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\Insanely Delicious Hot Crab Dip makes the perfect party appetizer. This delicious and addicting crab dip is ready in just 30 minutes and will instantly wow the entire crew!
Everyone loves a great dip, because we all love to play with our food sometimes. If you are looking for more incredible dips you have to try my 5 Minute Dip, Ranch Dip or this easy Rotel Dip!
Hot Crab Dip
Whether it’s football season, baseball season, basketball season, or really any gathering, this hot crab dip needs to be on your list. It’s creamy, cheesy, and full of flavor without being overly fishy. Every time I make it, it’s one of the first things to disappear. Hands down, one of the best appetizers ever! If you love cheesy hot dips, you’ll also want to try my Hot Blue Cheese Dip.
When I say hot crab dip, I mean temperature hot—not spicy. The ooey-gooey cheese stays melty and delicious while it’s served warm, but you can add hot sauce if you want extra kick. Quick, easy, and not at all fishy, this is one recipe you’ll come back to again and again.
Ingredients for Delicious Crab Dip
Be sure to buy lump crab meat, and not imitation crab meat. There is a huge difference and you will be able to to taste it. Look for it in the canned meat section with the tuna.
- Cream Cheese: Soften the cream cheese by leaving it at room temperature for about half an hour or microwave it or 30 seconds.
- Sour Cream: Helps thin the cream cheese and adds a great bit of tang.
- Mayonnaise: Adds more creaminess and flavor
- Cheddar Cheese: Finely shredded
- Garlic Powder: Garlic is an impeccable flavor in the dish.
- Paprika: You will love the color and flavor it adds.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This adds depth and a great umami flavor.
- Lemon Juice: Helps balance the dish.
- Salt and Pepper: Add more or less to taste.
- Lump Crab Meat: Look for this in the canned meat aisle by the tuna.
How Do You Make Hot Crab Dip?
This couldn’t be any easier. Just throw everything into a bowl and stir and bake. Hot crab dip is so good but so easy it’s almost crazy.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix: In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir together until combined and fold in lump crab meat.
- Bake: Spread in a small casserole dish and bake for 20-25 minutes until heated through and bubbly. Serve with a slice baguette or tortilla chips.
What Is Lump Crab Meat?
- Lump crab meat comes from the body of the crab. They are smaller than the Jumbo lump crab, but still sturdy. Lump crab meat is usually found in a can, although some butchers will carry it too. It is a blend of broken pieces of jumbo lump and a special grade of crab meat. You can mix it with a fork without worrying that it will break apart into mush. This is perfect in dip recipes, salads, casseroles, and crab cakes
- Imitation Crab: Imitation crab is just what it implies, not real, but fake. Imitation crab is highly processed food made by combining minced fish with starch, egg whites, sugar, salt and additives to mimic the flavor, color and texture of real crab meat. It’s not exactly what you want in your hot crab dip. Steer clear of it if you can.
- Can I Use Fresh Crab Meat? Yes, you can. Fresh crab meat is typically sold in plastic containers over ice at the market. These crabs have been steamed or boiled but will cost a little bit more.
Tips for Insanely Delicious Hot Crab Dip
Keeping it simple and keeping it easy makes this one of the best appetizers to try!
- Crab: Be sure to drain the crab well. If there is too much liquid left in the crab, it can make the dip watery and too thin. Check for any bits of shell as well. There are often some bits of shell that stow away in the canned crab and it’s unpleasant to bite into.
- Cheese: Use a medium or sharp cheese, but nothing that will overpower the wonderful taste of crab. Buy a block and gate your own. Using pre shredded cheese is usually coated in preservatives and anti caking agents which will prevent the cheese from melting nicely.
- Spicy: If you want to add a bit of a kick and some extra heat, add some hot sauce or diced canned jalapenos to the mixture.
- Keep it hot: If need the crab dip to stay hot for a long period of time, once it’s baked transfer it to a crockpot and keep it on low. You might lose some of that golden top, but it will stay warm and melty.
- Make Ahead: You can make this dip up to 2 days ahead of time. Mix altogether but do not bake. Cover tightly and keep in the fridge. Remove from fridge half an hour before baking.
- Serve it with: We love chips, buttery crackers, crostini, baguettes, celery, carrots and cucumbers.
- Leftovers: If you actually have leftovers, store them for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven. Do not freeze.
Looking For More Hot And Cheese Dips? Look No Further!
Dips make the perfect appetizer. They’re fun, flavorful, and easy to customize! Whether you scoop, dunk, or dip, they’re always a hit. From classics to creative twists, these are tried-and-true favorites. One to try first? My Crab Rangoon Dip! Here are a few other ideas!
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Insanely Delicious Hot Crab Dip
Equipment
- 1 1 or 2-quart baking dish
Ingredients
- 16 ounces high-quality, well-drained lump crab meat You can use fresh lump crab meat or canned
- 1 (8-ounce) package softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- salt to taste, after tasting the dip without it
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray the inside of a 1 or 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine 1 (8-ounce) package softened cream cheese, ¼ cup sour cream, ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, ½ teaspoon paprika, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper in a medium bowl.
- Gently stir in 16 ounces high-quality, well-drained lump crab meat until fully combined.
- Spread the crab mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes until heated through and bubbling around the edges. Serve with a sliced baguette or tortilla chips.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made crab dip for many years! Always use fresh crab, so lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest. This crab dip is my favorite! I’m so glad to have come across this recipe! Add more crab than called for, it all works!
Same as the other 100 recipes on this site
Is that scallion on top of the dip in the photo? Didn’t see it listed. Thanks for all the time and energy you put into the posted recipes.
Hi! I didn’t use scallion in this recipe. Although that sounds delicious to put on top!
Thanks so much for this great recipe! This was a major hit for my friend’s potluck!
Can you sub the Mayo? Want to use this for a birthday party and some of the guest don’t eat mayo
You can try using sour cream or greek yogurt instead!
Love this!!! we like a LOT of flavor. we use Tony Chachere’s, onion powder, McCormick’s Garlic herb and black pepper and sea salt, extra lemon, grated parm with the cheddar. also use quality lump crab meat, we used Publix. we also add a little cheddar and parm on the top until brown. so so GREAT!!! enjoy
Any tips on how to make this in the crockpot?
i work in commercial foodservice,and i use this recipe,multiplied the batch for this recipe times four,and added 2.5 lbs of NY creamy cheddar and 1.5lbs of provolone.I baked in the oven for an hour,and when i stirred it,the stretch and creaminess and cheese reminded me of macaroni and cheese…so i made a batch of vesuvio,and a batch of cavatappi…essentially lump crab mac &cheese..a little old bay,blackened redfish magic,a sprinkle of parmesan,and slivered scallions…voila!! Lump Crab Mac& Cheese..granted,im not a fan of mac and cheese,and i at a healthy portion forquality control..so this in my opinion,was a great recipe,and apparently my patrons at the bar i work in thought it google review worthy,so thats a win in my book!!!
Made this today exactly how the recipe stated and it came out perfect. For those of you saying it was “tasteless” make sure you grate your own cheddar (or cheese of choice) and don’t omit the garlic!! I used canned lump crab instead of the million dollar container type and you can’t even tell the difference…
I just made this dip, doubled the recipe and am so glad I did. It is delicious! I only had imitation crab meat this time, as lump crab is pricey right now, but it was still great. I also used Old Bay seasoning instead of normal salt, (deep south girl now living on the east coast…Old Bay is something we keep on hand ALWAYS) and added an extra splash of lemon juice, but everything else is cooked exactly as the recipe stated. Highly recommend this recipe!
I made this today (college football) and it was a big hit! Easy to make and extremely tasty; will definitely make this again!!
It’s the perfect appetizer or potluck dish for football season!
Hello, my sister shared with me a hot crab dip recipe that is a stripped-down version of this, lol, and she just love putting in the Worcestershire sauce … that’s her favorite part of it. But I might like to try this, too.
My question is … what would you think about my substituting soy sauce for Worcestershire sauce? Many thanks for any input.
That sounds delicious! Let me know how it turns out!
If you use Soy ,omit the salt.
We followed the recipe exactly and got a tasteless mix of meat and vegetables at the end… Definitely, something’s wrong with this recipe. We have been to Macedonia and the food there is great, nothing like this
This recipe is for hot crap dip with no vegetable listed. I think you commented on the wrong recipe
We love this recipe with a few changes. We use Old Bay (being from the east coast, crab and old bay go together like pb and j) instead of all the other spices and we top with a little more cheese. Sometimes we use a mixture of cheddar and guyere.
Was expecting it to be much better than it was. Needed more cheese and less crab in my opinion, but it was ok. I would also add red pepper flakes next time for a little kick.
How about cooking it in a sour dough bread bowel…. The guts of the bread save for dipping also…