sheet pan shrimp boil

Nobody is handing me a Michelin star for a shrimp boil on a sheet pan.

That is fine. I’m not trying to open a restaurant. My family wanted corn, potatoes, sausage, shrimp, and a lot of Old Bay on a Friday night. I wanted to dump dinner on the table and wash nothing.

My brother and sister-in-law made a seafood boil for our family on vacation a few years ago, and I have wanted to make one ever since. It took me two years to realize owning the enormous pot was optional.

Shrimp is what makes it work. It cooks in about six minutes, costs a fraction of crab or lobster, and a pound and a half feeds all five of us.

The potatoes and corn are seasoned all the way through, the sausage crisps at the edges, and the shrimp gets coated in butter loaded with garlic, smoked paprika, brown sugar, and lemon. The rest of the butter goes over everything before it hits the table.

It’s less of a production. That’s the whole reason it happens on a Friday.

Why boil and roast? Two steps, and each does a job the other can’t. The boil seasons the potatoes and corn all the way through, not just on the surface. The roast gives you what a pot can’t: caramelized sausage and a little char. You want both.

Watch the shrimp closely: They only need 6 to 7 minutes. Remove them when they are pink and opaque; another few minutes can make them rubbery. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes at the end if you want more color.

That is a lot of Old Bay, and it is right: Two tablespoons in one stick of butter looks like a lot going in. Trust it. It is coating the whole pan, and it is what makes this taste like a boil instead of buttered vegetables.

Sausage sets the heat: Smoked sausage keeps it mild enough for the whole table. Andouille is the spicier choice. For more heat without committing the whole pan, add a pinch of cayenne to the butter or serve hot sauce on the side.

Tails on or off is your call: Tails on looks better on the platter. Tails off is easier to eat, which matters if you are feeding kids. Buy them peeled and deveined either way so this stays a weeknight dinner.

A quick note: this one is free for everyone. If you want more like it, a paid subscription gets you a monthly meal plan, the full recipe archive, and two extra recipes every month. No pressure. This shrimp boil is yours either way.

Three more summer dinners for hot nights and eating outside.

chopped italian picnic sandwich. Everything piled on one loaf, chopped, and pressed. No plates, no forks, made for eating outside.

the better burger bowl. A burger with no bun, in a bowl. Sweet potatoes standing in for fries, and a sauce with chopped pickles.

thai salad with peanut sauce. Rotisserie chicken, a pile of vegetables, and a peanut sauce that does all the work. One bowl, twenty minutes.

serves: 6

time: 50 minutes

3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, divided

2 tablespoons table salt, for the boiling water

1½ pounds gold potatoes, halved

4 ears corn, cut into thirds

12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced into coins

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus wedges for serving

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Boil the potatoes and corn: Heat the oven to 450°F. Fill a large pot a bit over halfway with water and bring it to a boil. Add the table salt (2 tablespoons) and 1 tablespoon of the Old Bay. The water should taste aggressively seasoned. Add the potatoes (1½ pounds) and boil 9 to 10 minutes, until knife-firm, not cooked through. Then add the corn (4 ears) and boil 3 minutes more. Drain very well and let steam-dry a minute.

Roast to get color: Toss the drained potatoes and corn with the sausage (12 ounces) and olive oil (2 tablespoons) on a large sheet pan. Spread in a single layer and roast 18 minutes, until the potatoes are golden at the edges and the sausage is crisping.

Make the loaded butter: Melt the butter (8 tablespoons) in a small saucepan over medium-low. Add the garlic (6 cloves), smoked paprika (1 teaspoon), and the remaining 2 tablespoons Old Bay and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the brown sugar (1 teaspoon), Worcestershire sauce (1 teaspoon), and the lemon zest and juice (1 lemon), then pull it off the heat.

Add the shrimp: Pull out the pan. Add the shrimp (1½ pounds), pour over about two-thirds of the butter, and toss right on the pan to coat everything. Spread the shrimp in a single layer.

Finish roasting: Roast 6 to 7 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and just opaque. For a little char, broil briefly at the end if you want more color, watching closely.

Serve: Drizzle with the rest of the butter, scatter the parsley (3 tablespoons) over the top, and serve with lemon wedges. Toss any butter leftover on the pan back over everything.

storing and reheating. Leftovers keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat gently in a low oven or a skillet, just until warm. It will not be quite the same as fresh, and the shrimp turns rubbery if you push it too hard, so go easy. Skip the freezer. The shrimp and potatoes are both better fresh.

Shrimp: Large sea scallops or 1½-inch chunks of firm white fish can work, but the time will vary with size. Roast until the seafood is opaque and just cooked through. If using cooked crawfish tails, add them in the last few minutes just to warm through.

No seafood: Skip the shrimp and add another half pound of smoked sausage. It becomes more of a sausage, corn, and potato roast, but the Old Bay butter still works.

Old Bay: A crab boil seasoning like Zatarain’s can stand in, but the flavor will be slightly different.

Smoked sausage: Use andouille for more heat, kielbasa or chicken sausage for a milder flavor. Any smoked, fully cooked sausage works.

Gold potatoes: Any waxy potato works. Baby or red potatoes are fine, cut to the same size so they cook evenly.

Butter: Use olive oil for dairy-free. The flavor will be lighter, but it still works with the garlic, Old Bay, and lemon.