A seafood boil—whether it’s crawfish, shrimp, or a mix of both—is more than just a meal. It’s a celebration, a gathering, a party in a pot. While these boils are often made for a crowd, you can absolutely scale down the fun for just two or three people when the craving for spicy seafood hits. And no matter the size, one thing’s for sure: there will be leftovers.
The day after a boil, I like to sit down and peel any remaining shrimp or crawfish, bagging them up along with the other boil fixings. (Yes, a few cold bites usually disappear during this process—who can resist?) Once everything’s sorted and chilled, I turn those leftovers into something warm, comforting, and deeply flavorful: Leftover Boil Chowder.
This chowder is a flexible, no-fuss way to make the most of your boil. Toss in any veggies you included the first time around—corn, potatoes, onions—or get creative with extras like mushrooms or artichokes if that’s how you roll. It’s nearly impossible to mess up, and the result is always hearty, rich, and soul-satisfying.
So go ahead—turn yesterday’s seafood bash into today’s cozy, crave-worthy chowder. You’ll be glad you did.
Ingredients
1 stick butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
‘1 poblano pepper, chopped
1-1/2 cups corn, leftover from the boil, cut off cobs
2 Tbsp. Carbquik or other baking mix
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning (I used Tony’s)
1-1/2 tsp. Old Bay
1 lb. shrimp or crawfish, leftover from shrimp/crawfish boil, peeled
2 cups potatoes, leftover from the boil, cubed
1 cup sausage, leftover from the boil, sliced
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 can chopped green chiles
Green onion, garnish
Instructions
Saute onion, celery and garlic in butter.
Add the poblano pepper and corn. Heat and stir. On this day, I did not have a fresh poblano pepper, but I did have a freeze-dried poblano pepper. I rehydrated it and used that in my chowder.
Sprinkle Carbquik over the top of the vegetables. Stir until pasty.
Pour in the chicken broth, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and Old Bay. Stir.
Add the potatoes, sausage and shrimp. You can mash some of the potatoes before stirring them in for a thicker consistency for your chowder.
Stir in chopped green chiles, milk and cream.
Stir and heat until slightly thickened before serving.
If you like this recipe, you may also like the following recipes:
Leftover Boil Chowder
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- 1 large soup pot
- 1 Large spoon
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 poblano pepper chopped
- 1-1/2 cups corn leftover from the boil, cut off cobs
- 2 Tbsp. Carbquik or other baking mix
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp. salt and pepper
- 2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning I used Tony’s
- 1-1/2 tsp. Old Bay
- 1 lb. shrimp or crawfish leftover from shrimp/crawfish boil, peeled
- 2 cups potatoes leftover from the boil, cubed
- 1 cup sausage leftover from the boil, sliced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 can chopped green chiles
- Green onion garnish
Instructions
- Saute onion, celery and garlic in butter.
- Add bell pepper and corn. Heat and stir.
- Sprinkle Carbquik over the top of the vegetables.
- Stir until pasty.
- Pour in the chicken broth, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and Old Bay. Stir
- Stir in milk and cream.
- Add the potatoes, sausage and shrimp.
- Stir and heat until slightly thickened before serving.
