Here’s how to boil shrimp: our step-by-step guide is perfect for shrimp cocktail and comes out tender and juicy every time!
Why boil shrimp when you can cook it on the stove in a flash? Turns out, boiled shrimp is effortless and satisfying, with sweet, briny flesh and a tender, delicate texture. The most popular way to use boiled shrimp is for shrimp cocktail, but you could boil it for any type of preparation.
The advantage of boiling? The shrimp keeps well at room temperature, making it perfect to sit out on a platter while entertaining. Wondering how to boil shrimp? Here’s our simple method for ensuring plump, juicy flesh.
How to long to boil shrimp
How long do you boil shrimp? The cook time is about 2 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. The timing varies based on the size of the shrimp and whether it is shell on. Most sizes of shelled shrimp cook in about 2 minutes, and shell on takes 1 minute or so longer.
Boiling shrimp with the shell on helps to lock in moisture. If using shell on shrimp, remove the shells after cooking them. You can also leave the tails on for shrimp cocktail.
How to boil shrimp: overview
The ingredients you’ll need to boil shrimp are 1 pound of large shrimp, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ lemon. Here’s what to do:
Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to boil with the salt and lemon. Add the shrimp and boil until they’re pink and cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 2: Remove the shrimp to an ice bath, which is a bowl of water and ice. This will stop the cooking immediately, leaving the shrimp perfectly tender. If you cooked the shrimp with the shell on, remove it. If desired, add more salt or lemon to taste.
Best type of shrimp for boiling
If you’re going to make shrimp cocktail, use large shrimp with the tail on for the best presentation. The shrimp pictured here are the size 16 to 20 count. We also like using medium shrimp, which are more bite sized.
We’d recommend boiling shrimp with the shell on for the best flavor, but tail on shrimp also works. It’s helpful to buy shrimp that has already been deveined. (If your shrimp are not deveined, here’s how to devein shrimp.)
Boiling frozen shrimp
Either fresh or frozen shrimp works for this recipe. While the shelf-life of fresh shrimp is only a few days, frozen shrimp lasts for several weeks: making it convenient for cooking. Frozen shrimp can be high quality and just as fresh as shrimp from the seafood counter. If you use frozen shrimp for this recipe, what’s the best way to defrost it? Here’s how to thaw shrimp:
- Place the frozen shrimp in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Or on the day of serving, place the frozen shrimp into a bowl with cold water. Let a small trickle of cold water run into the bowl to keep the water moving. The shrimp should defrost in about 15 minutes.
Shrimp cocktail sauce recipe
If you’re looking for shrimp cocktail, we’ve got a great cocktail sauce! Shrimp cocktail is a great option as an appetizer recipe, perfect for celebrations like the holidays or New Year’s Eve. Go to our homemade shrimp cocktail recipe.
Want a shrimp boil recipe?
Of course, that’s a different thing altogether! The cooking method is the same, but a shrimp boil uses potatoes, corn and shrimp together in the same pot with spices (usually Old Bay seasoning).
Here’s our shrimp boil recipe you can use for parties, and a sheet pan shrimp boil we created for weeknight dinners. You can also make steamed shrimp, seasoned with Old Bay.
Frequently asked questions
Shrimp are a low calorie food. One medium shrimp is 7 calories and 1 jumbo shrimp is 14 calories.
Look for wild-caught fish if possible. If you live in the US, look for US caught if you can. 90% of the seafood we eat in the US is imported. Imported seafood runs the risk of being overfished, caught under unfair labor practices, or farmed in environmentally harmful ways.
How your fish is caught matters. Look for hook and line as one example of a sustainable gear type. Bottom trawling is considered the most destructive and least sustainable method.
Dietary notes
This boiled shrimp recipe is pescatarian, gluten-free and dairy-free.
How to Boil Shrimp
Print RecipeWondering how to boil shrimp? Boiling up a batch is perfect for shrimp cocktail and comes out tender and juicy every time.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 pound
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 pound large 16 to 20 count shrimp (we prefer tail-on and deveined)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for serving
- 1/2 lemon
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Thaw the shrimp (place it in the refrigerator over night, or day of place it in a strainer and allow a steady stream of cold water to defrost it for about 15 minutes).
- Bring 12 cups of water to boil with the kosher salt and lemon juice from the ½ lemon.
- Prepare a bowl of ice water.
- Add the shrimp and cook about 2 minutes (more or less time depending on size of shrimp), until bright pink and cooked through. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and place it directly into the ice water bath to stop the cooking.
- Remove the shells from the shrimp, leaving the shell of the tail on. Discard the shells.
- Pat the shrimp dry, and sprinkle it with additional kosher salt and few squirts from lemon wedges. (If serving as shrimp cocktail, go to our Shrimp Cocktail recipe for the sauce.)
Looking for more shrimp recipes?
Outside of boiling, here are some of our favorite ways to prepare it:
- Perfect Grilled Shrimp
- Shrimp Marinade
- Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Sauce
- Grilled Shrimp Tacos
- Shrimp Taco Sauce
- Best Shrimp Dinner Ideas
- Quick Shrimp Couscous
- Easy Paella Recipe with Shrimp
- Seafood Paella Recipe on an Open Fire
- Grilled Shrimp Skewers
- Mango Salad with Grilled Shrimp
- Roasted Tomato Shrimp and Polenta
- Baked Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes