Trader Joe’s Seafood Boil
One of my family’s favorite meals is a shrimp boil-style sheet pan dinner. I spread shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn on a sheet pan and drizzle it all with butter, fresh minced garlic, and other seasonings, and then bake it all together. When I spotted a seafood boil meal at Trader Joe’s, which is a cousin to Aldi, I figured we had to try it.
The box says this features corn on the cob, shrimp, clams, potatoes, andouille sausage, and tilapia in a spicy butter sauce. You’ll find it stocked in the freezer aisle near other seafood at TJ’s.
We buy products for review using our own funds. I paid $9.99 for a 22-ounce package of Trader Joe’s Seafood Boil in the fall of 2025. That comes out to about 45 cents per ounce. There are two servings per package, which comes out to about $5 per serving.
If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk, tilapia, and shrimp.
One serving has 290 calories, 13 grams of total fat (17% DV), 6 grams of saturated fat (30% DV), 520 mg of sodium (23% DV), 24 grams of total carbohydrates (9% DV), 6 grams of dietary fiber (21% DV), 3 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of added sugars (4% DV), and 21 grams of protein.
The box has instructions for cooking this from frozen. You either boil it in its included pouch or pour the contents into a saucepan to cook.
To boil in the pouch, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over medium high heat. Remove the seafood boil from the box and carefully add the sealed pouch to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 22-24 minutes in the boiling water. Monitor the pot to ensure water does not boil over. Flip the pouch every 5 minutes using tongs. Then, remove the pouch from the boiling water and let it stand for 2 minutes. Carefully open the pouch and ensure the contents have reached 165 degrees, then serve.
To cook in a saucepan, remove the seafood boil from the box and open the pouch. Pour the contents into a medium saucepan. Pour 2/3 cup of water into the saucepan. Cover and cook on medium heat for 18-20 minutes or until the contents reach 165 degrees. Use tongs to break up the contents after 8-10 minutes and stir occasionally. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand for 2 minutes before serving.
I don’t like boiling plastic bags, so I decided to cook this in a saucepan on my stovetop. This cooking method does dilute the spicy butter sauce some, since you have to add 2/3 of a cup of water, although some of that water probably evaporates during the cooking process. However, if you want to dilute the spice, this cooking method might be preferable.
My family thought this was okay, but they told me they like my homemade sheet pan shrimp boil dinner better. This Trader Joe’s boil is moderately spicy. The corn was mushy (because it had been frozen), and the tilapia pieces fell apart and didn’t have much flavor. We had some leftovers, and I actually thought this tasted better the next day, after the sauce and seasonings had some time to meld.
If you can, though, it’s probably preferable to make your own seafood boil, as it’s fairly easy to gather up all the necessary ingredients at the grocery store.
The Verdict:
The Trader Joe’s Seafood Boil is sold frozen and features corn on the cob, shrimp, clams, potatoes, sausage, and tilapia in a spicy butter sauce. It’s definitely spicy. This was okay, but we prefer making our own seafood boils where we can customize ingredients and use things like fresh (not frozen) corn.
