Crab

37 Crab Recipes: Crab Cakes, Crab Toast, Chili Crab, and More

Plus crab pasta, roast crab, potted crab, and crab with so many dipping sauces.

July 22, 2020

gluten free crab cakes one of our best crab recipes shown with snap pea salad on a turquoise plate

If you're looking for crab recipes, you probably already know that you can serve Old Bay or J.O.-encrusted whole crabs on a newspaper-covered table. Or Dungeness with a bowl of melted butter for dipping. You probably have a favorite crab cake recipe. But there are so many delicious ways to eat crab, including piled on crab toasts, stuffed into crab rolls, stirred into cioppino, folded into salads, or roasted with fennel. Below you'll find a few of our very best crab recipes.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone.
1/37
Brown-Butter Crab Roll
Lobster rolls may get all the glory, but crab rolls are way easier to pull off at home—and, dare we say it, maybe even more delicious. Nutty brown butter makes this take on the classic crab recipe even more special.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
2/37
Gluten-Free Crab Cakes With Snap Pea Salad
A mixture of almond meal and cornmeal replaces traditional breadcrumbs in these scallion- and mint-packed crab cakes. The raw snap pea salad is crunchy and refreshing—and it’s the perfect way to complete the meal.
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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
3/37
Crab Salad Tostadas
Crispy tostadas are piled with a refreshing crab salad, seasoned with Old Bay, fresh mint, jalapeño, and lime.
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4/37
Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli
Sweet crabmeat gets a luscious dollop of lemony aioli, plus delicate fennel fronds and a little finely chopped serrano pepper.
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Photo by Danny Kim, food and prop styling by Ali Nardi
5/37
Spaghetti with Crab and Tomatoes
This simple dinner brings together a pound of crabmeat, sweet cherry tomatoes, lemon, and spaghetti.
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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Liza Jernow
6/37
Crab Louie Salad Lettuce Cups
Serve these lettuce cups as a finger-food starter to a special meal, or make this retro classic your whole dinner.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Laura Rege
7/37
Eggplant Omelet (Tortang Talong)
Sometimes ground pork or beef is added to the egg in this battered eggplant cutlet, but a little crabmeat makes it even better.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
8/37
Soft-Shelled Crabs Meunière
If you can get soft shells, this crispy preparation is the way to go. The dredged and sautéed crabs get a drizzle of brown butter, lemon, and parsley.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
9/37
Campechana Extra (Mexican Seafood Cocktail)
Shrimp meets sweet lump crabmeat, smoky New Mexican chiles, fresh tomato, briny olives, Clamato juice, and creamy avocado in this cooling crab recipe.
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10/37
Cioppino (San Francisco-Style Seafood Soup)
Cioppino is made with a variety of the freshest fish possible. In San Francisco the mixture usually includes Dungeness crab.
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Photo by Bao Minh Bguyen
11/37
Singaporean Chili Crab
This spicy, tangy, rich recipe, laced with garlic and ginger, is one of our all-time favorite ways to eat crab. Buttermillk beignets make it even better.
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12/37
Baltimore Crab Cakes
Yes, this classic crab recipe has Old Bay, plus a touch of Dijon mustard, jalapeño, and a little mayo. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
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Danny Kim
13/37
Crab Toasts with Spicy Yogurt
Used in place of mayonnaise, yogurt brings tang and brightness to these crostini.
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Photo by Peden & Munk
14/37
Crab with Romaine, Dill Sauce, and Sunflower Seeds
In this cheffy recipe, warmed crabmeat (with a touch of lemon) is topped with romaine that's been dipped in a bright green fresh dill and buttermilk sauce.
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