Enjoy this hot Maryland crab dip recipe with flavors of the Chesapeake including Old Bay seasoning and a creamy base that everyone will love.
I've probably mentioned that my husband loves Old Bay. He puts it on eggs, corn, coleslaw, and more. He grew up near the Chesapeake Bay so eating steamed shrimp and crabs was a common occurrence.
So a while back when I was thinking about making an appetizer I created this easy Maryland crab dip with Old Bay. It has all the flavors of steamed crabs in a creamy base.
I used canned lump crabmeat. Fresh would be better but it's hard to come by where we live. Lump crabmeat can be pricey. It's one of the higher grades of crabmeat and I think it's worth it.
However, since this is a dip you could get away with using a slightly lesser grade of crabmeat such as "special." Claw and backfin crabmeat would work well too. But, I would steer clear of imitation crabmeat.
This is a typical creamy dip made with cream cheese. I added lemon juice, spices, and some beer to thin it out. After all, you always use beer when you're making steamed crabs or steamed shrimp.
The liquid and seasoning base are mixed gently together with the crabmeat.
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Then it's baked in the oven. A little extra Old Bay seasoning is sprinkled on top for added flavor and color.
I served this with triscuits and small crackers. However, it would also be great on bread rounds, or scoops. You can also serve it with vegetables like carrot and celery sticks for a total low carb option.
Though we don't eat it that often the richness of crabmeat with the spicy flavor of Old Bay is also a welcome treat.
More Spicy Dip Recipes
Hot Maryland Crab Dip
Ingredients
- 8 oz of cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 pound lump crabmeat
- 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice about 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup beer
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Drain crabmeat set aside
- Process cream cheese, mayo, lemon juice, beer, old bay, garlic powder in a food processor.
- Pour over crabmeat and mix well.
- Transfer mixture to a 9-inch glass pie dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with crackers or bread rounds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Irene
What substitution would you recommend for the beer?
Patti Estep
Irene if you are worried about alcohol you can find non-alcoholic beer in the grocery store. If you just don't like the taste you can skip it. You may need to add another liquid to thin out the cheese. You could try a little stock or just water. You may not need 1/4 cup. Add a little at a time until you get the consistency you want.
Robyn L Martorana
How much cream cheese do you use in crab dip??? Thank you!
Patti Estep
Oh no! Robyn it's 8 oz of cream cheese. I can't believe I left that out of the recipe. Thanks for letting me know so I can fix it.