Cooking With Crab: 12 Crab-ulous Dishes To Try At Home

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Crab is packed full of protein, omega-3 and vitamins, while being low in fat. It also tastes delicious. And yet it’s a meat that many of us have never cooked with.

This is partly because many of us assume it’s too expensive to buy or too challenging to prepare, when in actual fact you can buy frozen pre-shredded crab meat online quite cheaply. There’s no shell or claws involved, and it only costs a dollar or two more than shrimp.

This makes it an excellent seafood option to try out. But just what meals can you prepare using crab meat? Let’s take a look at a few simple crab-based recipes. 

Cooking With Crab: 12 Crab-ulous Dishes To Try At Home

Maryland crab cakes

Let’s start with an East Coast favourite: Maryland crab cakes. Maryland is the crab capital of the US and this is one of the most iconic and simple dishes found in the state. 

These crab cakes are best made using lump crab meat. This is mixed with breadcrumbs, egg, Old Bay Seasoning, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Pan-fry until the outside is golden brown and voila! It’s similar to making a home-made burger patty, but with crab meat instead. 

Maryland crab cakes can be served with a variety of sides including fries, coleslaw, corn or salad. You can also drizzle them with remoulade sauce. 

Thai-style crab cakes

Fancy crab cakes with an exotic twist? Thai-style crab cakes could be a great option.

You can similarly prepare these crab cakes using lump crab meat, breadcrumbs and egg. However, for that distinctive Thai flavour, you’ll want to infuse spices like cilantro, ginger, red pepper flakes and spring onions. Some lime juice is also worth adding in there too for some zest. Fry them in a pan until they’re golden brown. 

You can serve Thai-style crab cakes with rice, cucumber salad or noodles. When it comes to accompanying these crab cakes with a sauce, choose sweet chilli sauce or sweet chilli mayo. 

Crab linguine

Crab meat is excellent for making a wholesome seafood linguine.

This simple dish involves infusing crab meat with olive oil, lemon, garlic and white wine. Fry it all in a pan and then serve up with some linguine pasta. You can add a cream sauce, but this isn’t necessary (it’s healthier without it and still very tasty). 

Crab linguine isn’t the only pasta dish you can make using crab. Check out this spicy seafood pasta if you fancy crab pasta with a kick. There’s also another crab pasta dish you can try…

Crab lasagne

You can also make a mouthwatering seafood lasagne using crab.

This is made using layers of cheese covered lasagna sheets with crab meat and cream sauce in between. To create the cream sauce, mix cream with lemon and garlic powder (you can also add white wine). If you’re only using crab for this one, you’re going to need a lot of crab meat, so it could be worth also using some cod and shrimp to bulk it out. 

This lasagne can be served by itself or with a side of salad. Some garlic bread is always a welcome accompaniment too. 

Baked haddock (with crab)

This traditional baked haddock recipe is a fantastic option for infusing fish and crab. Haddock and crab make a perfect pairing and are both relatively easy to prepare. 

Atlantic haddock fillet is the best choice for this dish. Start by sprinkling some garlic salt and lemon juice on the haddock fillet. Then top this with some butter, crushed crackers and crab meat. After this, bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 F degrees.

What can I serve with this dish? A few veggies could be all that’s needed or you could serve it up with a salad.

Baked salmon (with crab)

Salmon and crab is an even more luxurious combo. Both of these seafoods are quite meaty, but they complement each other very well.

You can follow the same steps as the baked haddock recipe for this one, or you can try something a little different. Crab-stuffed salmon is one alternative example to try. To help the crab filling to bind and give it a kick, mix in some crushed crackers with some mayo and mustard. You can also add some Old Bay Seasoning for that East Coast flavour. 

Baked salmon with crab is best served with equally opulent sides. Think of examples like baked asparagus or garlic butter roasted potatoes. It’s a great restaurant quality dish for impressing guests at your next dinner party.

Crab and sweetcorn chowder

You could also consider making a seafood chowder using crab and sweetcorn. This is a New-England-inspired soup with a Maryland twist that is perfect for those cold winter days when you need something to warm you up.

To prepare this soup, you’ll want to gather the following ingredients: crab meat, corn, cream, bacon, leek, celery, white wine, potatoes and chicken stock. Let it all boil together in a pot and bring to a simmer to help infuse the flavors. Season with salt, pepper and parsley – adding small amounts and tasting as you go to get the right levels. 

This crab and corn chowder recipe offers a more detailed step-by-step guide to making this soup. Feel free to add in some croutons or serve up with a slice of bread. 

Summer crab salad

In the mood for a salad? A crab salad could be another way to use up some crab meat. 

There are all kinds of salad combos you can explore that use crab. You could opt for some mixed greens, avocado, vinaigrette and crab meat if you’re feeling something light. Alternatively, you could mix crab meat with some chopped celery, red onion, dijon mustard and mayonnaise for something a bit heavier. 

A summer crab salad could make a great side or it could be a main course. Just make sure you’ve got enough crab meat in there to make it filling if you’re aiming for a main (adding in some shrimps could help fill it out). 

Crab-stuffed mushroom

Many of us have tried portobello mushrooms stuffed with bacon. But you can also stuff mushrooms with seafood meats such as crab.

You can simply use cheese and crab as a filling if you want to stick to something simple, or you can also add some mustard and onions into the filling. Bake this in the oven for about half an hour.

Stuffed mushrooms pair well with a side of salad. Another option could be a side of rice or quinoa. 

Crab tacos

Crab could also be an interesting meat to use next time you have a Mexican night. It has a similar taste to shrimp tacos, but provides more meatiness.

You can add a variety of toppings to crab tacos. Common options include salsa, avocado sauce, cheese or sliced jalapenos. If you want to make the perfect homemade salsa for pairing with crab, you’ll want to use tomatoes and chipotle peppers with some garlic and onion thrown in there too. For a homemade avocado sauce, simply mix avocado and plain yogurt with some kosher salt. You can also add lemon and cilantro to the sauces for a fragrant zesty hint that complements the seafood.

Hard-shell or soft-shell tacos work well with this one. Just make sure there’s no crab shell in there!

Crab quesadillas

Another Mexican-inspired crab dish to try is crab quesadillas. These consist of flour tortillas filled with crab meat.

Other fillings to use in your crab quesadillas could include cheese, avocado, tomato and green onions. Feel free to also throw in Mexican spices like chilli powder, cilantro powder and cumin. 

These could be served with salsa and guacamole dips. You could also consider serving quesadillas with rice. 

Crab-fried rice

Finally, for a unique twist of shrimp-fried rice, why not try crab-fried rice? This is actually a popular dish in Thailand and it’s arguably even more delicious than shrimp-fried rice. 

To make this dish authentically, use Jasmine rice. Mix this with some crab meat, scrambled egg, garlic, green onions, cilantro, fish sauce and soy sauce. 

You can read a much more detailed crab-fried rice guide here. You can serve this rice on its own or serve it with some other Thai foods.

Conclusion

As you can see above, there are lots of ways to cook with crab – and many of them aren’t too difficult. By using shredded crab meat, you can cut down on prep time and use it much like any other pre-shredded meat.

Crab goes particularly well with mayo, mustard and Old Bay seasoning for a Maryland flavour, but is also great in many Thai recipes when infused with cilantro and spring onions. It can also be used in many pasta dishes, as well as being possible to infuse into many Mexican dishes. 

Using top quality crab will provide the best flavour – but if you haven’t got the money to shell out on premium crab, there are many budget crab meat options that can still bring an exciting alternative seafood flavour to your dishes. 

**Contributed post