Easy Deviled Crab - It's Devilishly Delicious

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Incredibly easy to make and utterly delectable, my make-ahead, homemade Deviled Crab is devilishly delicious! It’s loaded with fresh sweet, blue crab meat, a tasty blend of spices, and just enough filling, made with Ritz crackers and mayonnaise, to help bind everything together.

Packed with fresh lump blue crab meat, like my Southern Blue Crab Cakes, homemade deviled crab doesn’t bear any resemblance to purchased frozen or premade, which is mostly bread crumbs or crushed crackers with just the faintest hint of crab flavor.

Two ramekins full of deviled crab on a cutting board.

Deviled crab originated in the Tampa Bay area on Florida’s west coast, where the beautifully colored blue crabs are plentiful. Now it’s a common menu item at most seafood restaurants up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast and up the Atlantic coast to Maryland and Virginia.

Ingredients – here’s what you will need to make this recipe:

Don’t let the number of ingredients scare you off. For the most part, you are just combining everything in a bowl.

Lump blue crab meat – is the star of this show, and I always use fresh. Crabmeat is almost always sold, cleaned, cooked, and pasteurized. Grades include jumbo lump, lump, backfin, and claw meat. Jumbo lump is the most expensive. I like to use jumbo lump or lump, although any of these grades work in this recipe. I have never tried canned.
Butter – unsalted butter is used to saute the vegetables.
Scallions – also called green or spring onions, provide a mild onion flavor.
Celery – provides just a bit of crunch and an herby flavor to the dish.
Green bell pepper – is another veggie that provides excellent flavor and color.
Mayonnaise – is the glue that holds everything together along with the egg.
Egg – and mayonnaise bring everything together and provide a bit of structure when cooked.
Sour cream – adds a nice creamy tang.
Round buttery crackers – the most common brand is Ritz.
Dry mustard – adds a nice tangy flavor. If you don’t have dry mustard, you can substitute ½ tablespoon of dijon mustard.
Worcestershire sauce – a common condiment containing anchovies- gives this dish the “deviled” flavor.
Old Bay Seasoning – a seasoning blend specially designed to enhance the flavor of seafood.
Lemon pepper – is lemon zest combined with regular ground black pepper. It is typically used to season seafood and adds a bit of citrus flavor.
Creole seasoning – is a blend of dried peppers, herbs, and spices that adds a lovely flavor to this dish.

How to make deviled crab:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt butter in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions, celery, and bell pepper.

Cooking celery, scallions and bell pepper in a skillet.

Cook and stir for about four minutes or until the veggies are tender and translucent. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Crush the crackers using a food processor or by placing them in a plastic bag and crushing them with your hand or a rolling pin.
Use your fingers and carefully pick through the crab meat to remove any bits of shell or cartilage. Set aside.

Picking through crab meat to remove any shells.

Add the cooled veggies, mayonnaise, beaten egg, sour cream, dry mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay seasonings, lemon pepper, and Creole seasoning to a large bowl. Mix well.

Clear glass bowl with mayonnaise, sour cream and spices.

Add the crushed crackers and crab meat and toss gently to prevent the lumps from breaking up.

Crab meat and other ingredients being mixed in a bowl.

Spoon the mixture into six, six-ounce oven-proof ramekins or blue crab shells.

Crush the crackers using a food processor and add the melted butter for the topping. Process until the butter and crumbs are thoroughly combined. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the top of the mixture in the ramekins.
Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes, or until the topping is browned and crispy.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Deviled crab in four ramekins on a cutting board.

Frequently asked questions:

What’s the difference between deviled crab and crab cakes?

While my Southern Blue Crab Cake recipe is similar, it doesn’t have the same amount of deviling spices and Creole seasonings. It also has far less Worcestershire sauce, a primary deviling ingredient, and it includes Dijon mustard instead of dry mustard.

I also use sturdy saltine crackers instead of Ritz crackers to hold my crab cakes together. And finally, deviled crab includes a small amount of celery, scallions, bell pepper, and sour cream to round out the flavor and a crunchy topping.

What goes with it?

Deviled crab is relatively rich, and I like to keep things simple and serve it with my Southern Potato Salad, Purple Hull or Field Peas, or Southern Sweet and Sour Green Beans. Another option is to serve it with a slice of Southern Tomato Pie or Southern Cucumber and Tomato Salad.

How to store leftovers?

If you have them, leftovers should be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for two to three days. Fresh crab meat is highly perishable and shouldn’t be kept any longer. I usually reheat mine in the microwave for a minute or so, or you can reheat the leftovers in the oven until the filling is hot.

I have never tried freezing this mixture, so I can’t comment on whether you will be happy with the results.

How to make it ahead?

Make up the mixture as directed up to 24-hours ahead, but do not add the topping and do not bake. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. Before serving, make the topping, add it to the top, and bake as directed.

Variations:

Deviled crab is highly versatile. It can be served as an appetizer or a main dish, and while traditionally spooned into blue crab shells or ramekins for serving, the mixture can also be used as a base for:

Deviled crab cakes or patties – uses practically the same recipe, except saltines are substituted for the Ritz crackers, and the mixture is formed into patties and fried.
Croquettes or rolls – authentic recipes add tomato sauce to the basic mixture, which is then wrapped in bread dough and fried.
Deviled crab balls (Crab arancini) – include risotto, and the balls are coated in breadcrumbs before frying.
Crab deviled eggs – instead of the traditional egg yolk filling, the hard-boiled egg white is stuffed with deviled crab.
Crab toast – similar to avocado toast, except instead of avocado, deviled crab is spread over warm toast.
Crab stuffed shrimp – a delicious combination of fresh gulf shrimp, butterflied and stuffed with deviled crab.
A stuffing for fish or mushrooms – the crab mixture is made as directed and then either piled on top of fish fillets or sandwiched between them. This filling can also be used as a stuffing for mushrooms. In most cases, bread crumbs or panko is sprinkled over the top of the dish, and it is baked in the oven.

Sharon’s Tips:

I usually use green bell pepper, but you can also use either yellow or red.
This mixture can also be made into deviled crab cakes and pan-fried, but the cakes will be fragile. For the best results, be sure to let the mixture chill for an hour or so before forming them into patties and then chill for another hour or so after forming them and before cooking.
Instead of the ramekins, you can put the deviled crab mixture in a small baking dish and make a casserole.
I prefer my deviled crab without any sauce, but some folks, including my husband, like it with cocktail sauce. Remoulade and tartar sauce are also condiments that go well with seafood.
You can purchase aluminum baking shells at specialty kitchen stores or online instead of the ramekins. If you are fortunate, you might be able to find natural shells at your local seafood store. If you use natural shells, wash them thoroughly before stuffing.
For the topping, you can substitute panko for the crushed crackers.
Lump meat is expensive, but you can substitute claw meat to keep the cost of this dish down. It will not taste quite as rich, but it will still be delicious. I have never tried canned or imitation crab meat in this recipe.
If you don’t have any sour cream, you can make your own. Combine one-quarter of a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice with three tablespoons of heavy cream. Let this mixture sit for at least 20 minutes to thicken.