Instant Pot Shrimp Boil
by Chungah
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This Instant Pot shrimp boil is made in just 6 minutes! With juicy shrimp, potatoes, sausage and corn, drizzled with a dreamy butter mixture!
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Why you’ll love this instant pot shrimp boil
- Cooks in just a fraction of the time. Shrimp boil typically takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook through, boiling a large heavy pot of water, but the 6-qt Instant Pot® drastically brings down the cook time (and convenience) to just 6 minutes.
- Maximum flavor. Every bit of flavor and seasoning is infused straight into the potatoes, sausage, corn and shrimp, yielding the juiciest shrimp.
- Fool-proof recipe. Not only is this method so fast, it’s also a foolproof way to achieve perfectly cooked, tender seafood, avoiding rubbery shrimp, using a quick two-step process (more on that below).
What is a shrimp boil?
This is a popular dish throughout the South, boiling together shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn in a seasoned broth. This is traditionally served outside onto a large communal table, lined with newspapers, served with melted butter, hot sauce, lemon wedges, and cold beers.
Types of shrimp
Wild caught shrimp vs. farmed shrimp
Farmed shrimp are raised in controlled environments, whereas wild caught shrimp have been caught in their natural habitats by fishermen. Wild caught shrimp are generally preferred over farmed shrimp primarily due to taste.
Frozen vs. fresh shrimp
Unless you reside in a coastal area, the “fresh shrimp” on display at your local grocery store have already been previously frozen at sea. Frozen shrimp offer ultimate freshness (flash-frozen as soon as they are caught) and flexibility, using only what you need for dinner. Bottom line, frozen shrimp will taste better and cook better.
How to make shrimp boil in the instant pot
- Add everything but the shrimp. Add the potatoes, sausage, onion, Old Bay seasoning and hot sauce in a 6-qt Instant Pot®, stirring until well combined and then adding the corn and beer on top.
- Pressure cook (step 1). Close and seal the lid, cooking on high pressure for 5 minutes, quick releasing when finished and carefully opening the lid.
- Add the shrimp and pressure cook (step 2). Add the shrimp; close and seal the lid, cooking on high pressure for 1 minute, quick releasing when finished and carefully opening the lid.
- Make the butter mixture. While the shrimp is cooking, combine the butter, garlic and Old Bay seasoning in a small saucepan.
- Serve. Serve the shrimp boil with the butter mixture, spooning or drizzling as needed, and garnishing with parsley and lemon wedges.
Variations
- Slow cooker: cooked low and slow for 3-4 hours
- Sheet pan: 30 minute sheet pan dinner
- Kabobs: a summertime favorite, baking or grilling
What to serve with shrimp boil
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Shrimp Boil: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! But I recommend thawing the frozen shrimp overnight, transferring them from the freezer to the fridge the day before for a consistent thaw.
Place the frozen shrimp in a colander (or strainer) under cold water until completely thawed, about 5-10 minutes. Pat them dry as thoroughly as possible to remove any excess moisture.
Yes, but do not pressure cook the pre-cooked shrimp. Simply add them in at the very end to reheat until warmed through.
Add the shrimp at the very end, pressure cooking for 1 minute and quick releasing immediately.
Yes! I have a recipe for that here.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Instant Pot Shrimp Boil
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds baby red potatoes
- 1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced
- ½ medium sweet onion, chopped
- 4 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, divided
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 3 ears corn, halved
- 16 ounces pilsner or lager beer
- 1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, shell-on
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Place potatoes, sausage, onion, 3 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning and hot sauce into a 6-qt Instant Pot®. Stir until well combined. Top with corn and beer.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Add shrimp. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 1 minute. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in garlic and remaining 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve shrimp mixture immediately, drizzled with butter mixture, garnished with parsley and lemon, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Know your shrimp size. Shrimp size is calculated on number of shrimp per pound. The smaller the number, the larger your shrimp. There are about 40-50 medium shrimp per pound.
- Buy frozen shrimp. For superior quality and freshness, using frozen shrimp is ideal (but avoid the bags with freezer burn), opting for a quick thaw under cold running water.
- Leave the shells on. The shells will protect the shrimp from overcooking, and will infuse more flavor into the boil.
- Skip the water. Avoid using water for the cooking liquid. Use a light beer or a combination of beer and chicken broth for classic lowcountry flavors.
- Cook in two stages. Pressure cook the potatoes, sausage and corn first, then add the shrimp last, quick-releasing immediately to avoid overcooking the shrimp.
- The butter mixture is key. For restaurant-quality shrimp boil, finish the shrimp boil with a simple butter-garlic-Old-Bay-seasoning mixture just before serving.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread or garlic knots for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover shrimp can be rubbery when reheated in the microwave. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 425°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
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I love this recipe. For years it’s has been my go to for when I am craving a shrimp boil.
This is SO good. A few things I usually do: I use one can of beer and it’s fine. I don’t pressure cook the shrimp. I’ve had bad luck with them getting tough even using jumbo frozen raw ones. At this step I remove the potatoes if on the small side, submerge the frozen shrimp in the beer broth and hit saute until they’re done. More control this way. If using precooked don’t even turn it back on. Just stir them around. I add some Slap Ya Mama for good measure. YUM!!! I seriously make this at least once a month for my family. I have yet to come across a bad recipe from Chungah. Try them all!!
Another winner! So easy and flavorful to make! My family gobbled it up.
Made this tonight in Australia.
I made the following substitutions as it’s what I could get at my local supermarket…
– andouille sausage used kranski
– Old bay seasoning used Cajun Seasoning
– Hot sauce used Tobasco
– Beer – just used 1 can
– Prawns – used green shelled prawns
It was great and I will defiantly make this again.
I cooked it in an Instant Pot Duo Crisp as directed in the recipe.
This was a terrific Instant Pot recipe. I’m new to IP, but this had all the makings of a good recipe with lots of flavor. I bought large, shell on shrimp, since the medium size just looked too small. Used Polish kielbasa instead of sausage and used a bottle and half of Budweiser beer, since that’s what I had. Turned out great. Will definitely keep this recipe in my arsenal. I used the steamer basket in my 8qt pot, worked great. Thank you!
Can I add more shrimp instead of the sausage? Is frozen corn okay to use?
Just made this for dinner tonight, family loved it. It makes enough to feed all very well and still have leftovers. Super easy and the flavors are wonderful! I only had non-alcholic pale ale on hand but it did the trick to pull all the ingredients together fabulously. The name of your website says it all!!
Great Recipe. Everything was cook to a perfect tasty texture.
I will say that the preheat cycle took around 25 minutes. Don’t expect this to be ready in 6 minutes.
My total cook time was about 40 minutes. I used a genuine 6qt. Instant pot.
We will be making this again.
This was amazing! I don’t like beer but I still used it and thought it turned out yummy. Based on others’ comments, I added cabbage. I also used yellow/gold potatoes (and cut them in half) because that’s what I had. It tasted sooo good! This recipe is a keeper!
I have made this like five or six times as delicious comes out delicious every time
I have made this a number of times and I cannot recommend it enough!! In fact I have made MANY of her recipes and you can count on them! Perfection every time!
Go get yourself the ingredients and make this tonight! You will LOVE it!!
Made this last weekend and it was sooo good we’re making for my mom again this weekend.
All I have it light lager. Will that work?
Can I add crab legs and if so at what point of cooking?
Great recipe!! We especially loved the seasoned butter for the top! Loved how incredibly quick and easy this recipe was. We used frozen cooked shrimp, and it was good, but next time will use raw shrimp as the recipe calls. My father in law makes this camping and adds cabbage; so we added cabbage too and it really soaked up the yummy seasoned beer flavor! I highly recommend!
Like everything else I’ve made from this site, damn delicious. Better than a restaurant.
My family cannot thank you enough for this recipe! They love leftovers, so I doubled the sausage, Shrimp and potatoes which was great for my 8 quart Instant Pot. I used frozen, deveined shrimp and set the time to zero to cook it. I doubled the butter and garlic too! It was a HUGE hit, and now my mom has requested we do it again for her birthday. You are an Instant pot genius!
This recipe is very good! It has the right amount of kick and spice. Definitely a keeper of a recipe!
Wow! So yummy!! I used Heineken beer in mine and it turned out Damn delicious 🙂
Thank you for the simple easy recipe. We enjoyed it.
OMG…! I made this recipe tonight and WOW! My family literally went nuts for it. My athlete son had 3rds and would have eaten the entire pot if I had let him. I only had frozen breaded shrimp so I baked it in the oven and we added it later. This recipe is fantastic!
I wanted to try some shrimp in my instant pot and this recipe popped up in my search. I was skeptical about shrimp in the IP. This was a quick and delicious meal. My only complaint it was too much for just the 2 of us.