Crab meat is a tasty, versatile protein that can be used in a variety of dishes from appetizers to main courses With its sweet, delicate flavor and meaty texture, crab pairs well with many ingredients and cooking methods. Whether you have some fresh crab meat on hand or are using canned or imitation, there are so many delicious ways to serve up this seafood
Here are 12 sensational recipes that make the most of crab meat
1. Crab Cakes
Crab cakes are a classic way to utilize crab meat. These crispy pan-fried patties are a stellar starter or entree. The key is binding the crab mixture together without overpowering the sweet flavor. Just a handful of ingredients like breadcrumbs or crackers, egg, and mayo or sour cream does the trick. Old Bay and lemon zest add nice seasoning. Bake or pan fry until golden.
2. Crab Dip
For an easy hot appetizer, a creamy crab dip never fails to impress. Mix together crab meat, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, and cheese. You can add tomatoes, chiles, or herbs to amp up the flavor. Bake until hot and bubbly, then serve with crackers, chips, or bread. It also makes a great topper for baked potatoes.
3. Crab Salad
Cool crab salad is perfect for lunches or light summer dinners. Flake crab meat and gently combine with mayo or yogurt, minced celery, lemon juice, dill, and scallions. For crunch, add diced cucumber or bell pepper. Serve as a sandwich filling, over greens, stuffed in tomatoes or avocados, or on crackers.
4. Crab Quiche
For an elegant brunch, use crab in a savory custard quiche. Sautee crab meat, onions, and mushrooms then fill a baked pie crust. Whisk together eggs, cream or milk, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper then pour into the crab-filled crust. Top with cheese and bake at 350 F until set.
5. Crab Pasta
Crab is fabulous mixed into creamy or tomato-based pasta dishes. Saute chopped crab in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, white wine, and red pepper flakes. Toss with hot cooked linguine and finish with parsley and Parmesan. Or make it like a crab Alfredo with crab, heavy cream, garlic, lemon zest, nutmeg, and Parmesan tossed with fettuccine.
6. Crab Rangoon
These fried wontons are a fun twist on crab dip. Mix together cream cheese, crab meat, scallions, garlic powder, Worcestershire, and soy sauce. Place a spoonful in each wonton wrapper and pinch to seal. Fry in oil until golden brown. Serve warm with sweet and sour sauce.
7. Stuffed Mushrooms
For an easy make-ahead appetizer, spoon crab salad into cremini mushroom caps. Sautee mushrooms stemmed-side down until tender. Let cool then fill each cap with a mixture of crab, cream cheese, breadcrumbs, garlic, and lemon zest. Bake 15 minutes at 400 F and garnish with parsley.
8. Crab Fried Rice
Take boring fried rice to new heights by stirring in crab meat. Saute crab with rice, eggs, peas, carrots, bean sprouts, garlic, and soy sauce. Add sesame oil, green onions, and red pepper flakes. The Thai flavors are fantastic with crab. Use day-old rice for best texture.
9. Crab Soup
Bisques and chowders are comforting with sweet crab meat. For bisque, make a seafood stock with shells, saute aromatics like onion, celery, and garlic, then simmer with cream or milk, thyme, cayenne, and sherry. Blend until smooth then fold in crab meat and parsley. For chowder, use fish stock, potatoes, corn, and crab.
10. Crab Rolls
For an indulgent sandwich, pile tender crab salad onto a toasted, buttered bun. The key is a crab mixture of mayo, lemon juice, celery, mustard, and Old Bay. Spoon it onto the roll with lettuce or slaw. Crab rolls are great with fries or chips. Taking these on a picnic is never a bad idea.
11. Crab Pizza
Make pizza extra luxurious with crab and cheese. Spread Alfredo sauce over the crust then top with mozzarella cheese, lump crab meat, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is crisp. Squeeze fresh lemon over it when done.
12. Crab Cakes Benedict
Elevate breakfast or brunch with these decadent crab cakes. Layer each crab cake with ham, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce atop an English muffin half. The soft egg yolk takes these to the next level. For a lighter option, serve the crab cakes with greens, avocado, and citrus segments.
With its rich flavor and flaky texture, crab can instantly make any dish feel a bit fancy and special. Try out these crab-based recipes for appetizers, main dishes, sides, soups, bakes, and more. From crab dip to stuffed mushrooms to fried rice, there are so many tasty ways to serve up crab meat any night of the week.
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!
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FAQ
What does crab meat go well with?
Crab roll, crab toast, crab melt, beignets, stuffed mushrooms, a dip or spread, crab rangoon, salads, filling for a roulade, omelettes, pasta, sushi…
What is a good side dish for 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.
What do people dip crab meat in?
Now once you have your crab cooked and picked, here are my favorite dipping sauces to go with the crab meat. A simple Garlic Clarified Butter dipping sauce, Avocado Wasabi Mayonnaise dipping sauce and a Curry Mustard dipping sauce; all three are very different from each other but totally delicious.