Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (2024)

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by Mike Hultquist · · 6 Comments · Jump to Recipe

This homemade seafood boil seasoning guarantees huge flavor for your next seafood boil, perfect for crawfish boils, shrimp boils, crab boils, or a mix.

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (1)

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe

Are you planning your next seafood boil? This is the seasoning for seafood boils that you need.

There are some great seafood boil spice mixes available on the market, but a good Homemade Seafood Boil Seasoning gives you so much flexibility to control the salt and heat levels that you prefer.

You can easily make this spice blend ahead of time to make your next boil as easy as it can be. It's perfect for any type of seafood boil - shrimp boil, crab boil, low country boil, crawfish boil, or any mix of your favorite seafoods.

You can even use it as a general spice blend for any of your seafood recipes, much like a Cajun seasoning. It's incredibly huge on flavor.

Seafood boils are immensely popular, as they can be batched up for large groups and can really feed a crowd. It's always a pleasure standing around in the outdoors, enjoying seafood and all the fixings with friends and family.

They're also easy and convenient to make at home for your own family, as it scales just as easily down for a smaller group.

Let's talk about how to make seafood boil seasoning, shall we?

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (2)

Seafood Boil Seasoning Ingredients

The full recipe list with measurements is listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

  • Salt.
  • Cayenne Pepper
  • Mustard Seeds
  • Coriander
  • Allspice
  • Dill
  • Garlic Powder
  • Paprika
  • Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • Onion Powder
  • Dried Thyme
  • Dried Oregano
  • Black Pepper
  • Clove
  • Bay Leaves
Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (3)

How to Make Seafood Boil Seasoning - the Recipe Method

Mix all of the spices together in a large bowl. Store in sealed container until ready to use.

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (4)

Boom! Done! Your seafood boil seasoning is ready to use. Whip this spice mix together for your next seafood boil, crab boil, or crawfish boil, and you're good to go!

How to Use Seafood Boil Seasonings

When you're ready for your seafood boil, load up your large stockpot with water, then use this spice mix to guarantee a flavorful broth that will spice up all of your mouthwatering seafood.

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (5)

For 10 pounds of seafood add 12 quarts of water (3 gallons) to a large pot along with the crawfish boil seasonings, 2 pounds potatoes, 2 large onions, 2 halved lemons, 3 halved heads of garlic, 1/2 stick of butter, and at least 1 whole bottle of Crystal hot sauce. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil for 15 minutes.

Add 6 ears of corn, 1 pound or more of sliced andouille sausage, and the seafood. Press down beneath the water to cover. Boil for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15-20 minutes.

Drain and serve onto trays or a newspaper lined table. Enjoy!

Serve it all up with a nice butter sauce or your favorite seafood boil sauce and you're good to go!

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (6)

Recipe Tips & Notes

  • Use the whole spice mix for every 10 pounds of seafood, plus your additions, like andouille sausage, corn, red potatoes, crab legs, jumbo shrimp, hot sauce, lemon juice, and more. A lot of recipes call for only 2-3 tablespoons of seasoning per gallon of water, but use this whole recipe for true flavor penetration.
  • Adjust the spice ratios to your preference and customize with other ingredients like celery seed or extra spicy chili flakes.

Storage

Homemade seafood boil seasoning will last 6 months stored in a dark, dry place in a sealed container. After 6 months, it starts to lose flavor, though you can still use it.

That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my seafood boil recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and if you decided to spice it up!

Cookbook Recommendation

If you enjoy Cajun and Creole cuisine, I recommend the following cookbook. It has a lot of great recipes.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

  • Cajun Seasonings
  • Old Bay Seasoning (+ Homemade Recipe)
  • Homemade Blackening Seasoning
  • Crawfish Etouffee
  • Oyster Stew
  • Seafood Gumbo
  • Blackened Fish
Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (7)

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (8)

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Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe

This homemade seafood boil seasoning guarantees huge flavor for your next seafood boil, perfect for crawfish boils, shrimp boils, crab boils, or a mix. This is enough for 10 pounds crawfish, crab, or other seafood.

Save Recipe

Course: Main Course, Seasonings

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cayenne, chili flakes, paprika

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Calories: 14kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings: 54 tablespoons

Tap or hover to scale

5 from 1 vote

Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups salt
  • 1/4 cup cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 cup mustard seeds or use 4 tablespoons ground mustard
  • 3 tablespoons ground coriander or 4 tablespoons whole coriander seeds, ground
  • 3 tablespoons ground allspice or 6 tablespoons whole allspice, ground
  • 3 tablespoons ground dill or 6 tablespoons whole dill seeds, ground
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder You can omit if using whole garlic in your boil
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons black pepper or 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, ground
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon ground cloves or 1.5 tablespoons whole cloves, ground
  • 12 bay leaves crumbled

Instructions

  • Mix all of the spices together in a large bowl.

  • Store in sealed container until ready to use.

Notes

This recipe is enough to to season a 10 pound seafood, crawfish, shrimp, crab, or other boil.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 14kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 3150mgPotassium: 64mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 687IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (9)

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

  1. Judy P. says

    So how much would you use if only cooking enough shrimp for one person?

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      I would use 1/3 cup, with just enough water to cover the shrimp and allow them to boil freely. Make notes and adjust the next time to your preference. If you were using this as a seasoning to sear the shrimp instead of boil, I would use a tablespoon. Enjoy!

      Reply

  2. Ramya says

    Cant wait to make this soon for me i never had seafood boil seasoning before perfect for snacks and tofu love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      Thanks so much, Ramya. I appreciate it.

      Reply

  3. Julienne Nelemans says

    Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (10)
    l always love your recipe and i am going to try to make this spicy thank you for your recipe love it.

    Reply

    • Mike Hultquist says

      Thanks so much, Julienne. I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply

Seafood Boil Seasoning Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is crab boil seasoning made of? ›

ingredients
  1. 4 tablespoons mustard seeds.
  2. 3 tablespoons coriander seeds.
  3. 2 tablespoons whole allspice.
  4. 2 tablespoons dill seeds.
  5. 1 teaspoon whole cloves.
  6. 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes.
  7. 8 bay leaves.

What is seafood boil sauce made of? ›

Seafood Boil Sauce 🧑🏽‍🍳🔥 • INGREDIENTS ▢ 2 cups Salted Butter ▢ 1 Onion , diced ▢ 8 cloves Garlic , diced ▢ ¼ cup Cajun Seasoning ▢ 2 tbsps Old Bay ▢ 1 tbsp Onion Powder ▢ 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes ▢ 1 cup Chicken Stock ▢ 2 tbsps Lemon Juice ▢ 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley , chopped • #seafood #seafoodboil #crablegs #sauce # ...

What spices are in Zatarain's crab boil? ›

Zatarain's Concentrated Liquid Shrimp & Crab Boil is made with a mix of premium extracts of red pepper, bay leaves, cloves, black pepper, thyme, and marjoram. Primarily used in seafood boils to create authentic Southern Louisiana flavor.

What does seafood boil contain? ›

What Is Seafood Boil Made Of? A variety of seafood such as shrimp, crab (king crab or snow crab are often used), lobster, clams, mussels, and crawfish — along with vegetables including corn, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms — are in a seafood boil.

Is Cajun and Old Bay seasoning the same? ›

What's the Difference Between Old Bay and Cajun Seasoning? While the two include some of the same ingredients, this Old Bay replica uses more spices and has a bay leaf, celery salt, and mustard base. Cajun seasoning concentrates on paprika and is a little spicier because of the cayenne pepper.

What is shrimp boil seasoning made of? ›

Preparation. In a small bowl, combine the coriander seeds, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, dill weed, allspice, salt, and bay leaves. Add the spice mix to a large pot with 3 quarts of water, then add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.

Why do you put vinegar in a seafood boil? ›

Adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to water that fish is soaked in(before cooking) or adding it to the water that it is cooked in will firm up the fish and improve the taste by making it taste less fishy or “sweeter” with less aftertaste.

Why do people add orange juice to seafood boils? ›

Orange slices are a fundamental ingredient in a Cajun seafood boil already, but as the chef explains, the addition of the orange juice "balance[s] [the] spices and add[s] that citrus flavor that everybody loves."

Is seafood boil Cajun or Creole? ›

Shrimp, crab, and crawfish boils are a Louisiana Cajun tradition and can be found across Louisiana and can even now be found along the Gulf South.

What is a good seafood spice? ›

For a simple, fuss-free dish, add cumin to thyme, paprika and lemon pepper as a spice rub before pan-frying fish fillets. Add cumin to marinades and to seafood stews and curries. You can also combine cumin with other flavours like garlic, coriander and chilli powder.

What is seafood seasoning made of? ›

Directions. Mix salt, celery seed, mustard powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, bay leaves, paprika, cloves, allspice, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon together in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Store in an airtight container.

What are the ingredients in Zatarain's seasoning? ›

Salt, Spices (Including Chili Pepper, Red Pepper and Paprika), Dextrose, Garlic, Sugar, Onion, Disodium Inosinate & Guanylate (Flavor Enhancers), Extractives of Paprika, and Natural Flavor.

Is there orange juice in seafood boil? ›

Crawfish are often thrown into the mix, as well as less common ingredients like artichokes and littleneck clams. The hearty mix is seasoned with a blend of cayenne pepper, tart fresh lemons, sweet oranges, minced garlic — and now, orange juice.

Should I add vinegar to my crab boil? ›

You can use any kind of liquid to steam the crabs, water included, but the traditional mixture of beer and vinegar gives better flavor.

Is seafood boil bad for blood pressure? ›

The seasoning bags and seasoning liquid used in a crawfish boil are extremely high in sodium. So much so that a person with high blood pressure almost hits his or her daily sodium intake in just a single serving of boiled crawfish and vegetables.

What's the difference between crab boil and Old Bay seasoning? ›

Crab Boil. Crab boil is a lot like Old Bay in that it is a blend of herbs and spices for seasoning seafood. However, crab boil is used to season the water when boiling shellfish. It has celery seed, paprika, chili pepper, and clove.

Is crab seasoning Old Bay? ›

Old Bay seasoning is an aromatic and savory blend of 18 spices that's used to season seafood including crab cakes, shrimp dishes and more.

Why do they put orange juice in crab boil? ›

Orange slices are a fundamental ingredient in a Cajun seafood boil already, but as the chef explains, the addition of the orange juice "balance[s] [the] spices and add[s] that citrus flavor that everybody loves."

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