How to make seafood boil sauce recipe that is easy, seen on TikTok. Use to boil in bag, steam on the stove or make pressure cooker crab boil sauce for crab legs, corn and potatoes and to dip in when tender.
This easy crab boil sauce can be made spicy with cajun seasoning or mild. Boiled with the crab legs and other boil ingredients to add flavor AND for dipping at the end is a must. Old Bay and garlic with 5 ingredients more you will love, let’s get cooking. (affiliate links present)
What goes best with a seafood boil?
You should use either shrimp, fresh crab or this is How to Cook Frozen Crab Legs, halved corn on the cob, small potatoes, onion and kielbasa or sausage chunks is typical. Then it comes to the sauce which is truly the star of the show y’all. Old Bay seasoning is expected, garlic typically too but made from scratch you can adjust to your tastebuds.
How to Make your Own Cajun Seafood Boil Sauce
We show you the basic recipes below, from there you can tweak it. Like our Spicy Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce we added quite a bit of cajun seasoning blend to give it some real heat. If you want some spice but unsure of how much just taste along the way, starting with 1 teaspoon and adding 1/4 tsp. more until it is right for your family.
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What is seafood boil sauce made of?
Every sauce for your favorite seafood boil recipe starts with well…..butter, and lots of it. I choose salted always and Kerrigold would be my favorite if we are talking about specifics here. 😉 You likely have all the ingredients you need already such as;
Crab Boil Sauce Ingredients
You can use this to pour over the top or if you want to know How to Cook Seafood in a Bag with this inside which will steam everything tender with butter, try this!
- Butter is the base
- Onion red used, but diced yellow will work too
- Minced garlic goes in everything we make, literally
- Chicken broth or vegetable would work too
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper, cajun seasoning for spicier, dash of hot sauce or dry Sriracha
- Paprika gives it a pop
- Old bay is a must for this Southern favorite dish
I don’t add black pepper because I am not a fan but you could. If you wanted to cook a really large batch of snow crab legs you could easily double this. If just making as a dip for your Air Fryer Shrimp Boil Recipe you could cut it in half. You do you friends. 😉
How to Make Seafood Sauce
Okay so if you were making Instant Pot Shrimp Boil I wouldn’t dirty more than one pot. You could make this using the saute function first. Pour into a bowl and set aside to use after that is done steaming. Rinse pot, when done pour dinner on to a big sheet pan. Pour 3/4 of this on top and reserve the rest for your dip.
In a pan on the stovetop we have a printable recipe card directions for that. Typically I use this for seafood boil in a bag + sauce when serving so it coats everything from start to finish. You would need a skillet to make the butter sauce and a larger Dutch Oven or stock pot for boiling the meal but worth it.
You could even Cook Frozen Raw Shrimp in it for a quick meal, packed with protein and way better than using water to make ’em pink.
How to make seafood boil sauce thick?
How to make thick seafood sauce is easy. You just mix 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch or flour with an equal amount of cold water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk to create a smooth roux or slurry. Slowly whisk into the simmering sauce, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Continue to saute, stirring frequently, until it thickens to your desired consistency for about 2-4 minutes.
Can you make seafood boil sauce without butter?
You could make this dairy free, and I have done that for my husband when we make Frozen Instant Pot Lobster Tail as a treat for dinner. Country Crock has a great vegan plant based butter product that tastes pretty darn good. Use that, but you may need a bit of salt because this tastes more like unsalted butter. Just taste, adjust and I bet your family wouldn’t even know the difference.
There are many seasonings you can use to make spicy butter sauce. I like cajun seasoning but if you want an Asian flare I would go with dry Sriracha instead. Most people have chili powder or red pepper flakes in their spice cabinet which will work too.
Is heaven a good description? LOL. It is a butter sauce with a pop of garlic and salt. You can serve these with almost all types of seafood to make it better. Add spice with red pepper flakes if you want but left mild is delicious too as a cooking sauce or dip.
Absolutely. Frozen shrimp or crab work great boiled in a bag with this sauce here. Typically the cook time isn’t much different either which means you can make it year round this way.
How long does seafood boil sauce last?
Seafood boil sauce can last in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days or frozen for up to 2-3 months. Either way you should only keep what has not been used to cook your meat in to avoid bacteria growth. Always cool before storing in sealed containers before refrigerating or freezing for later use.
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Seafood Boil Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pan
- 1 Bowl to reserve some for dipping
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter 1 cup
- 1 c onion red used, diced
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 c chicken broth
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or cajun seasoning for spicier
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp Old bay
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium high heat, add butter, diced onion, minced garlic, broth, cayenne pepper, paprika and Old Bay seasoning. Cook until it just begins to boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer for 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove about 3/4 cup of sauce and reserve for serving. Use the rest to cook seafood boil in a bag if desired or use all for dipping sauce.