How To Reheat Seafood Boil – The 6 Best Ways

When reheating seafood boil, the last thing you want is to end up with dry, flavorless, rubbery seafood.

Seafood boil usually consists of different types of seafood and veggies that may require different approaches.

The best ways to reheat seafood boil

A seafood boil is a go-to feast for everyone who enjoys a meal packed with flavors, yet super light and easy to make.

While there are certainly many variations of this popular dish, the seafood is almost always cooked in a pot of broth. 

In some cases, this seafood and veggie mix is only steamed over a pot of seawater, beer, or water with seasonings and herbs.

Therefore, depending on whether your seafood was boiled or cooked, the reheating method will differ, as well.

Regardless of the method, the main concern when you’re looking to warm up a seafood boil is to avoid drying it out and stripping it off all its natural juices and flavors.

While there are numerous variations of seafood boil, it generally consists of mussels, crabs, lobsters, clams, prawns, and shrimp, which are generally not on the fatty side.

With the addition of corn, potatoes, and often sausage, it can be tricky to find the optimal temperature and reheating method for all of these ingredients. 

Another factor that will determine the method and time needed to reheat a seafood boil, aside from the ingredients and the cooking method, is whether the seafood boil is fresh or frozen.

The methods you use to reheat leftover seafood boil bags may not be as efficient when it comes to heating up a frozen dish, as the temperature and the reheating time need to be adjusted.

In case you’ve stored cooked seafood boil in the fridge, it should be used up within 4 days. 

Before reheating the dish, make sure to check for any signs of spoilage (unpleasant scent and/or color change), as spoilt seafood is the last thing you want to have on your table. 

Let’s take a look at the best methods to heat up a seafood boil without drying it out and compromising its rich, complex flavors. 

How to reheat seafood boil on the stove

Whether your seafood boil was cooked or steamed, if you’re using a stove to reheat it, we’d recommend adding some water to heat it up.

To preserve the flavors, or even intensify them, it is best to season the water with your favorite seafood seasoning and dried herbs.

In case the seafood boil was originally cooked in some stock, or you’d like to add some more flavor to it, you can also use stock in place of water.

You can also reheat the seafood in a bag, by bringing water to a boil in a pot, then placing the bag in the water and cooking it for a couple of minutes.

Cooking or reheating the seafood boil in a bag will preserve the taste and the texture, so you don’t end up with overcooked meat and veggies.

Here are the steps to reheat seafood boil on a stove:

1. To reheat seafood boil without a bag, add it to a pot with the soup it was originally prepared in.
2. If there is no soup left, add some stock or water with seasonings and cover the pan/pot with a lid.
3. If you’re reheating seafood boil in a bag, fill a pot with water, and bring it to a boil.
4. Place the bag into the pot with boiling water and cook it for a couple of minutes.

How to reheat seafood boil in the oven

Reheating your seafood boil in the oven is probably one of the most convenient methods, as you don’t have to worry about stirring the pot.

However, heating up the food this way is also one of the easiest ways to dry it out, so you definitely don’t want to use high temperatures or leave the dish in the oven for too long.

We’d say that reheating a seafood boil in the oven is much more convenient for steamed seafood or seafood boil in a bag.

In case you prepared your seafood boil in a pot, reheating it on the stove using the same stock it was cooked in is a much more adequate solution.

To prevent the seafood from getting too dry and rubbery, you can sprinkle some olive oil on top, then cover the tray with a piece of aluminum foil.

This way, the dish will get heated up, but the outer layer won’t dry out. You can always remove the foil a few minutes before you take out the boil to get a crispy outer layer.

In case the seafood boil is in a bag, ensure there is enough liquid (stock or water with seasonings) in the bag.

Here are the steps to reheat seafood boil in the oven:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F.
2. Place the seafood boil bag onto a tray and make sure there is enough liquid in the bag.
3. Reheat for 15-20 minutes.
4. If the seafood boil isn’t in a bag, place a piece of parchment paper onto a tray, then add the seafood boil.
5. Sprinkle with some olive oil, then cover with a piece of aluminum foil and reheat for 10-15 minutes.

How to reheat seafood boil in the microwave

The microwave method is the most efficient when it comes to reheating food, however, it’s not the best way to reheat every dish.

When it comes to reheating steamed or cooked seafood boil without a bag, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend microwave as the number one choice. Also, keep in mind that you cannot reheat the plastic bag in the microwave.

If you do decide to microwave the seafood boil without a bag, make sure to cover the bowl with something that is microwave-safe (not aluminum) to preserve the juiciness.

The best way to prevent the seafood from becoming dry, rubbery, and blunt is to top it with some stock or water with seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, old bay).

Also, the temperature shouldn’t be too high, as you could end up with a mushy, overcooked dish.

Here are the steps to reheat seafood boil in the microwave:

1. Place the seafood boil in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Add liquid of choice (stock, water with seasonings) and microwave on high for 7-10 minutes.
3. Cover the bowl and microwave for 7 minutes, avoiding high temperatures.

How to reheat seafood boil in the air fryer

The air fryer essentially works like an oven, but the best thing about it is that many models don’t require any time to preheat.

Just like the microwave, you can only reheat seafood boil in the air fryer without the plastic bag. When it comes to warming up the seafood boil without a bag, we’d recommend wrapping it in some aluminum foil to preserve the juices and flavors. 

If you find that reheating your seafood boil in a pot of stock or water makes the meat and veggies too soft and mushy, you can separate them from the stock and reheat the ingredients in the air fryer.

While the dry ingredients are warming up in the air fryer, you can reheat the soup from the boil in a pot. Once the seafood is warmed up, you can combine it with the soup without compromising its texture. 

Here are the steps to reheat seafood boil in an air fryer:

1. Place the seafood boil onto a tray or directly into the basket and cover with aluminum foil.
2. Cook for 7-10 minutes at 250°F.
3. Warm up the soup in a pot and combine the ingredients.

How to reheat seafood boil in a pressure cooker

A pressure cooker may not be the ideal solution when it comes to rewarming seafood boil in a bag, as the bag may burst.

However, in this case, it is necessary to keep the cooking time as short as possible to prevent this from happening.

You can also remove the seafood and veggies from the bag and reheat them on their own, but we’d recommend adding some liquid of choice (whether it be stock, water with seasonings, or the juices from the bag).

Here are the steps to reheat seafood boil in a pressure cooker:

1. Add the seafood boil to the pressure cooker and choose the Steam option.
2. Pour some liquid on top (stock or water) to prevent the dish from drying.
3. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. In case you’re adding the seafood boil in a bag, choose the Keep Warm option.

How to reheat seafood boil on steam

As you can already guess, this method is the most convenient choice when it comes to reheating steamed seafood boil.

It may require a bit more work than the other methods we’ve discussed – but the results will be worth the effort.

Here are the steps to reheat seafood boil on steam:

1. Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil.
2. Place the steamer basket on top of the pot and add the seafood boil in it.
3. Let the dish steam for about 10 minutes, or until it reaches the desired temperature.
4. The best way to steam a seafood boil in a bag is to place the bag directly into boiling water.

Can you reheat seafood boil?

Absolutely! There are many reheating methods you can use that will not only warm up the dish but keep all the flavors and textures intact.

When it comes to reheating seafood boil in a bag, you’ll find that it is quite easy to warm it up by adding the bag into a pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes.

As for steamed seafood boil, the steaming method, including the Steam pressure cooker option, is certainly the most appropriate, but any other method will work, too – as long as you bring back the moisture by adding some liquid.

Finally, when it comes to a cooked seafood boil, in case you have some soup left, the easiest way to heat it up is by transferring it to a pot and cooking it on the stove for a few minutes.

The seafood and veggies, on the other hand, can be warmed up in the oven, air fryer, or pan to preserve texture and avoid overcooking.