This incredibly delicious recipe is the BEST garlic butter Cajun seafood boil you will ever try. It is made with rich, spicy, buttery seafood boil sauce using a basic Cajun seasoning mix. It also has the closest flavor to the famous whole shabang boiling crab style.
If you're a famous boiling crab restaurant fan, this recipe is definitely for you. Remember that addicted whole shabang garlic Cajun sauce? You will be able to resemble it with just a few simple ingredients.
Since you're here, I bet you have a thing with Cajun-style food (just like me). So be sure to check out these amazing recipes: Cajun honey butter salmon bites, Cajun Style Semi-dried Squid, Cajun chili garlic shrimps and Cajun grilled avocado chicken sandwich.
Though not a Cajun recipe, these garlic butter corn ribs use the same addicting combo flavors: garlic and butter. It's delicious and takes only 15 minutes. And it also makes a perfect side dish to this seafood boil if you want something different from regular Cajun corn.
Key ingredients
To make the best garlic butter seafood boil, you'll need the best Cajun seafood boil sauce. Here are the key ingredients for the sauce:
- Old Bay seasoning. Your Cajun-style seafood boil won't be complete without this.
- Lemon Pepper seasoning. I use the one from McCormick.
- Paprika or smoked paprika helps to enhance the unique color that is always found in any Cajun recipe.
- Cajun seasoning. You'll save a lot of time if you buy this ready-to-use seasoning.
- Cayenne pepper. It brings the extra spicy to this garlic-boiling seafood. Omit this if you can't handle the spiciness.
- Brown sugar. It adds a hint of sweetness to the sauce, which helps to balance the buttery, garlicky and spicy flavor.
- Fresh garlic. Lots of garlic will be used to make this seasoning mix recipe so make sure you have extra in inventory.
- Unsalted butter. Just like garlic, you need lots of them. And make sure they are unsalted.
How to make the best garlic butter Cajun seafood boil
Make Cajun seafood boil sauce: Gather all ingredients for the sauce.
Melt unsalted butter: In a heavy bottom medium cooking pot or large cooking pan, melt butter over medium heat.
Add minced garlic: When butter has melted completely, add the minced garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
Cook garlic in butter: Remember to stir occasionally so the garlic won't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
Add seasoning: Add the rest of the ingredients to the butter garlic mixture, and constantly stir for another 6-8 minutes to prevent the mixture from scorching (still use medium heat setting).
Cook vegetables: In a separate pot, start cooking corns and potatoes.
Make finishing mixture: Gather ingredients for finishing mix, then set them aside for later use.
Add vegetables/sausages: Add corns, potatoes, and sausages to Cajun seafood boil sauce. Coat them evenly with the sauce and let them cook for 5-8 minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning.
Add seafood of your choice: Add uncooked seafood of your choice (such as shrimps, crawfish, clams, or mussels).
Cook seafood: Coat the seafood completely with Cajun seasoning mix and let them cook on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes or until they are fully cooked.
Cover the seafood: When seafood are cooked completely, quickly turn off the heat, cover the cooking pan and let them rest for 5-10 minutes.
Mix with finishing mixture: Move the seafood and vegetables with half or one third of the sauce to a large mixing bowl. Then when the seafood are still hot, immediately add finishing mixture into the bowl.
Mix well: Use a large spoon, mix and coat the cooked seafood and vegetables evenly with finishing mixture. Serve hot immediately
Essential cooking tools
This Cajun-style seafood boil calls for a lot of garlic. To make the job easier, some tools can help speed up the cooking process.
Remember, the more finely the cloves are crushed, the stronger the flavor will be. And make sure you include all of the garlic juice in the sauce. They're gold, don't throw them away.
- Granite mortal and pestle: If you making small batch of the recipe, this mortal comes in very handy. In fact this is what I often use whenever I make this butter garlic seafood boil recipe.
- Tuperware chop'n'prep: This small chopper is amazing and a very good tool to chop garlic as well as other herbs and vegetables. Don't underestimate its size, it can mince more garlic than it looks with just a few pull.
- Food processor: If you have extra budget, you can go all out for a food processor. Regardless of how big a batch you're gonna make, it can handle all of your minced garlic needs.
FAQs
Cajun seafood boil sauce is the main sauce for this recipe. At the same time, a finishing mix is a touch-up added after everything is cooked and right before serving time.
The finishing mix help to enhance the flavors and bring out the best of this garlic butter Cajun seafood boil.
Yes, definitely. You'll need to pre-cook big sizes of seafood before adding them to the Cajun sauce.
Yes, you can. Please make sure to completely thaw them at room temperature before adding them to the cooking pot. If not, their coldness will significantly reduce the cooking temperature and the extra water will do more damage to the sauce than good.
The sauce (made from seasoning mix) can be separated and kept in an airtight container for up to 2 months due to its richness.
Absolutely. All you need to do is omit the cayenne peppers and reduce the amount of Old Bay and Cajun seasoning by half.
Just to let you know, the new non-spicy flavor is not what the recipe initially aims for; so it'll taste less impressive like it's supposed to be.
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Best Butter Garlic Cajun Seafood Boil
Ingredients
- 1-2 lb shrimps/clams/crawfish/mussels uncooked
- 2 ea corn on the corb cut into equal pieces, cooked
- 1 link sausages cut into equal pieces, cooked
- 4 ea new potatoes cooked
Cajun seafood boil sauce
- 1 lb unsalted butter
- 7 oz garlic minced
- 0.5 oz cajun seasoning or 5 tsp
- 0.5 oz Old Bay seasoning or 5 tsp
- 0.5 oz lemon pepper seasoning or 5 tsp
- 0.5 oz paprika or 5 tsp
- 0.4 oz brown sugar or 1 tbsp
- 0.2 oz cayenne pepper or 2 tsp
Finishing mix
- 8 oz unsalted butter soften, room temperature
- 3 oz garlic minced
- 0.5 oz Cajun seasoning or 5 tsp
- 0.5 oz Old Bay seasoning or 5 tsp
- 0.5 oz paprika or 5 tsp
Instructions
Cook vegetable
- In a large pot, start cooking corn and potatoes.2 ea corn on the corb, 4 ea new potatoes
Make finishing mixture
- Gather ingredients for finishing mixture and put in a mixing bowl. Then set them aside for later use.
Make Cajun seafood boil sauce
- In a heavy bottom medium cooking pot or large cooking pan, melt unsalted butter over medium heat.1 lb unsalted butter
- When butter has melted completely, add the minced garlic and cook for 5 minutes.7 oz garlic
- Remember to stir occasionally so the garlic won't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
- Add the rest of the Cajun seafood boil's ingredients to the mixture, and constantly stir for another 6-8 minutes to prevent the mixture from scorching (still use medium heat setting).0.5 oz cajun seasoning, 0.5 oz Old Bay seasoning, 0.5 oz lemon pepper seasoning, 0.5 oz paprika, 0.4 oz brown sugar, 0.2 oz cayenne pepper
Make garlic Cajun boiling seafood
- Start adding corn, potatoes, and sausages to Cajun seafood boil sauce. Coat them evenly with the sauce and let them cook for 5-8 minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning.1 link sausages
- Add uncooked seafood (shrimp, crawfish, clams, or mussels).1-2 lb shrimps/clams/crawfish/mussels
- Coat the seafood with the sauce and let them cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until they are fully cooked.
- When seafood are cooked completely, quickly turn off the heat, cover the cooking pan and let them rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Move the seafood and vegetables with half or one third of Cajun seasoning mix to a large mixing bowl. Then when the seafood are still hot, immediately add finishing mixture into the bowl.8 oz unsalted butter, 3 oz garlic, 0.5 oz Cajun seasoning, 0.5 oz Old Bay seasoning, 0.5 oz paprika
- Use a large spoon to mix and coat the cooked seafood and vegetables evenly with the finishing mixture.
- Serve hot immediately.
Notes
- You can swap shrimp for any seafood you like, and remember to cook this over medium heat ONLY. Also, DON’T forget the finishing mixture. It is the secret to making any Cajun boiling more delicious.
- If you don't have lemon pepper seasoning, you can substitute 2 tbsp (1oz) of lemon juice & 2 tsp of ground black pepper.
- If you don't have brown sugar, you can substitute it for 1.5tsp (0.2oz) of granulated white sugar.
- You can use the leftover Cajun seafood boil sauce in the pan to make a different batch of boiling seafood or serve it as a sauce on the side.
- If you decide to use more extensive seafood such as lobster, you should cook them first.
- Cajun seafood boil sauce can be separated for other recipes and kept in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 2 months.
- Per popular demand, I also added each ingredient's volume measurement (tbsp and tsp). However, I recommend using the weight measurement for a more consistent flavor.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: this post was originally published on April 3, 2019
I tried this recipe and it's really good.
Hi Theresa,
Thank you so much for the love. I really appreciate that.
Old Bay NEVER was and NEVER will be a part of cajun recipes. Don’t be fooled!
If you want Old Bay, leave out the word cajun.
Hi Fran,
I respect your opinion. Have you ever tested the recipe, or did you look at it and say NO? Because some people did try the recipe and love it :).
Such great recipe haven't done it yet but on Saturday. For sure I will thank you !
Hi Gracey,
How was it? I would love to hear some feedback :).
Awesome recipe! Thank you! We’ll probably be doing this every month! Haha! Thank you! Thank you!!
Hi Carlo,
Thank you so much :). I'm really glad that you love the recipe.
Hola sorry I have a question do I cook the corn sausages and potatoes before adding to the garlic sauce? Wanna make this tonight
I want to make this but am confused. What's the difference between the sauce and finishing sauce? Are they 2 different things?
Hi Kathi,
The Cajun garlic sauce (seasoning mix) is used while cooking the seafood. You can understand it as marinating mixture.
While the finishing sauce is like an add-on or a 'garnish' which is used to add more flavor to the seafood.
You can skip the finishing sauce, if you like.
As for me, I want that extra garlicky and buttery taste to my garlic Cajun so that's why I included the finishing sauce in the recipe.
Hope this helps.
This recipe is absolutely amazing. Thank you very much for sharing! I made it tonight with snow crabs, shrimp, potatoes, corn, and boiled eggs and my husband raved! Absolutely exceptional!
Hi Niki,
I am super glad that you and your husband love it. Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe. I'm so thrilled now.
Just a bit confused - do we cook everything before adding to the boil? Precook the corn, potatoes and seafood?
Hi Marissa,
Yes, all add-ons (except seafood, unless you're using big ones like crabs) should be precooked before adding them into the seasoning mixture.
Thanks for the reply! What’s the best way to cook the potatoes before adding? I’m thinking boiling wouldn’t be ideal as it would be too mushy?
I have always boiled my potatoes as it's the fastest way to cook. To prevent mushy texture, my best choice of potatoes are always new potatoes because we don't need to peel or cut them into pieces. Just boil them at medium high temperature, whole, unpeeled, uncovered for 15-25 minutes. You can check their texture halfway of boiling process (around 12 minutes) by lightly piercing them with a fork. Then depend on your references of an ideal cooked potato, decide how much more time should you leave them in a pot.
However, if boiling potatoes is what you dislike then baking potatoes is another option to look at. For this method I would rather use Yukon potatoes. Pierce the skin of each potato with a fork to allow steam to escape during the process. Then wrap them in aluminum foil individually and bake at 400F for 1-1.5 hours. You want to under bake them a little bit rather than achieve a perfect texture here. When you ready to cook them with Cajun sauce, just cut them into large pieces, and proceed with those steps in the recipe.
Hope these help. Feel free to pop back with any more question, I'm happy to assist you with trouble shooting.
Oops sorry just seen this. Thanks
Is this 1-2lb of each or all together
Hi Cheri,
Thats the total lb all together for all ingredients. Hope this helps :).
So if I’m doing a 1lb of crawfish and shrimp would the ingredients be doubled?
So it means 2lb total, right? Then you don't need to double the ingredients. The recipe is good for at most 2lb of seafood. Unless, you want a lot of extra sauce on the side, then go for the double.
Im wanting to make this for my husbands birthday with shrimp crawfish and maybe even mussels.
Or even the store has a seafood party mix (shrimp crab legs mussels) i may use instead. Not sure. On the recipe im not good at the oz measurements what would it be in tsp etc measurements? And im needing it for serving 3-4 as he can eat the 2 servings himself. Also do you have a good recipe for swordfish i also want to make him to go with this
Hi Chassity,
I've just updated the recipe with tsp measurement. Please see the recipe above for references. Thank you for planning to use this recipe on your husband's special day.
As of now, there is no swordfish available on my blog. But I'll update one soon, I have a good recipe from my last restaurant so I can't wait to share. Please subscribe to my newsletter so you'll know when it is up. Thanks again.
Where can I find the tsp measurement recipe as I can only see the oz one
Hi Krishna,
I added the tsp measurement right after each ingredients, the 'or 5 tsp " part.
Quick question, if I've read this right, we make the Cajun Garlic sauce first. I'm a little confused about the finishing mixture. We don't cook the garlic or anything cz the hot seafood will? Do we just put the butter, garlic and seasonings from the finishing mixture as it is on the prepared seafood?
Thanks for the recipe!
You're correct. Just make sure the butter is soften at room temperature before incorporated into the hot boiling seafood; and then mix them well. Together with minced garlic and the rest of ingredients in finishing mixture, they'll create such pleasant fragrance for the feast.
Hi,
I am planning on making 3-5 lbs of lobster with this recipe for my birthday!! I was thinking i’d boil the lobster first and then add it to the mixture with the sides and everything. For what I’m trying to do what do you suggest? Also should I change the measurements?
Hi Maycie,
You're correct. If you make lobster/crabs instead, you must boil them prior adding into the seasoning mixture. You can actually undercook them a little bit (probably only need to boil them for 10-15 minutes), because they will get to stay in Cajun seasoning mixture for at least 15 minutes to absorb the flavor.
For 3lb of lobsters, I would x2 the recipes. For 5lb, I would x3.5. Plus, you also want to cut the tails into 4 or 5 pieces, the head in half, and crack open the claw as much as possible so they can easily soak in the seasoning mixture.
If you have any more questions, feel free to add them here. I'm happy to help as much as I could.
Is it possible to combine these spices in a large amount and put it in a container to use later on?
Hi Randy,
Definitely. You can make a huge batch Cajun garlic sauce, cook and let the sauce cool down. Next, store it in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 2 months. I would recommend you break it into few small containers rather than store in one big one. That way, whenever you're ready to cook, just leave one container out at room temperature for few minutes to soften, then proceed with whatever you like.
I always have 1 jar of this Cajun garlic sauce (triple the recipe works for me) in my fridge so whenever I feel like missing eating Cajun flavor, I have one ready to use right away.
I made this and came out amazing but your directions are a little confusing. States to add seasoning mixture to the butter. I assumed it was the seasonings under the finishing mixture section. Once everything was cooked and added to serving platter I tossed with the section you had as seasoning mixture. Hope it was right.
Hi Liz,
I'm so glad you like the recipe and everything turned out awesome for you :). And you were right, it was a little bit of confusing in the recipe, so sorry about that. I have re-written the recipe for clear instructions. As long as it tasted good, its all that mattered. Thank you again for the feedback, it means a lot to me. Have a wonderful Holiday Liz!
How do we obtain the written receipt
Hi Artrice,
You can press the Print button either on the article or on the recipe itself. Then you can save as pdf file if you want or print it out :).
Hi, I want to try this recipe out.. but I am a little confused on what we boil the shrimp in? Is it in the seasoning mixture or do we add water?
Also, is this spicy at all? If not, what do you recommend to kick it up a notch. Thank you! So excited to try this out
Hi Jovette,
We boil or cook the shrimp/seafood in the seasoning mixture. For this recipe, please don't add water to the pot, if you need more 'liquid', add more unsalted butter instead.
This recipe is at medium-spicy level. You can turn it up a noch by increase the amount of cayenne or chili powder.
Yes, this garlic Cajun so delicious. You definitely should try it out. If so, let me know how the outcome goes :). Excited to hearing from you.
I want to try this recipe for my birthday party get together, I plan on making a large amount of seafood including crab legs, maybe some blue crabs, shrimps, potatoes, sausage and corn. Should I double the amount of your recipe or is the recipe amount that you used enough for a very large amount?
Hi Dana,
If you're usind crab legs and also blue crabs, I would recommend you partially cook them in boiling water (separate pot) first before cooking in Cajun seasoning mixture. And yes, double or even triple the recipe should be enough to cover 2-3 lb of crabs and 2lb of sbrimps. Let me know how it goes.
Tried cooking Cajun for the first time, it turned out superb!
Hi Lani,
Thats awesome! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try.
I am making 6lbs of crawfish plus mussels for a total of 8 lbsJust wondering how much butter I would be using.3lbs of butter seems like a lot.
Regards
Lothar
Hi Lothar,
You'll need 3lb of butter for that a mount of crawfish and mussels. Just triple the amount of all ingredients in Cajun garlic sauce; because we rather have extra sauce but don't need it than need it but don't have it in the middle of Cajun feast, don't we? For finishing mixture (8 oz of butter), you can just use it as it is, no multiply needed. So total you'll need 3.5 oz of butter for everything. If you have left over, everything can be kept under refrigeration for up to 2 months :). So don't worry if you're gonna waste all of that butter.