This cheesy, melty hot crab dip requires less than 10 minutes of hands-on prep and is a crowd pleaser every time. It’s simple, but oh so good!
Hot Crab Dip Appetizer
Sometimes you just can’t escape the cravings for classic appetizer recipes laced with memories of family get togethers and thoughts of good and hearty party food. Wintery hot dips made with low-brow ingredients that carry an upscale reputation—think lumps of sweet crab and melty Swiss cheese—certainly fall into the favorite party dips category.
Mayonnaise mixed with the cream cheese makes this baked crab dip creamy with Swiss cheese adding the melty, cheese-pull everyone looks for in a hot cheese dip. The toasty topping comes in crisped with panko bread crumbs, adding some texture to each bite.
What’s in This Hot Crab Dip?
Baked crab dip is as simple as mixing everything together with some sautéed shallots and garlic, sprinkling with bread crumbs, and baking until golden brown. Here’s what I use to make this hot crab dip:
- Lump crab meat—choose a great quality canned from the seafood department or from leftover crab legs
- Butter
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Cream cheese
- Lemon juice
- Green onions
- Worcestershire sauce
- Hot sauce
- Old Bay seasoning
- Mayonnaise
- Swiss cheese or other mild, melty white cheese such as provolone
- Panko bread crumbs
- Fresh parsley
How to Make Crab Dip
Use high-quality crab meat. Skip the tins of crab found in the tuna fish aisle and use either quality tinned or crab leg meat from the seafood counter. Planning using on leftover crab for this dip is the perfect excuse to cook crab legs for dinner the night before.
For the best flavor and texture, buy a block of Swiss cheese and shred it yourself. Bagged cheeses can contain cornstarch or something similar to prevent the shredded cheese from forming clumps. This can make your crab dip grainy.
Buy the type of cream cheese that comes in bricks and not the whipped stuff in a tub. Brick-style cream cheese is thicker and makes for a heartier dip.
The Best Baking Dish for Crab Dip
Bake this crab dip in a shallow dish. Spreading the dip in a shallow layer means more dippable area for the toasted panko crumbs to cover. I use a 9-inch round dish or a pie dish works too.
Can I Make Crab Dip in a Slow Cooker?
I’m sure you could, although I’ve never tried it myself. If you made this hot crab dip in a slow cooker, I’d imagine you’d want to omit the breadcrumbs since they wouldn’t crisp up in the slow cooker.
How to Serve Hot Crab Dip
Serve this crab meat dip with baguette slices, bagel chips, pita chips, or your favorite cracker.
Hot Crab Dip
Ingredients
- 12 ounces lump crabmeat about 2 ½ cups
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup minced shallots from 2 medium shallots
- 2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- 2 8- ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ lemon juiced
- 4 green onions chopped
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay® seasoning
- 6 ounces shredded Swiss cheese about 2 cups
- 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Drain the crabmeat if necessary and pick through for any shells or cartilage. Set aside.
- In a small sauté pan, melt the butter with the shallots and garlic and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until shallots are softened. Remove from the heat.
- In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer or a fork to blend the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and lemon juice until smooth. Mix in the shallot mixture, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and Old Bay. Fold in Swiss cheese and lump crab meat. Spread evenly in a shallow 10-inch baking dish and spinkle with panko bread crumbs.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Serve hot with baguette slices, bagel crisps, or crackers.
