cob pieces and continue to air fry for another 5 minutes.
- In a bowl drizzle frozen shrimp with remaining olive oil and seasonings. Toss together, then add into air fryer on top of other ingredients.
- Reset air fryer to 375 degrees and cook for 7 minutes. Open, toss ingredients, poke potatoes to ensure they are cooked thru and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.