Ingredients Seafood Shellfish Crab 17 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire By Food & Wine Editors Updated on July 23, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Jennifer Causey 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 and dips, 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. 01 of 17 Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes © Greg DuPree "This is the best crab cake recipe you will ever find," says 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 02 of 17 Shrimp-and-Crab Gumbo 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 03 of 17 Open-Faced Crab Empanadas © Akiko Ida & Pierre Javelle 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 04 of 17 Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip © Tina Rupp For this classic tapa, 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 05 of 17 Spicy Crab Bisque © John Kernick 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 06 of 17 "Espaghetti" with Poblano Cream and Crab Greg DuPree 2018 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 07 of 17 Seafood Boil with Cajun Seasoning Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas 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 08 of 17 Cioppino with Fennel and Saffron Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Max Rappaport 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. Dungeness crab is available fresh from November through June, but this dish can be made any time since many fish markets have cooked and frozen crabs available year round. Get the Recipe 09 of 17 Crispy Crab Cakes with Tomato Butter Jennifer Causey 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. If whitefish is unavailable, substitute sea bass or cod. Get the Recipe 10 of 17 Blue Crab Beignets Greg DuPree 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 11 of 17 Crab Macaroni Gratin Jennifer Causey "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," 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 12 of 17 Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers Michael Piazza 2020 BNC Douglass Williams' method for carbonara allows you to hold the cooked pasta before adding it to the garlic–oil–pasta cooking liquid emulsion. It makes for a simple, creamy carbonara without the stress. Get the Recipe 13 of 17 Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes Denny Culbert "My aunt Christine taught me how to make crab cakes over the phone," 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 14 of 17 Cold Crab Spaghetti Eric Wolfinger 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 uses 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 15 of 17 Mini Deviled Crab Cornbread Muffins Kelly Marshall 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 16 of 17 Crab-and-Shrimp Étouffée Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christina Daley 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 6 ounces of shells from the fish counter, or choose a high-quality fresh stock. Get the Recipe 17 of 17 Crab Pithivier with Scallop Frangipane Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Perfect for a dinner party or any sort of special occasion, this stunning dish, from 2017 BNC 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 gives it texture. 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