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  6. 17 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire

17 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire

By Food & Wine Editors Updated July 23, 2021
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Crispy crab cakes with tomato butter
Credit: 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's 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.

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Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes

Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes
Credit: © Greg DuPree
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"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."

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Shrimp-and-Crab Gumbo

Donald Link: Shrimp-and-Crab Gumbo  
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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.

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Open-Faced Crab Empanadas

Open-Faced Crab Empanadas
Credit: © Akiko Ida & Pierre Javelle
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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.

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Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip

Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip
Credit: © Tina Rupp
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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.

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Spicy Crab Bisque

Spicy Crab Bisque
Credit: © John Kernick
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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.

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"Espaghetti" with Poblano Cream and Crab

Espaghetti con Crema de Poblano, Crab, Cauliflower, and Egg
Credit: Greg DuPree
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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.

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Seafood Boil with Cajun Seasoning

Seafood Boil
Credit: Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas
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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.

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Cioppino with Fennel and Saffron

bowl of copping with grilled bread
Credit: Photo by Andrew Bui / Food Styling by Max Rappaport
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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 their Dungeness crab—a large orange crab with meaty claws—it makes a dramatic showing in this seafood-packed dish. Dungeness crab are 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.

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Crispy Crab Cakes with Tomato Butter

Crispy crab cakes with tomato butter
Credit: Jennifer Causey
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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.

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Blue Crab Beignets

Blue Crab Beignets
Credit: Greg DuPree
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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.

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Crab Macaroni Gratin

crab gratin
Credit: Jennifer Causey
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"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."

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Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers

Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers Recipe
Credit: Michael Piazza
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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.

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Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes

Cajun Crab Cakes Recipe | Mosquito Supper Club
Credit: Denny Culbert
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"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."

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Cold Crab Spaghetti

Cold Crab Spaghetti Recipe
Credit: Eric Wolfinger
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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 highlight the natural sweetness of fresh crab.

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Mini Deviled Crab Cornbread Muffins

Deviled Crab Stuffed Mini Cornbread Muffins
Credit: Kelly Marshall
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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.

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Crab-and-Shrimp Étouffée

Crab and Shrimp Étouffée
Credit: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
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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.

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Crab Pithivier with Scallop Frangipane

Crab Pithiviers with Scallop Frangipane
Credit: Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis
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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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    1 of 17 Baltimore-Style Crab Cakes
    2 of 17 Shrimp-and-Crab Gumbo
    3 of 17 Open-Faced Crab Empanadas
    4 of 17 Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip
    5 of 17 Spicy Crab Bisque
    6 of 17 "Espaghetti" with Poblano Cream and Crab
    7 of 17 Seafood Boil with Cajun Seasoning
    8 of 17 Cioppino with Fennel and Saffron
    9 of 17 Crispy Crab Cakes with Tomato Butter
    10 of 17 Blue Crab Beignets
    11 of 17 Crab Macaroni Gratin
    12 of 17 Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers
    13 of 17 Louisiana Lump Crab Cakes
    14 of 17 Cold Crab Spaghetti
    15 of 17 Mini Deviled Crab Cornbread Muffins
    16 of 17 Crab-and-Shrimp Étouffée
    17 of 17 Crab Pithivier with Scallop Frangipane

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    17 Crab Recipes to Add to Your Repertoire
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