Hot Crab Dip

This Hot Crab Dip is a MUST for your holiday party, Super Bowl party, or dinner party. Made with lump crab meat, cream cheese, and mayo. Make it ahead and then bake until bubbly when you’re ready to serve!

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

Winter. Dungeness crab season. Super Bowl.

Need I say more?

It’s been raining and in the 40s for the last month now (okay, no need to tell me that I’m a California wimp — I know it’s probably worse where you are. Heck, dad is from Minnesota, he knows) and any excuse to make something hot and cheerful in the oven is welcome.

Here’s a quick, easy, and delicious, piping hot crab dip, perfect for a winter gathering. The base is cream cheese, mayo and crab.

We’ve dressed ours up with green onions, parsley, horseradish, slivered almonds and Tabasco. The proportions are guidelines, really this is to taste.

What Crab to Buy

Look for lump crab meat for this recipe. Any mix of lump, backfin, and/or claw crabmeat is fine.

Ideally, you should buy fresh crab meat from the seafood counter or in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. Look for the freshest crab meat possible; it should smell sweet, not fishy. If fresh crab meat is not available you can use canned crab meat, but fresh will taste better.

Make Ahead Crab Dip

This dip is best served piping hot, as soon as it comes out of the oven. If you want to make it ahead, just mix everything together, pack it into a casserole dish, and refrigerate until you’re ready to warm it up.

It’s also easy to transport the cold dip to your party and warm it up when you get there.

What to Serve with This Crab Dip

Any of the following are great served alongside this crab dip:

Thinly sliced baguette
Crackers
Bagel chips
Celery sticks
Carrot sticks
Endive leaves

Want More Hot Dip Recipes?!

Updated January 13, 2019 : We spiffed up this post to make it sparkle. No changes to the original recipe.

Hot Crab Dip Recipe

Ingredients

1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 Tbsp water
2 green onions, sliced, greens included
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp horseradish
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco or more to taste
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup fresh lump crab meat (or a can of crab meat)

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.

2 Make the crab dip filling: Beat together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, water, onions, and parsley until smooth. Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and horseradish.

Fold in the slivered almonds and lump crab meat. Place in an oven-proof casserole serving dish.

3 Bake until bubbly and heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve with crackers or thinly sliced baguette.

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Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family’s recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.