20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (2025)

Table of Contents

Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes Shrimp and Crab Gumbo Open-Faced Crab Empanadas Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip Spicy Crab Bisque "Espaghetti" with Poblano Cream and Crab Seafood Boil with Cajun Seasoning Cioppino with Fennel and Saffron Crispy Crab Cakes with Tomato Butter Blue Crab Beignets Crab Macaroni Gratin Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes Cold Crab Spaghetti Mini Deviled Crab Cornbread Muffins Crab and Shrimp Étouffée Crab Pithivier with Scallop Frangipane Hot Crab Dish Crab Balls with Grapefruit Salad Brioche Crab Melts References

Whether you're a fan of lump crab cakes, crispy soft shell crab, or creamy, crabby pasta (join the club), these crab recipes are here to help you make the crustacean-packed meal of your dreams. There are soups, a rich gratin, and a seafood boil, too, which not only features king crab legs but littleneck clams, jumbo shrimp, and andouille sausage. Read on for even more ways we love to cook with crab.

01of 20

Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (1)

"This is the best crab cake recipe you will ever find," says chef Andrew Zimmern. "If you don't overmix, and don't pack your mounds too tightly, you will experience pure, unadulterated crab cake heaven."

Get the Recipe

02of 20

Shrimp and Crab Gumbo

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (2)

This gumbo from chef Donald Link owes its flavor to the roux, a mix of flour and oil that's cooked until it's coffee-colored.

Get the Recipe

03of 20

Open-Faced Crab Empanadas

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (3)

Chef José Andrés says: "I love America! Without a doubt, one of my favorite American ingredients is blue crabs, a true delicacy! And a great value, I think." This recipe is his twist on the traditional Basque txangurro (crab simmered with tomato), crossed with a savory Galician empanada. "Part of my efforts to build a bridge between America and Spain," he explains.

Get the Recipe

04of 20

Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (4)

For this classic tapa, chef Jose Garces stuffs his delicious crab salad into individual piquillo peppers and roasts them until hot. Make it more easily by spreading the crab mixture in a baking dish, topping it with slices of the peppers, then cooking until warm and melty.

Get the Recipe

05of 20

Spicy Crab Bisque

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (5)

Chef Tanya Holland's luscious crab bisque is studded with plenty of lump crabmeat. Thanks to a hit of cayenne and Tabasco, the soup has a sneaky heat.

Get the Recipe

"Espaghetti" with Poblano Cream and Crab

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (6)

2018 F&W Best New Chef Diana Dávila's "Espaghetti" with Poblano Cream and Crab sums up the essence of her cooking. It's based on a dish her mom used to make, with broken and fried noodles. Dávila turns it up to 11 with sweet crabmeat, crunchy shaved cauliflower, and an oozy egg. The poblano cream sauce stays super-green thanks to the addition of fresh spinach and cilantro.

Get the Recipe

07of 20

Seafood Boil with Cajun Seasoning

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (7)

The secret to a seafood boil packed with perfectly cooked shrimp, king crab legs, and clams? Taking it one step at a time. A warm bowl of butter sauce spiked with more Cajun seasoning makes the perfect dipping partner for every delicious bite.

Get the Recipe

08of 20

Cioppino with Fennel and Saffron

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (8)

An abundance of seafood and three types of fennel (bulb, seed, and pollen) infuse chef Brandon Boudet's version of this San Francisco fish stew with remarkable flavor, while Calabrian chile paste and crushed red pepper add a subtle layer of heat. Because the West Coast is famous for its Dungeness crab — a large orange crab with meaty claws — it makes a dramatic showing in this seafood-packed dish.

Get the Recipe

09of 20

Crispy Crab Cakes with Tomato Butter

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (9)

The late chef Patrick Clark's crab cakes at Tavern on the Green are legendary, taking on a pop of flavor from chopped fresh jalapeño and a crispy exterior from panko. Chopped whitefish provides the structure in these crab cakes, offering more flavor and a richer texture than traditional binders like breadcrumbs. Look for plastic tubs of jumbo lump crabmeat; it's fresh and unpasteurized with the cleanest taste and best texture.

Get the Recipe

10of 20

Blue Crab Beignets

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (10)

The beignet batter thinly coats a creamy, warm crab filling with a crispy, light crust. The batter is loose and can be tricky to shape at first; keep frying and practicing, and they'll improve with each batch. These are ideally eaten while still very hot, so make them while enjoying aperitifs in the kitchen.

Get the Recipe

11of 20

Crab Macaroni Gratin

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (11)

"A glorious amount of crabmeat baked with shell-shaped pasta in a three-cheese cream sauce — tangy white cheddar, nutty Gruyère, and sharp Parmigiano-Reggiano — is no-joke delicious, and trés riche," recipe developer Andrea Slonecker writes. "That's where the Champagne comes in. The tingly bubbles give your palate an ultrasonic scrub between each creamy, cheesy, blissful bite."

Get the Recipe

12of 20

Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (12)

2020 F&W Best New Chef Douglass Williams' method for carbonara allows you to hold the cooked pasta before adding it to the garlic oil and pasta cooking liquid emulsion. It makes for a simple, creamy carbonara without the stress.

Get the Recipe

13of 20

Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (13)

"My aunt Christine taught me how to make crab cakes over the phone," chef Melissa Martin writes. "And what I learned is that you can use leftover boiled shrimp as a binder instead of breadcrumbs. When you grind shrimp in a food processor, it becomes sticky, and just a small amount will hold crabmeat and smothered vegetables together well enough to form into patties."

Get the Recipe

14of 20

Cold Crab Spaghetti

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (14)

Late summer in Louisiana is boggy hot, but this refreshing dish from chef Isaac Toups comes to the rescue with sweet-tart segments of juicy tangerine and just a teaspoon of Dijon to create a creamy, balanced sauce. Thai chile brings a touch of heat, while a flurry of mint, basil, and parsley highlights the natural sweetness of the fresh crab.

Get the Recipe

15of 20

Mini Deviled Crab Cornbread Muffins

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (15)

At his dinner parties in Harlem, chef and cookbook author Alexander Smalls pairs creamy, slightly spicy, fresh deviled crab with tender corn muffins, barely sweetened with brown sugar and studded with corn kernels, for a quick one-bite appetizer. Choose fresh crab over pasteurized for the best flavor.

Get the Recipe

16of 20

Crab and Shrimp Étouffée

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (16)

This étouffée is inspired by 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi's memories of his grandmother Cassie Phillips' definitive version of the dish. No flavor goes to waste in it — even shrimp shells are used to make the seafood stock. If using shelled shrimp, ask for six ounces of shells from the fish counter, or choose a high-quality fresh stock.

Get the Recipe

17of 20

Crab Pithivier with Scallop Frangipane

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (17)

Perfect for a dinner party or any sort of special occasion, this stunning dish from 2017 F&W Best New Chef Angie Mar is a project that's well worth your time. The crab and scallops lend a delicate sweetness, and the sherry sauce brings nuttiness and brightness. Almond flour is essential, as it holds the filling together and provides texture.

Get the Recipe

18of 20

Hot Crab Dish

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (18)

This version of hot dish channels the flavor and fun of a crab boil, with Old Bay seasoning, dashes of Worcestershire and hot sauce, and a hint of lemon, adding layers of flavor to sweet fresh lump crabmeat. Frozen potato tots add crunch to this creamy casserole, making it a hearty and filling dinner.

Get the Recipe

19of 20

Crab Balls with Grapefruit Salad

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (19)

The crab and grapefruit in this dish first appeared at the restaurant Spice Market tossed with cold glass noodles. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten decided it was a "messy pile," but liked the flavors, so he reconfigured them into crab balls rolled in panko and sesame seeds.

Get the Recipe

20of 20

Brioche Crab Melts

20 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire (20)

Chef Vitaly Paley created this deliciously indulgent version of the classic tuna melt while competing in a cook-off sponsored by the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. Pairing moist chunks of crab with brioche, truffle butter, and nutty Gruyère cheese easily snagged him a first-place prize.

Get the Recipe