Crab Imperial is a creamy, delicious, luxurious crab dish that’s so easy to make at home! Jumbo lump crab meat is the star of this seafood recipe, tossed with an imperial sauce and baked until golden brown. Dive in with a fork or serve with crackers on the side!
What Is Crab Imperial?
Never heard of Crab Imperial? Well, we’re here to blow your mind. Crab Imperial is an easy to make, crazy delicious seafood recipe that’s sure to impress your guests.
Lump crab meat is tossed with an “imperial sauce” (we’ll get into what that is further down in the post) and baked until golden brown. You can serve this crab dish as a first course or a main course, both ways work wonderfully.
Ingredients For Crab Imperial
Crab Imperial only requires a few simple ingredients, but starting with lump crab meat is a must.
- Lump Crab Meat
- Old Bay
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Egg
- Mustard
- Hot Sauce
- Parsley
How To Make
There’s really only a couple of steps to getting this crab recipe ready for the oven. We’ll go over them here with a couple of photos. For complete instructions, head down to the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Make Crab Mixture: Place the crab meat in a large bowl. Break apart gently with a fork (or clean hands) being careful not to break the lumps apart. Add mayonnaise, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, egg, parsley, lemon juice, hot sauce and mustard. Fold together gently.
- Bake: Spoon the crab mixture into 4-6 ramekins (depending on the size) or a 8″ x 8″ baking dish. Sprinkle paprika on top and bake for 20-25 minutes, then place under the broiler for 2 minutes to crisp up the top.
What Is Imperial Sauce?
An imperial sauce is a mayonnaise based, simple sauce with Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, parsley, mustard and a dash of hot sauce.
While some recipes for imperial sauce call for sugar, we don’t think it’s needed. Other recipes call for a splash of sherry, and we think that’s a fabulous addition.
The name “imperial” in this sauce comes from ancient times when rich and luxurious ingredients were used to make a dish. These types of foods were often given to the wealthy or people in power like kings and queens or emperors.
How To Serve
Just a fork will do, especially if you’re serving this seafood dish as a first course or a main course, just dive in with a squeeze of lemon and a fork.
However, this crab recipe is also delicious served as appetizers. Ritz crackers are delicious for scooping up this creamy crab, but any cracker will work. Pita chips or warmed fresh pita work well, or just plain toasted crostini.
What Side Dishes Go With Crab?
As we mentioned before, a side salad is really all you need to round out this delicious seafood dinner. But of course, we have many other options for you!
We’d opt for lighter dishes as opposed to a heavier side like mashed potatoes since this crab is so rich.
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Crab Imperial
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeCrab Imperial is a creamy, delicious, luxurious crab dish that’s so easy to make at home! Jumbo lump crab meat is the star of this seafood recipe, tossed with an imperial sauce and baked until golden brown.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lump crab meat, drained and picked through for shells
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the crab meat to a large bowl. Break apart gently with a spoon (or clean hands) being careful not to break the lumps apart.
- Add the mayonnaise, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, egg, parsley, lemon juice, hot sauce and mustard to the bowl. Fold together gently with a spoon, again being careful not to break the lump crab meat apart.
- Spoon the crab mixture into 4-6 ramekins (depending on the size) or a small 8″ x 8″ baking dish.
- Sprinkle the paprika on top and bake for 20-25 minutes, then place under the broiler for 2 minutes to crisp up the top.
Recipe Notes
Store: Store leftovers in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Reheat leftovers in the microwave or in the oven until warmed through.
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
We made this tonight for the 1st time. It was delicious! Mixed the ingredients minus the paprika ahead of time so the it could marry together , added the paprika when baking. Tasted just like a crabcake! Thinking of using it next time on top of a piece of cod or flounder. Good find!