Crab meat is a delicious and versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of dishes. From appetizers to main courses, crab adds succulent flavor and texture to any meal. Here are 27 amazing ways to use crab meat in recipes:
Appetizers
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Crab Rangoon – These crispy wontons are stuffed with a creamy crab and cream cheese filling. A classic Chinese takeout appetizer!
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Crab Cakes – Pan fried crab cakes are a traditional way to enjoy crab meat. Bind the crab with egg, breadcrumbs, and seasonings for a crispy outside and tender inside. Serve with remoulade or tartar sauce.
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Crab Dip – Mix lump crab with cream cheese, sour cream, and spices. Bake until bubbly and serve with crackers or chips.
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Crab Stuffed Mushrooms – Fill mushroom caps with a crabmeat stuffing for an easy yet elegant appetizer
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Crab Quesadilla – Load up a tortilla with crab meat, cheese, and sautéed veggies for a quick and tasty appetizer.
Soups and Salads
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Crab Bisque – A smooth, creamy crab bisque makes an impressive first course Purée the crab shells into the broth for maximum flavor
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Crab Salad – Chill crab meat and mix with mayonnaise, lemon juice, diced celery, and fresh herbs. Serve on greens or make crab salad sandwiches.
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Crab Pasta Salad – Toss crab meat with small pasta shells, diced tomatoes, olives, fresh parsley, lemon zest, olive oil, and vinegar. Chill before serving
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Crab Wonton Soup – Add lump crab meat to chicken broth with wontons, bok choy, and scallions for a tasty soup.
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Crab Louie Salad – Layer crab meat, hard boiled eggs, avocado, tomatoes, and louie dressing on crisp lettuce for a classic salad.
Main Dishes
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Crab Cakes – Make larger patties and serve crab cakes as a main course with vegetable sides and tartar sauce.
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Crab Imperial – Bake a crab shell filled with crab in a creamy sauce flavored with sherry, mustard, and cheese.
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Crab Stuffed Salmon – Stuff salmon filets with a crabmeat stuffing before baking for an elegant dinner.
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Crab Fried Rice – Stir lump crab meat into fried rice with eggs, veggies, and soy sauce for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
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Crab Alfredo – Toss crab meat with fettuccine, Parmesan, and rich alfredo sauce.
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Crab Mac and Cheese – Fold crab meat into cheesy baked macaroni and cheese. A twist on a comfort food classic!
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Crab Cioppino – Simmer crab legs, fish, shrimp, and clams in a tomato-based broth with white wine and herbs. Serve with crusty bread.
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Crab Enchiladas – Stuff tortillas with crab, Monterey Jack cheese, onions, and poblano peppers. Cover with enchilada sauce and bake.
Sandwiches
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Crab Roll – Mix crab salad with mayo, lemon, and herbs and serve on a toasted hot dog bun for a New England classic.
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Crab Melt – Pile crab salad onto toasted bread and top with sliced tomatoes and melted cheese for an open-faced crab melt.
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Crab Po’ Boy – Layer fried crab cakes, remoulade, shredded lettuce, and tomatoes on a hoagie roll.
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Crab Salad Sandwiches – Chill crab salad made with mayo, mustard, celery, and lemon juice makes a simple yet delicious sandwich filing.
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Crab Quesadilla – Stuff a tortilla with crab, cheese, and peppers for a cheesy crab quesadilla.
Side Dishes
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Cheesy Crab Potatoes – Fold lump crab meat into mashed potatoes along with cream cheese, cheddar, and seasoning.
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Cheesy Crab Grits – Stir crab meat into creamy cheddar grits for a Southern specialty.
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Crab Stuffing – Add crab to your favorite stuffing recipe in place of sausage or oysters for a seafood twist.
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Crab Fried Rice – Stir crab meat into rice fried with egg, soy sauce, and vegetables for an easy side.
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Crab Mac and Cheese – Mix tender crab into everyone’s favorite comfort food macaroni and cheese.
Other Ideas
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Crab Pizza – Top pizza dough with crab meat, tomatoes, cheese and fresh basil.
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Crab Omelet – Make a luxurious brunch omelet filled with crab meat, cream cheese, and fresh dill.
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Crab Quiche – Fold crab meat into an egg and cheese quiche baked in a pie crust.
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Crab Wontons – Stuff wonton wrappers with crab and cream cheese and deep fry for crab wontons with sweet chili sauce.
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Crab Potstickers – Fill potsticker wrappers with a crab meat and vegetable filling. Pan fry until crispy on the bottom.
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Crab Puffs – Mix crab with cream cheese and chives. Spoon into puff pastry shells and bake until golden.
With its sweet, succulent flavor and tender texture, crab can elevate so many dishes. Use lump crab meat in appetizers, main courses, sandwiches, sides, and more for delicious results every time. Get creative with these 27 recipe ideas for crab meat!
Crab cake Recipe Video Tutorital
A Maryland favorite made easy—these crab cakes are packed with fresh lump crab meat and pan-fried to perfection.
- 2 large eggs
- 2½ tablespoons mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmanns or Dukes
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup finely diced celery, from one stalk
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 pound lump crab meat (see note below)
- ½ cup panko
- Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking
- 1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmanns or Dukes
- 1½ tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon minced red onion
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well. Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat. Shape into 6 cakes (each about ½ cup) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This helps them set.
- Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and coat with oil. When the oil is hot, place the crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Be careful as oil may splatter. Serve the crab cakes warm with the tartar sauce.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, onion, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The crab cakes can be formed, covered, and refrigerated a day ahead of time before cooking. The tartar sauce can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.
- Note: If you can only find jumbo lump crab meat, you may need to break the pieces up a bit. If the clumps are too large, the crab cakes wont hold together well.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the tartar sauce.
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- Serving size: 2 crab cakes
- Calories: 299
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Sodium: 1141 mg
- Cholesterol: 275 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
What You’ll Need To Make Maryland Crab Cakes
- Eggs: Help bind the crab cakes so they hold together when cooked.
- Mayonnaise: Adds moisture and richness to the crab cakes and serves as the creamy base of the tartar sauce. Use a good-quality brand like Hellmann’s or Duke’s for the best flavor.
- Flavorings: A mix of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and fresh parsley gives the crab cakes classic Maryland flavor with a touch of tang, savoriness, and freshness. (The mustard also adds a little zip to the tartar sauce.)
- Celery (optional): Adds a bit of crunch to the crab mixture—nontraditional but a nice touch. Skip it if you’re a purist.
- Lump Crab Meat: The star of the recipe. Fresh, high-quality lump crab meat is best—look for it in the seafood section in clear plastic containers resting on ice. If that’s not available, go for refrigerated crab meat like Phillips. Avoid canned shelf-stable varieties.
- Panko: Light, flaky Japanese breadcrumbs that help the crab cakes hold together without weighing them down.
- Vegetable Oil: Used for pan-frying the crab cakes until golden and crisp.
- Tartar Sauce Add-ins: Sweet pickle relish, red onion, lemon juice, and black pepper give the sauce classic flavor with the right balance of sweetness, acidity, and bite. Adjust to taste.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step 1: Mix the base. To start, whisk together the eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl until well combined.
Step 2: Mix in the crab and panko. Add the crab meat (double-checking for any bits of shell or cartilage) and the panko. Gently fold the mixture together until just combined. Be careful not to break up the delicate crab meat too much—the lumps are the best part!
Step 3: Shape and chill. Form the mixture into 6 cakes, using about ½ cup for each. Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour to help them firm up. Don’t skip this step—it makes a big difference in helping the crab cakes hold their shape when cooking.
Step 4: Cook the crab cakes. Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add a thin layer of oil. Once hot, add the crab cakes and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on the first side, until golden brown.
Carefully flip the crab cakes and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until both sides are golden and the centers are hot. Watch out for oil splatter!
Step 5: Make the tartar sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, sweet relish, onion, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Whisk until smooth, then cover and chill until ready to serve.
Step 6: Serve. Serve the crab cakes on a platter with the tartar sauce on the side. Enjoy!
How To Make The Best Imperial Crab – SHOCKINGLY EASY!!!!!!
FAQ
What do I do with leftover crab meat?
- Smoke your Crab. For a different approach to your crab leftovers, try smoking them. …
- Add it to a pasta. Crab meat is a well known topping for pasta and can create a well rounded dish when added to. …
- Make a dip. …
- Seafood Charcuterie. …
- Crab Stuffing. …
- Make it a salad. …
- King Crab Meat Recipes. …
- Crab Rolls.
How long does crab meat last in the fridge?
| Food | Type | Refrigerator [40°F (4°C) or below] |
|---|---|---|
| Shellfish | Fresh Crab Meat | 2 – 4 Days |
| Fresh Lobster | 2 – 4 Days | |
| Live Crab, Lobster | 1 day . | |
| Live Clams, Mussels, Oysters, and Scallops | 5 – 10 Days |
What is good to eat with crab meat?
My favorite accompaniments to crab include crusty sourdough bread and a fresh green salad or steamed vegetable. Other great side dish options include macaroni and cheese, steamed rice, angel hair pasta or even roasted potatoes.