Cheesy Baked Crab Dip 🦀🧀 is a luxe, rich appetizer that’s perfect for holiday parties, Christmas and New Year’s entertaining, or date night in! It’s easy, ready in 30 minutes, and sure to impress! Various crab meat options are provided to make this easy dip accessible for everyone.
Easy Baked Crab Dip Recipe
- I adore dips of any kind! Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Baked Cheesy Onion Dip are two of my favorites along with hot crab dip.
- It’s impossible to resist the the chunks of crab in every bite that’s mixed within a creamy filling and of course, the melted cheese. A bit of onion, garlic, and chive adds an extra pop of rich flavors.
- If you need the perfect appetizer for holiday entertaining such as Christmas parties or New Year’s Eve, or for an elevated game day party, Valentine’s Day, or date night in, this dip delivers!
- Warm, comforting, rich, creamy, and cheesy with naturally sweet pieces of crab on warm bread toasts or crackers is a tough act to beat.
Ingredients in Crab Dip
Cream cheese + sour cream + mayonnaise: Use full fat for all dairy products and make sure the cream cheese is brick-style cream cheese. Everything else that’s labeled lite or reduced fat contains too much water and your dip will be watery. I’ve never tried subbing Greek yogurt for the sour cream.
Seasonings + Flavoring : Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder or garlic cloves, salt, black pepper. I use a half cup of diced white onion but you may use onion powder instead. If you like heat, add a couple shakes of Tabasco or dash of hot sauce of your liking, sprinkle red pepper flakes, or pinch of cayenne pepper.
Cheese: Shredded sharp cheddar cheese is worked into the mixture and sprinkled on top before baking. You can also add Parmesan cheese on top, Gruyere, mozzarella, Pepper Jack, provolone, or another favorite cheese.
Garnishes: Optionally garnish with chives or green onions. For a bit of heat, I like to shake a few red pepper flakes over the top.
What Kind Of Crab Meat to Use For Crab Dip
- The best (and most expensive) is refrigerated fresh lump crab meat which is a mixture of lump crab meat and backfin meat. You can buy this from some grocery stores at the seafood counter. However, I’ve found that even living in San Diego on the coast, we don’t have the same access to fresh crab meat that the East Coast does. Or if we do, it’s expensive. And I’m sure those of you in landlocked states have even less access. Therefore, see options 2 and 3.
- Canned crab meat will be fine. The texture is not comparable to fresh but most people can find it at least and it’s less expensive. Drain it very well to make sure there’s as little water as possible. If using 6 ounce cans, I suggest 3 cans which is 18 ounces (rather than 16) but the more the merrier.
- Imitation crab meat is not really crab meat as the name suggests but instead a mixture of fish including surimi. In a dip, it’s more than fine. This is what you find in many grocery store sushi rolls. Shred it well and toss it in. It’s the most budget friendly of all 3 options.
How To Make Warm Crab Dip
- In a large mixing bowl, beat room temperature cream cheese by hand or with a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream, mayo, all the seasonings, and stir to combine.
- Add most of the cheese, half the chives, and stir to combine. Fold in the crab meat.
- Spread in a large cast iron skillet or in a 9-inch pie plate or similar 2 to 2.5-quart casserole dish.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is golden browned and bubbly.
- Garnish and serve with garlic bread, sliced baguette toasts, crackers, tortilla chips, or celery sticks.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
Baked Crab Dip
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, very well softened to room temp (use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese)
- ⅓ cup sour cream, (full fat, I've never tried using Greek yogurt)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, (full fat)
- ½ cup diced white onion, (or substitute with 1 to 2 teaspoons onion powder, or to taste)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or substitute with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, to taste
- 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- Tabasco sauce (or hot sauce or red pepper flakes), optional and to taste
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, divided (I like extra sharp but use your favorite; white cheddar is great here or another favorite shredded cheese may be subbed)
- ½ cup chives, minced and divided, plus more for garnishing if desired
- 16 ounces crab meat, (*read blog post section about what kind of crab to use)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9 to 10-inch cast iron skillet, a 9-inch pie dish, a 2 to 2.5-quart casserole dish or similar with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the cream cheese and either beat by hand momentarily until smooth, or use a handheld electric mixer. Tip – Set your cream cheese out an hour before you need to use it and you can easily beat by hand for 20 seconds, no need to dirty a mixer.
- Add the sour cream, mayo, onion, garlic, Worcestershire, lemon juice, Old Bay, salt, pepper, and stir to combine. Tip – If you like a bit of heat, add a couple shakes of Tabasco or other similar hot sauce or a bit of red pepper flakes and stir to combine.
- Add about 1 1/4 cups shredded cheese, half the chives, all of the crab meat (see Notes below or in blog post), and stir to incorporate. Turn the mixture out into the prepared skillet or pan.
- Evenly top with the remaining cheese (about 3/4 cup), the remaining chives, and bake uncovered for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is as golden browned as desired, and the edges are lightly bubbling. Tip – All ovens vary so check early and rotate the skillet once midway through baking to ensure even browning.
- Optionally, garnish with extra chives, green onions, red pepper flakes, or as desired.
- Serve with toasted bread, garlic bread, crackers, tortilla chips, etc.
Notes
- Crab Meat: The best (and most expensive) is refrigerated fresh jumbo lump crab meat which is a mixture of lump crab meat and backfin meat. You can buy this from some grocery stores at the seafood counter.
- Canned crab meat is fine. The texture is not comparable to fresh but most people can find it at least and it’s less expensive. Drain it very well to make sure there’s as little water as possible. If using 6 ounce cans, I suggest 3 cans which is 18 ounces (rather than 16) but the more the merrier.
- Imitation crab meat is not really crab meat as the name suggests but instead a mixture of fish including surimi and is fine in this dip. It’s the ‘crab’ in many grocery store sushi rolls. Shred it well with two forks and toss it in. It’s the most budget friendly of all 3 options.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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