Shrimp Boil Foil Packets
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Shrimp, smoky sausage, buttery corn, and zesty lemon, this Shrimp Boil Foil Packet is one of our all-time summertime favorites. This is the perfect campfire meal for your next camping trip or backyard BBQ.
Who doesn’t love a campfire foil packet? Foil packet meals are quick to prepare, easy to clean up, and can be cooked directly over a campfire or BBQ.
Just assemble your ingredients, seal them inside using aluminum foil and parchment paper, and place them over your heat source. Campfire, charcoal, propane grill, whatever!
There are hundreds of different foil packet recipes out there, but a good old-fashioned Shrimp Boil is one of our all-time summertime favorites. So let’s get into it.
Ingredients for shrimp boil foil packets
The key to this recipe is to use ingredients that finish cooking at the same time. We decided to include shrimp, pre-cooked andouille sausage, zucchini, and corn on the cob. We’ve seen other recipes call for potatoes, but they never finish cooking in time unless you pre-boil them (which defeats the purpose of this easy, no-mess meal!).
Shrimp: We used medium, tail-on, deveined shrimp. The fresher the better. We recommend stopping by your local seafood purveyor and buying by the pound rather than picking up whatever size is available in a frozen pack. You’ll have less waste.
Precooked Andouille Sausage: This recipe is for precooked sausage. Trader Joe’s carries a really nice smoky and spicy one that we used for this recipe. If all you can find are uncooked andouille sausage, no worries! Just cook it yourself ahead of time.
Zucchini: ¾ inch thick half moons are a perfect size. You can use summer squash here too or a blend of zucchini and summer squash.
Corn on the cob: We cut our corn into 2” long sections and then cut it in half down the middle. You want it big enough to pick up and nibble on, but small enough that it will cook along with everything else.
Garlic + Butter: Is there any better flavor combination in the world? The answer is no.
Old Bay Seasoning & Cajun Spice Blend: We used a mix of Old Bay Seasoning and Cajun Spice Blend. The Old Bay is non-negotiable, it’s the quintessential flavor of summer seafood and an absolute must for this recipe. The Cajun blend adds depth and some spicy heat.
Parsley: A taste of freshness, flat-leafed parsley really compliments all the complex flavors going in this recipe. It also brings some much needed green visuals to the meal!
Lemon: Summer seafood? Yeah, you’ve got to have a wedge of lemon on the side, right?
Essential equipment for foil packets
↠ Aluminum Foil: We use Heavy Duty aluminum foil for our foil packet recipes. It’s easy to work with, holds up to the heat of the fire, and doesn’t shred when handled with gloves or tongs
↠ Parchment Paper: If you want to avoid cooking in aluminum over high heat, line the inside of the foil packet with parchment paper. Everything cooks the same, just without direct contact with the aluminum. It also keeps the foil clean, so it can be more easily recycled.
↠ Heat Resistant Gloves: These heat resistant gloves make working around a campfire or backyard grill so much easier. Pick up a pair of these and never get burned again.
How to make shrimp boil foil packets
The first step is to make sure you have a fire and/or coals going (or set up your propane grill). The point is this meal comes together super quick, so you don’t want to be waiting around for your heat source to be coming up to temp.
Roll out 18” inches of aluminum foil. Then roll out 16” inches of parchment. You want the parchment paper to be a little smaller than the foil.
Assemble your ingredients in the center of the parchment paper (fig 1). Start by layering the ingredients that will take the longest to cook on the bottom like the corn and zucchini. The bottom will receive the most heat, which will speed up the corn and zucchini cook time. Then add the sausage and shrimp. Finally, add the garlic, butter, and spices on top (fig 2-3). It’s okay if it’s sort of a messy pile.
To seal the packets, bring the two short edges of the aluminum foil together and fold together to form a seam. Then roll the ends in towards the middle, so you have two seams on the edges with a long one running down the side.
Place this packet over your fire pit grate or grill. We find that placing the packets on a grate over the coals allows us more control of the heat and keeps everything clean. If your fire has died down a lot, you can also try placing the packets directly on to the embers.
You’ll hear it once the liquid starts to steam and the packet will puff up. During testing, we flipped ours once or twice to cook both sides, but in hindsight, I don’t really think it was necessary. Anyways, flip if you want. Or don’t.
After about 8-10 minutes, take it off the heat and let the packets cool down for a minute.
If you’re delicate about how you open the foil, you can easily shape it into a bowl to eat out of.
Add a handful of chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon, and you’re done!
Tips and tricks
While there are a lot of options for ingredient substitutions in the recipe, the key is to have everything finish cooking at the same time. So be aware of the types of ingredients and the size you are cutting them.
Line your packets with parchment paper if you don’t want to cook directly in the aluminum.
Rolling out too much aluminum foil is better than realizing you didn’t roll out enough. We are the worst at this!
Be aware if you’re using Cajun seasoning that already contains salt or if your butter is salted before adding any more salt to this recipe.
Other foil pack recipes you’ll enjoy
↠ Campfire Banana Boats
↠ Foil Wrapped Baked Sweet Potatoes & Chili
Shrimp Boil Foil Packets
Ingredients
- 1 ear of corn, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced thick
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ lb uncooked shrimp
- 2 andouille sausage
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Tear an 18” piece of heavy-duty foil for each packet, along with a 16” sheet of parchment paper for each. Layer the parchment paper on top of the foil.
- Divide the corn, zucchini, minced garlic, shrimp, spices, and butter between the two sheets of foil.
- To form the packets, bring one of the short edges of the foil to meet the other, then crimp around all edges to seal.
- Cook the packets on a grill (or the grill grate over your campfire) for 8 minutes, flipping occasionally.
- Remove from the grill and let cool slightly. Open the packets carefully – they will be full of hot steam. Top with fresh parsley and enjoy.
I tried this recipe out last weekend and it was huge hit! It was super easy to make ahead of time and very convenient after we hiked. I opted to use potatoes in my recipe since I boiled them ahead of time for breakfast as well. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I will definitely continue using the foil packets for small group camping.![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
Was looking for something that I could prep in advance and that would cook while we finished setting up camp. This fit the bill and was absolutely delicious!
Due to some wet wood the fire/coals situation was weak and it ended up taking quite a bit longer to cook (~20-25 min). With the butter and steam though I think you’re unlikely to overcook anything.
Would definitely recommend getting heavy-duty aluminum foil for this. The regular stuff was pretty flimsy and didn’t hold together great.![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
This is DELICIOUS! Such a huge hit with the family! We added small potatoes cut in half and 1-2 Dungeness crab legs to each foil pack as well. Best thing I’ve ever eaten camping!![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
These are perfect for a crowd. Very easy to assemble ahead of time and pack in your cooler. I assembled them with the parchment paper but don’t think I will do that again. They were well loved and a friend even drank “the sauce” after he finished the food (I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was just butter).![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
I made this and it was delicious, I made mine in the oven at 375 for about 25-30 minutes until the shrimp was cooked and potatoes in place of zucchini, i parboiled the potatoes first. Will definitely make this recipe again !![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
This recipe was the hit of our camping trip this past weekend! It was so good, even our 3 year old liked it. We also loved how easy it was to throw on the grill and easy to clean up after. It all cooked perfectly and we really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s now on our camping trip menu!![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
Instead of using fresh shrimp can I put everything frozen into the packet (frozen shrimp, corn, pre parboiled quartered potatoes, butter, seasoning the night before,, put in fridge, then keep on ice while go to campsite, then cook packet at campsite![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
Yes, you can absolutely freeze everything beforehand at home, then transfer to campsite in a cooler, and then cook. We haven’t tried that before, but we can’t see a reason why it wouldn’t work. Let us know how it turns out!
That’s exactly what we did. I bought frozen shrimp and then froze the bag since it was our last meal. It worked out wonderfully!!
Is this sausage the precooked kind like smoked or is it uncooked?
We used pre-cooked andouille sausage from Trader Joe’s, although we’ve seen it available in other grocery stores as well. If you want to use uncooked sausage, then we would suggest you cook it ahead of time. The time to cook the sausage is much longer than the time to cook the shrimp. So it’s essential to start with pre-cooked sausage.
Can this be made in the oven????
Yes, you can absolutely make this in a home oven. If you are doing it at home, you can probably forgo the aluminum foil packet and just use an enamel dutch oven with a lid. Set the oven to 350 F, add all the ingredients into the Dutch oven, cover with a lid, and bake for 20-30 minutes. I’m not sure on the exact time, but once the veggies are steamed and the shrimp is fully cooked, it’s ready.
Do you cook the sausage separate? Also, if I prepare everything at home, should I leave e shrimp separate until I cook it all?
We purchase pre-cooked andouille sausage from Trader Joe’s, but we’ve seen it available at other groceries stores too. You could also substitute with kielbasa which is less spicy than andouille and typically comes pre-cooked. If you were using un-cooked sausage, then yes, you would want to pre-cook it ahead of time. The placing the foil pack on the campfire is really just to steam the shrimp and soften the veggies.
If you preparing it at home, we would suggest keeping the shrimp separate and then adding them right as you’re ready to start building your foil packs. Be sure to get uncooked, pre-peeled, de-veined shrimp.
These are delicious!!!![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)