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    Home » condiment

    11/16/2022

    The Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce with Garlic Butter

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    Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce is rich, spicy, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor! This seafood butter sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect with your favorite seafood boil, shrimp boil, crawfish boil, and crab boil.

    Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce is rich, spicy, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor! This seafood butter sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect with your favorite seafood boil, shrimp boil, crawfish boil, and crab boil.

    This seafood sauce takes about 10 minutes to make with a few simple ingredients. It adds a nice Cajun flavor to your seafood boil!

    Is there anything more satisfying than a spicy Southern seafood boil? Tender pieces of shrimp, crab, sausages, and corn are served up in a sauce that’s complete with all the fixings!

    Table of Contents Show
    Best Ever Seafood Sauce
    What is Seafood Boil Sauce?
    What’ll Need to Make This Seafood Butter Sauce
    How to Make Seafood Boil Sauce from Scratch
    Seasoning for Seafood Boil
    Even Better with These Tips
    Seafood Boil Sauce vs Bloves Sauce
    How to Make Seafood Boil?
    How to Store the Sauce?
    How to Reheat Seafood Boil Sauce
    Variations
    Other Ways to Use Seafood Sauce
    Other Seafood Recipes You May Like
    Best Garlic Butter Seafood Boil Sauce Recipe (+ How to Make Seafood Boil)

    Best Ever Seafood Sauce

    When it comes to a seafood boil, it’s all in the sauce. Shellfish are prized for tender meat that has the ability to deliciously embody whatever spices or sauce it’s paired with.

    For the best seafood sauce, you can’t be stingy with the seasonings. Classic Old Bay seasoning gives this sauce its signature taste, while butter, garlic, lemon pepper, and onion add complexity to this spicy dish. Drizzle it over seafood boil, Shrimp Boil, Low Country Boil, or Lobster, and it’s heavenly delicious!

    Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce is rich, spicy, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor! This seafood butter sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect with your favorite seafood boil, shrimp boil, crawfish boil, and crab boil.

    What is Seafood Boil Sauce?

    Seafood Boil Sauce is a rich, buttery sauce that greatly complements a seafood boil. This Southern tradition has gained popularity all over the world.

    Butter and garlic are the main ingredients in this sauce, improved only by the addition of herbs and spices.

    What’ll Need to Make This Seafood Butter Sauce

    Seafood boil ingredients on the counter.
    • Garlic: Make sure your garlic is fresh and peeled. Feel free to add more garlic for some extra flavor.
    • Unsalted Butter: Adds a nice rich and creamy to the seafood sauce. I recommend using unsalted butter so that you can control the salt level.
    • Olive Oil: You can use regular olive oil or vegetable oil for this recipe.
    • Onion: Use either yellow or white onion.
    • Old Bay Seasoning: It adds great flavor to the sauce with layers of complex flavors. .
    • Chicken Broth: We recommend using low-sodium broth to reduce the salt intake.
    • Lemon Pepper: Adds freshness and brightness to the sauce.
    • Paprika: It adds a fruity and slightly sweet note with a bright color to the sauce. You can also use smoked paprika.
    • Cayenne Pepper: It adds some heat to the sauce with a distinct fruity flavor.
    • Red Pepper flakes: It will also make your sauce spicy, so you can adjust the amount to your preference.
    • Lemon Juice: Adds a nice tangy flavor to the dish.
    • Brown Sugar: You can also use regular white granulated sugar.

    How to Make Seafood Boil Sauce from Scratch

    Seafood Boil Sauce recipe: step 1 and 2 photos.

    1. Add butter and oil to a saucepan over medium-low heat.

    2. Once the butter is melted, add onions and stir fry until they’re soft. Then add garlic and sauté until fragrant.

    Seafood boil sauce recipe: step 3 and 4 photos.

    3. Add Old Bay seasoning, lemon pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Mix together.

    4. Turn the heat to low and add the remaining butter.

    Seafood Boil Sauce recipe: step 5 and 6 photos.

    5. Simmer until the butter is melted, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.

    6. Remove from heat. Pour the sauce over your favorite seafood boil or serve it as a dipping sauce.

    Seasoning for Seafood Boil

    It’s no secret that seasoning is the key to a good seafood boil. First, you’ll need a hearty helping of garlic, sautéed in melted butter.

    Be generous with the Old Bay seasoning, the classic Southern mix that’ll give your sauce both flavor and color.

    Because we love a spicy seafood boil, we’ll be stirring in cayenne pepper, lemon pepper and red pepper flakes, with the milder taste of paprika to balance things out. Imagine the aroma in your kitchen when it all comes together!

    Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce is rich, spicy, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor! This seafood butter sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect with your favorite seafood boil, shrimp boil, crawfish boil, and crab boil.

    Even Better with These Tips

    • If you prefer a milder seafood boil, adjust the amount of cayenne and red pepper that you add in. Even without the extra spice, your meal will be full of flavor thanks to the rest of the herbs and spices.
    • Be sure to keep the heat on low to allow your sauce to slowly simmer to perfection.
    • Feel free to add more butter if you prefer a richer sauce.

    Seafood Boil Sauce vs Bloves Sauce

    Bloves sauce is another kind of seafood sauce made popular by the Youtuber of the same name.

    It’s similar to Seafood Boil Sauce because they’re both made with butter and garlic as the base, but Bloves sauce also includes Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and vinegar for a more sophisticated taste.

    How to Make Seafood Boil?

    Photo collage showing how to make seafood boil.

    Seafood Boil is a delicious, yet simple one-pot meal that’s great for feeding a group. If you’ll be adding potatoes to the mix, you’ll want to put those in first, along with the seasoning and corn.

    Next, add in sausage and onions, ensuring they’ve been cut into bite-size pieces. Add crabs and clams next.

    Shrimp should be added last, since they cook the fastest. They’ll be ready in about two minutes, so be sure not to overcook them. (See details in the recipe below)

    How to Store the Sauce?

    This sauce can easily be stored for an encore seafood boil. Pour any leftover sauce into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

    When you’re ready to use it again, just heat it up in a pot and toss in your potatoes, seafood, and other ingredients.

    Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce is rich, spicy, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor! This seafood butter sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect with your favorite seafood boil, shrimp boil, crawfish boil, and crab boil.

    How to Reheat Seafood Boil Sauce

    We recommend adding the sauce to a saucepan on the stove over low heat and letting it warm up gradually. If you want to serve it quickly, you can microwave it for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

    Variations

    • Sweet and Spicy Seafood Boil Sauce: Adding in some sweet ingredients can take your sauce to the next level. Stir in an extra ½ cup of brown sugar, honey or maple syrup and taste the difference.
    • Seafood Cajun Butter Sauce: Simply add cajun seasoning to your sauce. Now you have a rich Cajun butter dipping sauce for your favorite meat, seafood or veggies.
    • Louisiana Seafood Boil Sauce: For a classic Louisiana Seafood Boil, be sure to add in bay leaves, fresh ginger and lemon slices.

    Other Ways to Use Seafood Sauce

    In addition to using the sauce with seafood boil, you can use it as a dipping for other recipes below:

    • Crawfish Boil
    • Shrimp Boil
    • Salmon
    • Parmesan Pork Chops
    • Lamb Chops
    • Steak
    • Crab Legs
    • Fish
    • Boiled Lobster

    Other Seafood Recipes You May Like

    • Seafood Gumbo
    • Seafood Stuffing
    • Seafood Dip
    • 30 Easy and Delicious Seafood Recipes
    Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce is rich, spicy, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor! This seafood butter sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect with your favorite seafood boil, shrimp boil, crawfish boil, and crab boil.

    Best Garlic Butter Seafood Boil Sauce Recipe (+ How to Make Seafood Boil)

    Best Homemade Seafood Boil Sauce is rich, spicy, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor! This seafood butter sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect with your favorite seafood boil, shrimp boil, crawfish boil, and crab boil.
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Author: Izzy
    Calories: 291kcal

    Ingredients 

    • 3 tablespoons minced garlic
    • 1 cup unsalted butter
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 onion diced
    • 3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
    • 3/4 cup chicken broth
    • 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
    • 1 tablespoon paprika
    • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
    • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
    • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar

    Instructions 

    • In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add 1/2 cup of butter and oil.
    • Once the butter is melted, add onions and stir fry until they’re soft.
    • Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
    • Add Old Bay seasoning, lemon pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Mix together.
    • Turn the heat to low and add the remaining butter.
    • Simmer until the butter is melted, stirring constantly.
    • Add chicken broth and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.
    • Remove from heat. Pour the sauce over your favorite seafood boil or serve it as a dipping sauce.

    Equipment

    Large Stockpot
    Mixing Bowl

    Notes

    • Store the homemade seafood sauce in an airtight container and it’ll last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
    • Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper to your preferred level for spiciness.
    • Seafood Boil Ingredients
      • 1 pound baby potatoes, halved
      • 1 lemon, sliced
      • 3 tablespoons Old bay seasoning
      • 4 ears corn on the cob cut into 3-4 inch pieces
      • 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
      • 1 onion cut into a few pieces
      • 1/2 pound clams
      • 1 pound frozen crab claws or legs, or crawfish or lobster
      • 1 pound shrimp
    • How to Make Seafood Boil
      • Fill up a large pot with water. Add old bay seasoning, garlic, lemon, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
      • Add corn and baby potatoes into the water. Boil for 8 minutes.
      • Add sausage and onions . Cover with a lid and boil for an additional 10 minutes.
      • Add crab and clam. Boil for 2 minutes.
      • Add the shrimp. Boil for 3 minutes or until the shrimp is no longer pink.
      • Drain the water. Transfer the seafood boil to a serving plate or on the newspaper.
      • Serve with the seafood boil sauce and enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 103mg | Potassium: 122mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1741IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
    Author: Izzy
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Seafood Boil Sauce, Seafood Butter Sauce
    Tried this recipe?Follow or tag us on Pinterest @izzycooking

    Filed Under: condiment, Dinner, Recipes Tagged With: brown sugar, butter, cayenne pepper, chicken broth, garlic, lemon juice, lemon pepper, old bay seasoning, olive oil, onion, paprika, red pepper flakes

    About Izzy

    I'm Izzy, a food lover and photographer. Here you’ll find a collection of simple recipes that are perfect for busy people. My blog aims to help you make and enjoy delicious and healthy food at home.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Angela Thomas says

      July 30, 2021 at 7:16 pm

      5 stars
      This was one of the best crab boil sauces I’ve had. It wasn’t to spicy, it wasn’t to salty. It was just right. It was so good I but the leftover sauces in the freezer for later. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Izzy says

        July 30, 2021 at 7:17 pm

        Hi Angela, glad to hear that you like the recipe. Thanks for letting me know. Have a great weekend!

        Reply
    2. Angela Burch says

      August 15, 2021 at 3:00 pm

      I love this Sauce . Yesterday I could not find your recipe online and had to use another one. Although it was okay It does not compare to your recipe. Oh my so good, family loves it. So i printed and added to my recipe book .Thanks

      Reply
      • Tai says

        October 16, 2022 at 5:01 pm

        I want to make butter garlic shrimp pasta & was looking for a butter garlic sauce. Can I use this sauce over my shrimp & pasta?

        Reply
    3. Rochelle Bingham says

      September 06, 2021 at 1:26 pm

      5 stars
      This Sauce is exactly how I remembered the taste I was looking for. I made it on Monday to Serve on Saturday (5) days in the fridge.
      This will be for Shrimp Only! I can’t wait to see what my get will think about it. Thank You I also (6x) the recipe.

      Reply
      • Izzy says

        September 08, 2021 at 5:49 am

        Hi Rochelle, glad that you like the recipe. Thanks for letting me know. Izzy

        Reply
    4. Devona S says

      September 15, 2021 at 2:43 pm

      Im going to try your recipe and had a few questions i wanna add eggs as this is just a shrimp boil. How long or when would i have the boil the eggs for. And didnt have the olive oil so will it be okay without using it.

      Reply
    5. Cha says

      October 21, 2021 at 9:39 pm

      Hi Izzy! I will be boiling shrimp and try the sauce over it. Can I use the shrimp “broth” in replacement of the chicken broth? Or can I use half and half of them? What do you recommend? Thank you!

      Reply
      • Izzy says

        October 23, 2021 at 2:29 pm

        Hi Cha, you can definitely use the shrimp broth. It will be delicious!

        Reply
    6. Sheryl says

      November 17, 2021 at 6:14 pm

      5 stars
      So tasty and easy to make. We even use bread to clean the sauce out.

      Reply
    7. Dee says

      November 22, 2021 at 8:15 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is perfect. I have been using it as my go to and has become such a star in my home for dinner. The great thing about cooking is that’ it’s a give and take. It’s all up to the cool essentially so I use this recipe and add my own flare. It’s very delicious and can be made so personal with a few unique touches of your own. I love this recipe. It is my go to seafood butter sauce recipe. I use no other.

      Reply
    8. Crystal Cervantes says

      December 04, 2021 at 1:41 pm

      5 stars
      Best sauce ever!!! I tried Bloves sauce and although it was also tasty, nothing beats fresh ingredients!! Thank you! I almost couldn’t find your recipe again and almost cried ☺️. Saving this time! Thank you!

      Reply
    9. Shaelee says

      December 30, 2021 at 6:31 pm

      Hi there,

      Doing this for dinner tomorrow. However, it was suggested to do a whole Lobster. Any suggestions on when to add a whole lobster? Thanks!!

      Reply
    10. Kinsey Robinson says

      January 02, 2022 at 7:50 pm

      5 stars
      AMAZING!! THANK YOU

      Reply
    11. Torie says

      January 10, 2022 at 6:31 pm

      What if we don’t have chicken broth! Is there an alternative?!

      Reply
      • Izzy says

        January 16, 2022 at 11:47 am

        Hi Torie, you can use beef broth or water.

        Reply
        • Sonia says

          March 12, 2022 at 6:59 pm

          Making this recipe. What can I use in place of the olive oil?

          Reply
          • Izzy says

            March 30, 2022 at 6:45 pm

            You can use any oil.

            Reply
    12. LeAnne says

      March 26, 2022 at 7:12 am

      5 stars
      Just what I was looking for. Absolutely delicious! Only changes made were I added less cayenne pepper (1/2 tbsp) & no crushed red pepper. It was still a little spicy but great flavor profile.
      Thank you!

      Reply
    13. Miranda says

      March 31, 2022 at 7:55 pm

      Can you use this to coat boiled crawfish?

      Reply
      • Izzy says

        April 04, 2022 at 7:15 pm

        Yes you can. It’ll be delicious

        Reply
    14. Sherhonda says

      April 18, 2022 at 7:46 am

      5 stars
      Made it last night and it was delicious!

      Reply
    15. Vida says

      May 02, 2022 at 10:17 am

      Hi is their is it ok if we do don’t have old bay seasoning ?

      Reply
      • Izzy says

        May 02, 2022 at 12:04 pm

        Hi Vida, it’s ok if you don’t add old bay seasoning. But if you have celery salt and paprika, you can add them to your sauce. As celery salt and paprika are two of the main ingredients in Old Bay seasoning.

        Reply
    16. Crystal says

      May 05, 2022 at 6:33 pm

      5 stars
      Amazing first time I have done a seafood boil at home, put it on shrimp, crab, mussels and lobster added corn and potatoes. They loved it no leftover

      Reply

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