Baked Garlic Butter Seafood Boil with Shrimp and Corn

A proper seafood boil means a giant stockpot, a folding table covered in newspaper, and a whole afternoon — more than most nights call for. This tray version gets you the same combination of shrimp, corn, potatoes, and sausage, roasted together on one pan and finished with a garlic butter sauce that’s bloomed on the stove first instead of just melted. That extra minute of cooking the garlic in butter makes it taste rounder and less sharp, coating everything in something closer to a steakhouse butter sauce than plain melted butter. Staged onto the pan in the right order, everything finishes at the same time, all in about 45 minutes.

Why This Baked Garlic Butter Seafood Boil Works

The garlic gets bloomed, not just melted in. A minute or two in warm butter mellows raw garlic into something sweeter and rounder, closer to a steakhouse butter than a quick sauce.
One pan, staged additions. Potatoes, sausage, corn, and shrimp all roast together, just added at different times so nothing overcooks.
No pot of boiling water needed. The oven does the same job a big stockpot would, with a fraction of the cleanup.
A full, hearty dinner. Between the potatoes, sausage, corn, and shrimp, this holds up as a complete meal, not a starter.

What You’ll Need

You’ll want a large rimmed sheet pan lined with foil, plus a small saucepan for blooming the garlic butter.

1 pound baby potatoes, halved
2 ears corn, husked and cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces
12 ounces smoked sausage (andouille or kielbasa), sliced
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail-on
6 tablespoons butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning, plus more to taste
1 lemon, juiced, plus wedges for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a large sheet pan with foil.
Start the potatoes. Toss the potatoes with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper on the pan. Spread in a single layer and roast 15 minutes — they need the biggest head start.
Bloom the garlic butter. While the potatoes roast, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes, just until fragrant and lightly golden, not browned — the smell will shift from sharp to sweet, which is exactly what you want. Stir in the Old Bay.
Add the sausage and corn. Scatter the sausage and corn over the pan and drizzle with half the garlic butter. Roast 10 more minutes.
Add the shrimp. Scatter the shrimp over the pan, drizzle with the remaining garlic butter, and toss everything together. Roast 6 to 8 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and the potatoes are fork-tender.
Finish and serve. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top, scatter with parsley, and serve straight from the pan with extra lemon wedges.

Pro Tips

Watch the garlic closely while it blooms. It goes from golden to burnt quickly, and burnt garlic turns bitter enough to throw off the whole dish.
Cut everything to a similar size. Potatoes about the same size as the sausage rounds cook more evenly, so nothing finishes too early or late.
Don’t skip the stagger. Adding everything to the pan at once means either raw potatoes or rubbery shrimp — timing the additions is what makes this work as one tray.
Pat the shrimp dry before adding them. Wet shrimp steam instead of roast, and you lose the slightly golden edges.
Use a rimmed pan, not a flat one. The garlic butter needs somewhere to pool and baste everything as it roasts.

Variations & Alternatives

Bigger seafood boil: Add a pound of split crab legs or mussels along with the shrimp for a more traditional seafood boil spread.
Spicier version: Add a pinch of cayenne or extra Old Bay to the garlic butter.
No sausage: Skip it and add extra shrimp or corn in its place.
Feeding a crowd: Double everything and split it across two sheet pans, since crowding one pan steams instead of roasts.

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes, just until warmed through — the microwave turns the shrimp rubbery fast. This dish doesn’t freeze well once assembled, since the potatoes and shrimp both lose their texture.

FAQ

What’s the difference between a traditional seafood boil and this baked version? A traditional boil cooks everything together in a big pot of seasoned water; this version roasts the same ingredients on a sheet pan instead, finished with a garlic butter sauce rather than a boiling liquid.

Can I add other seafood to this tray? Yes. Crab legs, mussels, or clams all work well added alongside the shrimp — just make sure anything raw is fully cooked through before serving.

Why bloom the garlic instead of just mixing it into melted butter? A minute or two of gentle heat mellows garlic’s sharp, raw bite into something sweeter and rounder, closer to how garlic tastes after roasting.

Can I use frozen shrimp for this recipe? Yes, just thaw it under cold water and pat it dry first — adding it frozen throws off the timing for everything else on the pan.