Deviled Crab
Rich & tasty, Deviled Crab is an easy yet special entrée or appetizer. Full of delicious crab, it’s perfect for a beach lunch, date night or even game day!
How do you argue with a dish that’s a beautiful combination of elegant and casual. Yes, Deviled Crab is fun and easy enough to make for a special game day (like maybe the Super Bowl!). And when it comes to date night (think Valentine’s Day), well anything with crab automatically scores points on the romance scale.
I got this recipe from one of my regular blog reads, Back Road Journal, with wonderful recipes and travel photos. Yes there are so many excuses to eat it coming up soon. Hooray!
What is Deviled Crab?
The first thing you might notice about Deviled Crab is its resemblance to crab cakes. And that’s because they are closely related. Which means, if you like crab cakes, well, pull up a fork, you’re going to love this too!
Per Southern Living deviled crab is “fresh crabmeat mixed with seasonings, spices, some mayo, and breadcrumbs before being spooned into crab shells and baked.” It differs from crab cakes in that it tends to be more intensely seasoned and baked in a container like a ramekin, crab shell, or in my case, a mini frying pan.
And the term deviled? It refers to a food with some spicy heat. So think of these as deviled crab cakes. Yum!
Why You’ll Love ThisIt’
Tasty. Yummy crab with savory seasonings and a little heat, this is a delicious entree or appetizer!
Easy. Mix and bake–how do you beat that!
Versatile. Equally at home for a nicer beach party or a date night dinner, you’ll have lots of options for when to serve. It even works as a tasty appetizer!
Step by Step Overview
Happily, the dish was not at all difficult to prepare. You start by sautéing vegetables
Preparing the binding ingredients 
Mix everything together 
Top with buttered bread crumbs 
Bake until golden
Then enjoy!
How to Serve
Since this dish has a casual elegance, you can serve it for many occasions! It’s perfect as an entree for an outdoor event and will also be lovely at a romantic dinner like date night or Valentine’s Day. Sides might include roasted veggies, cole slaw or salad like Kale Brussels Sprout salad. But the entrée is rich and more filling than it looks so I recommend going easy on the extras.
It also makes a tasty and popular appetizer, served alone or as a dip. How do you beat that!
Often you will see deviled crab served right in a crab shell. I didn’t have shells, but I had these cute little frying pans. I bought them ages ago figuring one day they’d come in handy. Ramekins would work beautifully as well–or it can be made in a larger casserole and served family style.
I added an easy homemade remoulade (recipe here) that I heartily recommend. The creamy heat was a perfect complement!
Variations
If you’d a finger food that is similar, take a look at my mini crab cakes. I froze trays of these for my daughter’s garden party wedding!
Of course if it’s date night recipes you’re looking for, consider one of these tasty dishes:
- Beet Gnocchi with Arugula Basil Pesto from The Spiffy Cookie
- Boeuf Bourguignon from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Chile Lime Mahi Mahi from That Recipe
- Copycat Applebees Bourbon Street Steak from Palatable Pastime
- Fondant Potatoes from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Linguini and Clams from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
- Pan Seared Filet Mignon from Jen Around the World
- Sweet and Spicy Chicken from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Deviled Crab
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 stick celery diced
- 1/4 cup bell pepper diced (any color)
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 Tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce or ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 8 ounces crab meat lump style
- 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs lightly toasted
- 1 Tablespoons butter melted
- 1/4 cup panko or Italian breadcrumbs, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt 2 Tablespoons butter and sautee the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic and cook until softened but not brown. Remove from the heat and let cool. Move to refrigerator (or even freezer if you watch carefully) for faster cooling.
- Whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, hot sauce or cayenne, salt and pepper in a bowl. Adjust the seasonings as desired. Add the egg, crab, parsley, breadcrumbs and cooled onion mixture. Fold together gently to keep crab lumps intact.
- Spray baking dishes with non-stick spray or spread with butter. Divide the crab mixture into prepared baking dishes (or larger casserole). Prepare the topping by mixing the melted butter into the panko breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the crab mixture.
- Set into a rimmed baking sheet and bake until warmed through and golden, 15 to 18 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from Jan 21 2021.
You really can’t go wrong with any kind of seafood for date night. And this crab dish looks oh so delicious! I love that it’s either an appetizer or dinner.
I’ve never had deviled crab but living in Maryland we certainly eat a lot of crab! I need to give this a try one night!
My mom used to make this and bake it on scallop shells! So good.
Scallop shells is a great idea!
Perfect for any time. I think it would be a wonderful starter or fish course to an elegant dinner party.
Thank you so much Inger for the mention. I’m always thrilled when someone makes and enjoys one of my recipes. Your little frying pans were a cute way to serve the deviled crab.
Thanks so much for sharing Karen!
I love this dish! The texture the flavours, everything seems to be stunning
Thanks Raymund–we enjoyed it!
I really love deviled crab, make it whenever I can get good crab meat. (As you probably know from your daughters experience, and your experience for visiting her, good crab is not something we find often in Arizona!) I am bookmarking this for future cooking fun!
Yes, definitely an import in Wisconsin too. Sadly enough, we have taken such poor care of our beautiful Great Lakes that many of those fish are not safe to eat on a regular basis.
It’s so sad that you didn’t get to travel, but this can dish feels like holiday and indulgence.
I’ve always told myself, that if things are not right in the world/my world at least if I can eat good food, something will be right!