One big pot, fresh seafood, and a few other simple ingredients for one of the South’s favorite meals. Full of amazing flavors from herbs, spices, and sausage combined with summer corn, onions, and potatoes, a classic Low Country Boil is a favorite of everyone around the table.
A low country boil is a unique thing in the South. It’s a whole meal cooked in one big pot, but it’s also an event, like in “I’m going to a low country boil,” which means you’re going to a party serving a traditional low country boil. Am I making sense? How cool has a recipe born out of necessity become so celebrated?
One of the reasons I think a low-county boil is such a favorite dish to serve is because it’s easy. The ingredients go into one big pot; all you need to ensure success is a timer. Another reason everyone loves it is because of the flavor. It’s hard to tell which ingredient is the star of the show, but for me, perfectly seasoned and cooked shrimp always wins out. Next is the corn, which gets flavored with all the juices from the shrimp, sausage, and Old Bay seasoning…it’s just heavenly.
This past week, our family spent a week at one of our favorite places – the beach. We’ve been going to the same stretch of beautiful Crystal Coast for years and have unique traditions there. One of those traditions includes a low country boil, which never disappoints. I serve melted butter, lemon wedges, homemade cocktail sauce, horseradish sauce, and our favorite hot sauce alongside this fantastic dish. When it’s time for the feast, all that’s needed is a newspaper tablecloth and many paper towels.
If you’re looking for an outstanding way to entertain, then a family-style seafood boil is the answer. It’s a perfect way to feed a family or a crowd, and cleaning up is a breeze. This special one-pot meal guarantees happy memories will be made around the table year after year!
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Low Country Boil Questions, Answered
The classics are shrimp, smoked sausage, fresh corn cut into pieces, and small potatoes — all cooked together in one big pot seasoned generously with Old Bay. The shrimp is always the star for me, but the corn soaks up all those incredible flavors from the sausage and seasoning and becomes something truly special on its own.
Shrimp cooks fast — usually just 2 to 3 minutes once it goes into the pot. You’ll know they’re done when they turn pink and start to curl into a C shape. Pull the pot off the heat right away so they don’t overcook. Timing is the key to a great low country boil.
Melted butter, fresh lemon wedges, and your favorite hot sauce are essential. I also love having cocktail sauce on the side. For the full experience, dump everything out onto a table covered with newspaper — that’s the Southern way and it makes cleanup a breeze.
For a hungry crowd, plan on about ½ pound of shrimp per person, one or two pieces of corn, a few potatoes, and a few slices of sausage. This is a recipe that’s meant for feeding a crowd, and the beauty of it is how easy it is to scale up — just use a bigger pot and add more of everything.
Ingredients
- 5 lbs small new potatoes
- 4 lbs sweet onions – halved
- 4 packages of smoked kielbasa cut into 2 inch pieces
- 12 ears of corn – broken into halves or thirds
- 6-8 lemons – halved
- 5-6 lbs shrimp
- ¾ cup Old Bay Seasoning
Instructions
- Fill large pot about ¾ full of water, place on an outdoor cooker and bring to a boil. **2 bottles of beer may be added if desired.
- Turn to a med-high heat. Add Old Bay Seasoning and mix into water.
- Gently place potatoes into pot – cook 10 minutes.
- Add corn, sausage and onions – cook for 5 minutes.
- Squeeze lemons and add to pot along with shrimp – cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Drain liquid and dump boil onto a table covered in newspaper.
- Have a little melted butter and horseradish sauce on hand….grab your favorite drink and dig in!
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Is Zatarain’s Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil a good alternative to Old Bay Seasoning? Don’t want to mess this recipe up, but I have the Zatarain’s already. Any thoughts?
Sure! Zatarain’s is a great choice for seasoning. Enjoy the recipe.
~Donya
Do you always cook the shrimp in their shells? I like to remove the shells and clean shrimp prior to cooking. I was thinking if I did clean them, maybe I should cut their cook time down a minute?
Sounds great! I’m going to make this.
Made this tonight and it was mouth-watering delicious. Would not change a thing – timing was perfect.
Thank you, thank you!
~Donya
I often cook LCB for large crowds. Your recipe basically allows for 1 pound of shrimp per person. That is a lot of shrimp. Typically I count on about 1/3-1/2 pound per person and usually have leftovers. Am I being too conservative?
I use those amounts because I like to be flexible with how many people I’m feeding. Sometimes, the recipe card only allows me so much leway regarding information.
Hope you enjoy the recipe,
~Donya
How much does your recipe feed?
My first time to do this I,m hoping it turn out well.
Best low country boil I’ve ever made. It was delicious!
Thank you so much, Donna! And I really appreciate the outstanding rating.
~Donya
I’m going too host a Low Country Boil on the 19th for 12 people. Do I just double the original recipe? Also, I assume raw shrimp? And what size? Thank you!
Hey Debbie!
Thank you so much for reaching out, these are all great questions! I would double the original recipe if you’re hosting 12, and I might throw in some extra sausage and shrimp because that’s what people tend to eat the most of. As for the shrimp, you can use raw or frozen; I use raw but that’s just personal preference. As for the size of the shrimp, this is again personal preference, I use either normal or jumbo depending on how many people are eating. I hope this helps, let me know how everyone enjoys it! Thanks for your support!
~Donya
Can you give me a recipe to use for cooking for a large croud..like 30-50 .. using a 100 quart pot
Hey Jennifer!
That’s a great question! I would quadruple the recipe for 30-50 people. I would use 20lb of potatoes, 16 lbs of sweet onions, 16 packages of smoked kielbasa, 36 ears of corn broken in half, and about 20 lbs of shrimp. For the corn you can just buy as many ears of corn as there are people attending end then cut in half so everyone gets 2. It sounds like y’all are going to have a great party, let me know how the Low Country Boil turns out!
~Donya
We did our boil in June and hit was a big hit!! Doing another with a different group this weekend. Could I add scallops and if so how long would we leave in?
Hey there Debbie!
I am thrilled to hear y’all enjoyed this recipe, thank you so much for your sweet words! Adding scallops sounds like a great idea, I would wait until the very end to add them though. Scallops only take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook, so I would just adding them to your pot about 3 minutes before you are going to drain the water and serve it. I hope this is helpful, let me know how it goes!
~Donya
I so want to try this recipe but I don’t see how many it serves?
Hey Patti,
I can usually feed around 6 people with this recipe.
Enjoy!