All of your favorite flavors from an old fashioned shrimp boil, but weeknight friendly! Shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn are roasted on a sheet pan with a delicious lemony, garlicky Old Bay butter sauce.
This makes for the perfect summer dinner for a crowd, especially paired with our easy focaccia, Long Island Iced Tea, and a slice of Atlantic Beach Pie for dessert!
A family recipe, made easier
Our family is famous for our annual seafood boil/clam bake. Every year, we all get together and grandpa recruits a few helpers to clean clams (not my favorite task!) and shuck corn.
He even has a dedicated trash can that he uses for the boil. (Well, he promises us that's all it's used for 😅) Everything goes right into the can and he and my dad cook it over a bonfire while the rest of us drink beer and play lawn games.
When it's all done, we dump everything onto big platters and dig in! It's an absolute blast, but it's obviously not suitable for the average weeknight.
We knew we wanted to include some variation of our family clam bake in our cookbook, so we opted for a sheet pan version. It quickly became one of our favorite recipes in the "mains" chapter and we had such a blast decorating a whole summery table for a photoshoot!
This version is super similar to the one in our book, but it's even simpler, with just shrimp and sausage. I (Lexi) am not personally the biggest fan of clams, so this version suits me way better! Plus, it's easier to source ingredients and you don't have to spend extra time cleaning the clams.
We've made this recipe for dinner guests countless times in the last few years and it's always a huge hit! Pair it with a good summer cocktail (Sparkling Berry Sangria) and a Cherry Pie Bar for dessert.
Key Ingredients Needed for Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil
- Shrimp: We like to use 21/25 size shrimp for this recipe, and shell on/deveined is easy to find in the frozen section of most grocery stores. You can substitute a different size or shelled shrimp, but know that you will want to adjust the bake time accordingly.
- Beer: We used a light lager style beer in this recipe, and LOVE the depth of flavor it adds. We would love to experiment with different styles of beer (stout, porter) and see how the flavor changes, so let us know if you try it! You could also substitute white wine, or use an alcohol free beer if you prefer.
- Old Bay: A non-negotiable seasoning when it comes to seafood dishes. Old Bay gives this dish is signature "seafood boil" flavor. It is a worthwhile pantry staple if you love seafood like we do. We love using it in a Bloody Mary or as a seasoning for homemade croutons, too!
- Potatoes: We use baby potatoes so we don't have to cut them. If you can't find any, use Yukon gold or yellow potatoes cut into large chunks.
How to Make the Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F (220˚C).
- In a large pot, add 3 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil. Add the baby potatoes, then reduce heat to medium high and cook the potatoes for 13-15 minutes, until just fork tender. Drain in a colander and set aside.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the sauce. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, add ¼ cup of butter. Once melted, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
- Add in the remaining butter, stirring until melted. Add the beer, lemon juice, parsley, and the Old Bay seasoning, whisking well. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a very large mixing bowl, add the shrimp, sausage, corn pieces and potatoes. (If you don't have a large enough bowl, use a large pot.) Whisk the sauce again, then pour over all of the ingredients and toss until everything is well coated. (Toss gently as to not break up the potatoes!)
- Divide the mixture between two sheet pans, spreading everything into an even layer. Bake for 18-20 minutes. If you're using two oven racks, swap the baking sheets halfway through and give them a quick stir.
- Serve straight from the sheet pans, or transfer to a large platter or bowl. Enjoy!
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
- Make sure to buy deveined shrimp! Not only does it save a lot of time cleaning shrimp, but because they are already split down the back, they're much easier to eat when it comes time to peel and dig in.
- This meal can be a little messy! Make sure when you set the table, add some empty bowls for discarded shells (and wet wipes don't hurt).
- Make it dairy free: We've made this recipe with dairy free butter several times and it tastes the exact same.
More Simple Sheet Pan Recipes You'll Love
We can't wait for you to make this sheet pan shrimp boil in your own home! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!
📖 Recipe
Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F (220˚C).
- In a large pot, add 3 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil. Add the baby potatoes, then reduce heat to medium high and cook the potatoes for 13-15 minutes, until just fork tender. Drain in a colander and set aside.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the sauce. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, add ¼ cup of butter. Once melted, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
- Add in the remaining butter, stirring until melted. Add the beer, lemon juice, parsley, and the Old Bay seasoning, whisking well. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a very large mixing bowl, add the shrimp, sausage, corn pieces and potatoes. (If you don't have a large enough bowl, use a large pot.) Whisk the sauce again, then pour over all of the ingredients and toss until everything is well coated. (Toss gently as to not break up the potatoes!)
- Divide the mixture between two sheet pans, spreading everything into an even layer. Bake for 18-20 minutes. If you're using two oven racks, swap the baking sheets halfway through and give them a quick stir.
- Serve straight from the sheet pans, or transfer to a large platter or bowl. Enjoy!
Christina says
Such a fun summer meal! Definitely a bit messy but so fun to have with a group of friends on the patio. It’s a great way to have the Joe’s Crab Shack boil I used to love so much at home!
Lexi Harrison says
Aw yay love to hear that!
Erin says
Super yummy and easy to make! Love this version because of the shrimp!
Janice says
Made a double batch of this when a group of our friends came over for dinner, and it was so easy to pull together. Our friends absolutely loved it. I definitely suggest serving some bread with it to make sure you soak up all of the delicious sauce! It is a bit messy(but absolutely worth it) so make sure you have some paper towels on hand when eating it. For dessert I made their cherry pie bars with the almond and oat topping and the s'more balls from their cookbook. Both were a big hit!
Molly says
Planning to make this but 18-20 minutes seems WAYto long to cool the shrimp.