This is such a delicious crab dip that can be used with tortilla chips, toasted baguettes, potato chips, or even sliced vegetables. Serve this crab dip hot and refrigerate the leftovers (if you have any!) The best crab to use for Maryland Crab Dip is the Maryland Blue Crab obviously; however, any crab substitute such as Dungenous Crab or Alaskan King Crab work work just as well. Maryland Crab (cooked lump crab meat) is often available at your local seafood counter (normally on the East Coast) or can also come pre-packed and cooked. For those who are fortunate enough to live on the East Coast, it’s possible to go crabbing yourself to pick up the crabs for this recipe. Of course this also requires steaming the crab. If you’re up for that, you can search this site for instructions on steaming live crab.

This crab dip recipe serves about 8-10. Double or triple the recipe for a larger crowd.

Ingredients
2 lbs of Maryland Lump Blue Crab Meat (picked, cooked, de-shelled)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz package of cream cheese
1 teaspoon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1/4 of the cup of cheddar cheese with all other ingredients. Spoon the mixture into a baking dish
and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake the crab dip for about 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted.

Serve the Maryland Crab Dip Hot with sides of chips or veggies. This is a great appetizer to serve that your seafood loving guests will enjoy.

There are so many times when I eat at a restaurant and wish that I knew how to cook or prepare some of the items on the menu. So after some searching and trial and error, I have found a recipe for an awesome crab dip and tweaked it so that is just like the one at Joe’s Crab Shack! Serve this crab dip with some whole grain crackers at your next summer party or superbowl party and you are sure to have some happy guests.

Just like Joe’s Crab Shack Crabby Dip

Ingredients

6-8 ounces of fresh blue crab meat

2 oz of softened Cream Cheese

1/2 Cup Sour Cream (substitute with low fat for a lower calorie dip)
4 teaspoons of Diced Sweet Onion
1 Tablespoons of Butter, softened
4 teaspoons Finely Diced Green Pepper
1/4 tsp. Seasoned Salt
Pinch of Paprika
1 Tablespoon of Mayo
1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Diced Green Onion to garnish
Fresh Chopped Parsley to garnish

Directions -

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a shallow baking dish.

In a medium bowl, blend together the mayonnaise, softened butter, sour cream, and softened cream cheese until the mixture is smooth. Next, combine the mozzarella cheese, onions, and green peppers. Finally, blend in the crab meat carefully (I always blend crab meat last so that the pieces are not minced down). Take the mixture and spoon it into the baking dish. Place the dip in the oven for about 12-14 minutes. The crab dip mixture will bubble when it is done. 

Serve the dip in a pretty serving bowl surrounded by whole grain fancy crackers. For a larger party, you can double or triple the recipe.

Enjoy!

This is a great recipe for a fabulous appetizer to serve at parties or just to serve before a nice dinner. You can also serve this at football parties as a lower fat alternative to hotwings or potato skins One of the things that I really like about making hot crab dip is the fact that it’s super easy, quick, and does not require many of the exotic ingredients that you would otherwise not find in your kitchen already.

Low Fat Hot Crab Dip

• 6 tablespoons Light Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Light Mayonnaise
• 7 1/2 ounces crabmeat
• 4 tablespoons minced onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt or ½ tsp minced fresh garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Directions:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Then beat the mayonnaise and cream cheese until it has a smooth texture. Stir in your hot sauce, lemon juice, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Gently fold in crab meat being careful not to break the pieces too much.

Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and place the mixture into the dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and that’s it!

Serve the hot crab dip with toasted fresh bread, gourmet crackers, or chips.

This is a great appetizer for parties and is lower in fat and calories than a lot of appetizers (remember, crab = protein!)