How much shrimp per person for a boil?
Plan on about ½ lb of headless, shell-on shrimp per person — NC Sea Grant’s serving size. For 20 guests that is 10 lb, with 20 ears of corn, 6.6 lb of potatoes and 5 lb of sausage.
How to work it out
- 20 adults × 0.5 lb shrimp = 10 lb
- Corn 20 ears · potatoes 6.6 lb · sausage 5 lb
A shrimp boil — or low-country boil, Frogmore stew, Beaufort stew — is a pot of shrimp, smoked sausage, corn and potatoes dumped on a paper-covered table. The shrimp is the expensive part, so it is the part to measure.
Adjust for your project
More options: Kids · Corn · Potatoes …
- Ears of corn
- 20 ears
- Small potatoes
- 6.6 lb
- Smoked sausage
- 5 lb
- Seafood per adult
- 0.5 lb
- Shrimp cook in a few minutes. Add them last and cook until the flesh is pearly and opaque (FoodSafety.gov), then pull the basket.
- Perishable food should not sit out more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C). Keep hot food at 140 °F (60 °C) or above and cold food at 40 °F (4 °C) or below (USDA FSIS).
Seafood and sides by number of guests
| Guests | Seafood to buy | Ears of corn | Small potatoes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 lb | 6 ears | 2 lb |
| 10 | 5 lb | 10 ears | 3.3 lb |
| 15 | 8 lb | 15 ears | 5 lb |
| 20 | 10 lb | 20 ears | 6.6 lb |
| 30 | 15 lb | 30 ears | 9.9 lb |
| 50 | 25 lb | 50 ears | 16.5 lb |
Half a pound, and why it is enough
NC Sea Grant’s guide to buying seafood plans ½ lb of headed (heads-off), shell-on shrimp for a 3½ oz serving of shrimp meat. In a boil, the sausage, corn and potatoes fill the plate around it, so ½ lb per person is a full meal for most adults. For a crowd that comes mainly for the shrimp, go to ¾ lb — set the appetite to big eaters, which lands at about 0.63 lb each.
| Guests | Shrimp (½ lb each) | Corn | Potatoes | Sausage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 5 lb | 10 ears | about 3⅓ lb | about 2½ lb |
| 20 | 10 lb | 20 ears | about 6⅔ lb | 5 lb |
| 50 | 25 lb | 50 ears | about 16½ lb | about 12½ lb |
Cooking order for a shrimp boil
- Potatoes first — they take the longest.
- Sausage and corn next, a few minutes later.
- Shrimp last, for just a few minutes, until the flesh is pearly and opaque (FoodSafety.gov). Overcooked shrimp turn rubbery fast.
- Drain and serve at once, then keep anything left at 140 °F or above, or chill it within 2 hours.
Shrimp sizes on the bag (21/25, 31/35 and so on) are the count per pound, so 31/35 shrimp give roughly 15 to 17 per half pound. For a crawfish boil instead, see how much crawfish for 10 people; for drinks for the same twenty, how many cans of soda for 100 guests shows the per-guest math.
Different size? Use the full Crawfish & Seafood Boil Calculator.
What you’ll need
- Boil pot with strainer basket (60–80 qt)Premium price
A large aluminum pot with a lift-out basket is what makes a backyard crawfish or seafood boil manageable. Size it to the sack you are cooking.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Outdoor propane burnerMid-range price
A high-pressure outdoor burner brings a big boil pot back up to temperature quickly. Use it outdoors only, on level ground away from the house.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Dinner napkins (bulk)Budget price
Napkins go faster than anything else on the table, especially with wings and barbecue.
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Frequently asked questions
How much shrimp for a boil for 50 people?
About 25 lb of headless, shell-on shrimp at ½ lb each.
How much shrimp for 10 people for a boil?
About 5 lb with 10 ears of corn and 2.5 lb of sausage.
How much shrimp per person for big eaters?
About 0.63 lb each — 13 lb for 20.
Other common sizes
- How much crawfish for 10 people — 35 lb live (one 35 lb sack)
Sources
- LSU AgCenter — Enjoying Louisiana Crawfish (Pub. 2353; copy hosted by Texas A&M) (opens in a new tab) — 3–4 lb of live crawfish per person per meal; about 15% tail meat (8–20%); 6–7 lb live per lb of tails; 35–45 lb sacks; one sack serves 10–12; keep live crawfish at 42–45 °F; discard dead crawfish before boiling; a straight tail after boiling does not prove a crawfish was dead; an 18–20 gal pot with about 10 gal of water for a sack.
- NC Sea Grant — Seafood: how much to buy and serve (opens in a new tab) — Per 3½ oz serving: headed shrimp ½ lb; cooked peeled shrimp ¼ lb; live crabs 1–2 lb.
- FoodSafety.gov — Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart (reviewed Dec. 2022; copy hosted by the Virginia Department of Health) (opens in a new tab) — Poultry and stuffing 165 °F (74 °C); pork, beef and raw ham 145 °F (63 °C) with a 3-minute rest; ground meat 160 °F; leftovers 165 °F (74 °C).