Easy Crock Pot shrimp boil is a great way to steam your favorite Southern dish! Seafood, corn, potatoes, sausage and Old Bay cooked to perfection every time. You can make this with large fresh, defrosted, or frozen raw shrimp to make this.
Do you love this mixture when you visit your favorite restaurant. You can totally make a Crock Pot shrimp boil at home to perfection too. Using all of your favorite bold ingredients and seasonings you just throw it all in, stir and let it cook for a few hours. Then enjoy this easy Crockpot recipe with your family. (affiliate links present)
Slow Cooker Shrimp Boil
We first made Instant Pot shrimp boil but wondered how to do it so that it would cook most of the day while we were gone. Using a Crock is a great alternative to a pressure cooker if you have the time. Some things do take a bit longer to get tender so you start with those and add the seafood at the end.
Remember that seafood doesn’t take long to cook at all. You just want it to get perfectly pink but not overcooked and chewy with your Crockpot corn on the cob, we solved that issue with the timing below.
Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….
- This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
- I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.
Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. ๐
If you are having people over this is a really fun meal! It’s kinda’ a eat with your fingers kinda’ one pot meal that kids and adults just love. When it is ready you can serve it up on a large baking sheet with a ramekin of melted butter on the ends or on smaller dishes.
Add as much or as little seasonings as you like, I like bold flavors so I use a heavy hand. If you have little ones enjoying this too you might want to add half when cooking and serve them. Then toss the remaining half at the end for the adults.
Crockpot Shrimp Boil with Frozen Shrimp
It literally doesn’t matter whether you add meat rock hard frozen crab legs (if you’d rather) or thawed. The biggest difference as to how long they take is their size. I like large and always buy raw, not precooked.
I just use a ready made container that is already combined because Old Bay recipes are our favorite but you could make it yourself I suppose with;
What is shrimp boil seasoning made of?
- 1/4 c salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns crushed and ground
- 4 cloves ground fresh
- 1 Tbsp onion and garlic powder, cayenne, Italian seasoning, allspice, coriander seeds,
- 2 Tbsp ground mustard and paprika
OR just do what I do and buy a package online to save yourself a bunch of time and space in your spice cupboard.
Ingredients
- Shrimp, fresh or defrosted that are large in size are best
- Kielbasa sausage sliced into dials
- Corn on the cob broken up into thirds so it’s easier to pick up and cooks faster
- Petite potatoes work best or you could cut russets into 6-8 pieces each
- Seasonings
- A jar of minced garlic or chopped and Roasted air fryer Garlic
- Butter or dairy free alternative
- Old bay is an expected seasoning
- Bay leaves are optional
- Onion, sliced is optional
- Broth of your choice, vegetable or homemade chicken broth works well
- Fresh lemon squeeze and melted butter when serving it up
Variations
Add a sliced or quartered onion into the mix if you like too. You’re really steaming everything until it is tender in this pot. You could even make a crab boil if you wanted to use legs instead.
Cajun option
Yes you can add more heat to the mix too if you wish. A few choices to do this would be dry Sriracha, chili seasoning or red pepper flakes. I am on the milder side of things and don’t like it spicy but to each their own.
Salt For seasoning and enhancing the overall flavor.
Paprika Adds a mild heat and vibrant color.
Black Pepper For a sharp, spicy kick.
Cayenne Pepper To add heat; adjust to taste for spiciness.
Garlic Powder For a savory, aromatic flavor.
Onion Powder Complements the garlic and adds depth.
Mustard Powder or Seeds For a tangy, slightly spicy undertone.
Celery Seed Provides an earthy and slightly bitter flavor.
Bay Leaves Adds a subtle, herbal depth when used in the boil.
Thyme or Oregano Optional herbs for a fragrant, earthy aroma.
OR just add Old Bay!
It is all about the seasonings and/or the butter sauce you are dipping them in especially if they are cooked “naked” without breading! Typically after steamed they are served with melted butter with seasonings and/or minced garlic in it.
You could call this seafood boil too really. Add a few scallops when you add the seafood the last 45 minutes if you like.
How to Cook Cajun Shrimp Boil in Slow Cooker
- Wash your petite potatoes and place into slow cooker. Add garlic, bay leaves and onions. Sprinkle old bay seasoning on top.
- Pour broth or water into the pot, enough water to cover contents. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until they are as tender as desired.
- Add shrimp, sausage and corn into pot. Could sprinkle on a bit of hot sauce for heat at this time.
- Stir ingredients together so seasonings coat everything. Cover and cook again for 45 minutes cooking time or until additional items are as tender as you want.
- Best way to serve is to use a slotted spoon to add andouille sausage, potatoes and corn from pot on to a lined baking sheet. Discard bay leaves.
Shrimp Potatoes Corn in Crockpot
Squeeze the lemon on top of everything, have lemon wedges available for others to add to it, and serve with or homemade cajun garlic butter sauce.
How to save leftovers
If you have leftovers this saves quite well. Give it a good 30 minutes to completely cool off first. Spoon it into a gallon freezer bag and into the fridge it goes. The next day add the sausage and other items on to a plate and microwave for 1 minute, stir and add more time if necessary. You could use your air fryer too to crisp it up.
Other easy shrimp recipes you’ll love
Speaking of that machine, want to use that instead to make air fryer shrimp boil? You can!! We used frozen shrimp for this method so everything would cook a bit more evenly and it turned out great.
Ok one more recipe using this protein, because we love it. If you want to cook it together with noodles you can try Instant Pot bang bang shrimp pasta too.
Crock Pot Shrimp Boil
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp, raw, large, tail on was used
- 1 lb sausage, pre cooked, kielbasa
- 1 lb potatoes, small / petite, whole
- 3 cobs corn, broken into thirds
- 5 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 lemon
- 4 c vegetable broth, or water
- 1/4 c butter
- 2 tbsp old bay
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 onion, sliced
Instructions
- Wash potatoes and place into slow cooker with garlic, bay leaves and onions. Sprinkle old bay on top.
- Pour broth or water into the pot. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until they are as tender as desired.
- Add shrimp, small corn cob pieces and sliced kielbasa sausage into pot. If you want it on the spicier side add 1 extra Tbsp of Old Bay now.
- Gently stir ingredients together so seasonings coat everything. Cover and cook again for 45 minutes or until additional items are as tender as desired.
- Best way to serve is to use a slotted spoon to spoon items from Crockpot on to a lined baking sheet. Discard bay leaves. Squeeze fresh lemon over everything and melt butter to use for dipping.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I didn’t know a shrimp boil could be so easy to make (and delish too!). Im saving this recipe to make at our next summer pool party too!
Sounds like a One Pot delicious meal. Healthy combinations of ingredients and flavors.
This crock pot shrimp boil was delicious. I made this today and it turns out perfect.
This crockpot shrimp boil is healthy, hearty, and flavorful! Love that it’s easy to make, too!
Enjoyed this for our holiday meal last night and it was a savory success! Loved the balance of textures and flavors; my whole family loved it!