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 by 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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Hallo, I eat vegetarian. Can I skip the saussage or what do you suggest as replacement?
Thank you, Majda
Yes, you can omit the sausage.
I made this last night and it was delicious! Super easy and excellent flavor! Don’t skip the butter sauce at the end. I have a fagor lux multicooker (electric) and the times were the same, except I used large frozen shrimp and so for the shrimp step I did 3 minutes. It was great and I’m adding to my regular rotation. I hope Chungah will write a pressure cooker cookbook!
Awesome Alicia, thank you for your feedback!
Just waiting for the one minute timer. My kitchen smells so good. My family never tires of this recipe. It’s great any season!
Did you devein the shrimp/ would you recommend it? Or did you keep the vein?
Thanks!
Yes, deveining should not be an issue at all!
I am not a beer drinker. Is there something else I can substitute for the alcohol? Or do you find that it is necessary?
You can substitute vegetable broth.
Great recipe and cook times were spot on! I used precooked sausage instead and just added at end with shrimp. Perfecto.
Great, happy it turned out well!
This looks great! Has anyone used raw shrimp out the shell? I am a baby and need cleaned shrimp
you can buy a bag of shrimp that is already butterflied and vein removed but shell is on. So easy to remove shell after cooking.
We made this last night for dinner and it was so easy + yummy! Thank you again for a great Instant Pot recipe.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Is your shrimp fresh, fresh frozen or cooked frozen that you use?
I use fresh, always! 🙂 Recipes will typically specify if frozen/cooked frozen can be used. Hope that helps!
This looks so good..I’m going to try it. I do have a question though. The picture shows corn on the cob mixed in with the rest of the ingredients, but it is not included in the recipe or instructions. When do you add that?
Terri, the corn is already included in the recipe + instructions. 🙂
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes
1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
4 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, divided
1 tablespoon hot sauce
3 ears corn, halved
1 (16-ounce) pilsner or lager beer
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shell-on
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges
DIRECTIONS:
1. 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.
This is by far the best instant pot recipe I’ve tried. The flavors melded so well together in such a short time. I was actually really worried about the short cooking time on this recipe, but everything turned out perfect. I will be making this damn delicious shrimp boil for my family quite often.
So great to hear Debbie! Thank you.
Does this recipe change at all when using an 8qt Instantpot? 🙂
To be honest, I have not used an 8qt Instant Pot so I cannot answer with certainty. But this blog post may be super helpful for you as it discusses cooking differences between different-sized IPs. Hope that helps!
https://mycrazygoodlife.com/instant-pot-cooking-differences/
I have an 8qt, I used 20oz of Samuel Adams. My family loved the flavors.
I’m so glad it turned out well for you! 🙂
This is an old post, but the internet is forever, so I’ll comment. I have a 6 and an 8 qt IP. I used the 8 for this recipe and followed directions as written (though had to use frozen corn on the cob). The 8 takes longer to come to pressure, so with something delicate like shrimp that starts cooking as it comes to pressure and only cooks for 2 min, cook times might matter. I did the full 2 min and it seemed fine to me (I’m no expert on shrimp). Theoretically, it’s possible cook time might need to be reduced to maybe 1 min in the 8 qt. I haven’t tried it that way, though, so can’t say for sure. I use the 8 for most recipes, which are all written for the 6, and pretty much never change anything other than sometimes adding more of some ingredients.
If you’re using andouille sausage, you might consider Zatarain’s or Tony Cachere’s or one of the other cajun style shrimp/crab boil spice mixes instead of that yankee “Old Bay” 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion, John!
Hi John may I ask why really recommend those spice blends over Old Bay? I love all three but Tony’s more so I’m just curious. Thank you
I live as far south as you can get(Gulf Coast) and I prefer Old Bay with steamed seafood.
Could this be put in a crock pot instead? Or a wok? Thank you, love your recipes!
You certainly can, but please use your best judgement when making modifications. You could also try out this oven recipe instead!
https://damndelicious.net/2017/02/13/sheet-pan-shrimp-boil/
Can you substitute chicken broth for the beer?
Yes, absolutely!
I have a question about step 3. After you add the shrimp, do you need to let it come back to full pressure before you do the one-minute cook? Or do you just put the shrimp in, close the lid, and cook for a minute? (I’m thinking it might be the latter, since I’m betting the heat from everything else will probably cook the shrimp pretty quickly?)
Thanks! I love your other shrimp boil recipe.
Yes, you still want to let it come back to full pressure.
Do you think frozen shrimp would work if I put in all together and set for 6 min manual?? I do frozen shrimp and rice for 6 min in my instant pot.
Hi Susan! Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I used frozen uncooked shrimp that I thawed in cold water. It was perfect.
Jennifer did your shrimpnhave the shell on or off? I have some frozen with the shell off but not sure how to adapt the recipe.
I did frozen shrimp for 1 min today! And it was cooked fully.
I’m a huge fan of your sheet pan shrimp boil! I noticed this one uses beer, while the other one doesn’t. What effect does that have flavor-wise?
There is a minimum amount of liquid required for pressure cooking in the Instant Pot (as opposed to the other recipes that do not require a certain amount of liquid like the sheet pan shrimp boil recipe). The beer meets that requirement and adds a ton of flavor in the process! 🙂
This looks incredible! I’m totally making this over the summer!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
How can I adapt this to a regular pressure cooker?
Hi Susan! Unfortunately, without further recipe testing utilizing a standard pressure cooker that is not an Instant Pot, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Would cook time be different if you used shrimp without shell OR if you used frozen shrimp? Can’t wait to make this!
Yes, cooking time can vary!