This Instant Pot Shrimp Boil is a quick and easy recipe, to enjoy the benefits of seafood, meat, and veggies all on one plate.
It’s a perfect recipe for your next family get-together.
Shrimp boils have been all the rage in America’s South forever and for good reason.
Traditionally, all the ingredients are boiled in a big pot full of flavorful broth and spread out across a large picnic table covered with newspaper. It’s usually meant to serve a large group for a community gathering, and everybody eats with their hands!
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
As I mentioned, it’s traditional to cook this dish in a large pot, but this time we’ll make it in a new way! Using the Instant Pot will cut down the cooking time significantly and reduce mess. And don’t worry, it will still taste just as delicious 🙂
When made using traditional methods, you have to worry about how long the water takes to reach a boil, which varies depending on your stove and the volume you’re making. The Instant Pot takes the uncertainty out of it. You can be assured everything is cooked properly if you just follow the instructions in the recipe below.
So for sure, this Instant Pot Shrimp Boil is gonna be the easiest shrimp boil you will ever make! And it still has all of the wonderful flavors that you crave.
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
Shrimp – raw, tail-on, large shrimp works the best. The reason the tail is useful is because of the way it’s served, and you eat with your hands, you can grab the shrimp by the tail end.
Sausage – The best option in my opinion is to use spicy or smoked sausage, like Cajun or Andouille. Bratwurst would work as well. For this recipe, I have used smoked Frankfurter sausages. But feel free to use whatever type of sausage links you like!
Water – you can substitute low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth if you desire.
Potatoes – when choosing potatoes, go with new potatoes or baby potatoes. If cutting the potatoes, make sure they are the same size so they cook evenly.
Corn – for this Instant Pot Shrimp Boil recipe, you want to use husked corn on the cob that has been cut into smaller portions. I cut each ear of corn into about 4 pieces, depending on the size.
Old Bay seasoning – this seasoning blend is a must for this recipe! If you can’t find it, you can make it yourself. It’s a combination of ground bay leaves, celery salt, salt, pepper, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, ginger, cloves, cardamom, allspice, celery seeds, and dried mustard. A teaspoon of each will give a nice blend.
How to Make
First, gather your ingredients:
In the Instant Pot, combine potatoes, onion, and water. Add bay leaves and Old Bay Seasoning.
Lock the lid into place. Cook on High pressure for 3 minutes.
Now, add the sausage and corn cob pieces.
Add shrimp and season to taste.
Lock the lid once again. Set to High pressure. Cook for 2 minutes and perform a quick pressure release.
Finally your delicious recipe is ready to serve!!
How to Serve
It’s so fun to serve up a shrimp boil! It’s a perfect one-pot meal 🙂
First, layout newspapers or a large disposable tablecloth. When the food is ready, drain the excess liquid, then spread the food across the table and get ready to dig in! No forks, knives or plates are required! How fun is that?
As you can see, this recipe is much more suited to eating outdoors since it can get a bit messy. Be sure to have plenty of paper towels on hand! Or... as a less messy option, you can always serve on a platter.
Still looking for side dishes? Check out what to serve with shrimp boil.
FAQ
Can I use frozen shrimp?
Yes, you can. If you are using frozen shrimp that is not defrosted, add 1 minute to the cooking time.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes! Since this Instant Pot Shrimp Boil recipe is meant to feed a rather large group, it can easily be doubled. First, double all of the quantities. You may need to cook it a little longer-- 5 minutes for the potatoes and 3 minutes after adding the shrimp should work.
However, you will need a large Instant Pot in order to make a double batch. So if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker, you’re in luck. If you have a smaller model, you will have to make multiple batches.
More Instant Pot Shrimp Recipes
If you’re a shrimp lover, there are lots of delicious shrimp recipes on Corrie Cooks. After you make this Instant Pot Shrimp Boil recipe, try these if you still have shrimp leftover:
More One Pot Meals
Instant Pot Chicken Stroganoff
Instant Pot Pork Chops and Rice
Or check out these Instant Pot One Pot Meals.
Instant Pot Shrimp Boil
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp
- 0.75 lb smoked sausage chopped
- 1 ½ cup water
- 4 small potatoes chopped
- 2 ears corn chopped
- 1 bay leaves
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
- 1 lemon for serving
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place potatoes and onion into the Instant Pot and add water, bay leaves and old seasoning.
- Close the lid and cook at high pressure for about 3 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, do a quick pressure release.
- Add sausages, corn, shrimps and salt and close the lid.
- Cook at high pressure for 2 minutes.
- When cooking time is complete, do a quick pressure release.
- Open the lid, add lemon slices and serve 🙂
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- I recommend that you do not peel the potatoes. The skin helps hold them together which makes serving easier. That’s why we recommend you use new potatoes with a thin skin for a more pleasurable eating experience.
- Chop the potatoes and sausage in fairly large pieces that you can easily pick up with your hands, but ideally, they can still be eaten in one bite. Around 1 ½ inches is perfect.
From Tide to Table Adventure with Instant Pot Shrimp Boil
Could you recommend a sauce I could pour over this please. Thank you.
Loved this recipe so good!!! Quick & easy!
Thank you so much Sheila 🙂
I assume I will be able to translate this into Ninja Foodi and get similar results.
I love the cooking time with this method
I do not have an Air Fier or Instant Pot to make your Shrimp Boil in. If I use a Dutch Over What would the boil times be. I would really like to make this.
Followed this recently using the crockpot 16qt multicooker pressure cooker and it was perfect. Came out just as good or better than any restaurant and that says a lot being that I live in New Orleans. I used 16-20 tail on EZ peel frozen shrimp that were thawed out first.
We don't eat sausage so I tossed in several pieces of boudin. The first time I did this recipe I used a rice cooker and it was so good that it convinced me to buy the crockpot multicooker. Would have went with the instapot, but this crockpot is huge at 16qt and was on sale for 50$ down from 160$.
In the rice cooker the boudin stayed in tact, but once I used the pressure cooker something interesting happened. I opened it up after pressure cooking and on the top was like a layer of the boudin and none of it stayed together inside the casing. I assume the pressure caused it to explode, but this was a good thing as it added an interesting texture and a lot of flavor.
I can't believe how amazing this came out. I used a little more water, almost twice as much old bay seasoning and a fair bit of cayenne pepper. I also tossed in half a stick of butter.
I'm cooking this again today, but will be attempting a version with less carbs. Still using some corn, but will not use potatoes. I will be adding fresh whole white mushrooms, cucumber, zucchini, jicama & chayote.
That sounds great! Thank you again for all the info. This will be very helpful to those looking to make a lower carb version of the recipe.
Any ideas on what could you replace the potato and corn with if doing Keto.
Hmm... I might try another root vegetable like turnips or carrots.
You might want to give Chinese Radish (Daikon) a tri.
Great suggestion, thanks!
I am trying a low carb version today. Keeping the corn as we don't eat it often and really love the taste of it cooked this way. Removing potato and adding whole white mushroom, cheyote, cucumber and zucchini.
Great suggestions, thank you!
mushrooms (common in LA for boils), squash (soaks flavor well), cauliflower.
😉
Can you double this recipe if yes do you double the cooking
Times also?
Yes, if it fits in your Instant Pot model then you can double the recipe. You do not need to double the cooking times but maybe 1.5x (5 minutes on the potatoes, and an additional 3 minutes after adding the shrimp, etc. I think that will work.
Is this eaten as a soup with bread on the side, or aline, as is?
It is served as is-- usually I will strain the shrimp, sausage, etc. out of the pot and serve it on a big platter. But the flavorful broth can be served on the side to dip bread into if you wish.