This Cheesy Hot Crab Dip is the ultimate party snack for New Year’s Eve or game day! Lump crab meat is baked into a luxurious, creamy dip with cream cheese, sour cream, sharp cheddar, and a touch of hot sauce for just the right amount of kick.
Looking for more warm party dips? Artichoke Dip and Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Dip are excellent choices!
Just as we’re recovering from the food coma that is Christmas, it’s time to start planning what we’ll be eating as the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. And when I think New Year’s Eve, I think crab dip.
This Hot Crab Dip is decadent, cheesy, and just a bit elegant — the perfect match for champagne, cocktails, or whatever you’re sipping at your celebration. (For me, that’s usually iced tea so I don’t fall asleep before midnight. Sad but true.)
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Best Hot Crab Dip Recipe
This Hot Crab Dip is everything a party appetizer should be, warm, creamy, and irresistibly cheesy with real lump crab meat in every bite. It’s the kind of recipe that feels special but couldn’t be easier to make, and it’s always one of the first dishes to disappear.
Make it ahead, pop it in the oven before guests arrive, and serve it bubbling hot with toasted baguette slices or buttery crackers.
Ingredients for Hot Crab Dip
- Lump crab meat: My local store carries Chicken of the Sea lump crabmeat, but many other brands work well. If using canned crab, drain it very well before adding it to the dip.
- Cream cheese: Regular or Neufchatel (⅓ less fat) cream cheese both work beautifully.
- Mayonnaise: Adds richness and helps bind the creamy base. I typically use olive oil mayonnaise.
- Sour cream: Use regular or light; both yield great results.
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese: Choose a good-quality sharp cheddar for the best flavor and shred it yourself. No bagged shredded cheese here!
- White onion: Finely minced so it melts into the dip.
- All-purpose seasoning salt: I like Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds a savory depth to balance the creamy texture.
- Fresh lemon juice: A natural flavor boost for any seafood dish.
- Italian parsley: For color and freshness.
- Tabasco sauce: Just a few shakes add zip. Adjust to taste or leave it out if you prefer a milder dip.
- Freshly ground black pepper: To taste.
What is Lump Crab Meat?
Lump crab meat is made up of chunks of jumbo lump and body meat. It’s perfect for dips, crab cakes, and salads. Don’t confuse it with imitation crab — lump crab is 100% real crab, and you definitely want the real deal for this dip.
You’ll find lump crab meat both canned and fresh (sometimes at the butcher or seafood counter). The bonus to buying it canned is that it keeps well in your pantry, so you can grab a few cans when it’s on sale and and stash them away in your pantry until you need it
How to Make Hot Crab Dip
This recipe could not be any easier. It takes just minutes to assemble before it’s ready for the oven.
- Stir together cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream until creamy.
- Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Transfer to a small baking dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, until browned and bubbly.
How to Serve Cheesy Hot Crab Dip
You can bake this dip in a small serving dish, as shown here, or go all out and bake it in a small bread bowl — the bonus being that your serving dish becomes part of the snack! Once most of the dip has been devoured, tear off pieces of the dip-soaked bread and enjoy every last bite. Most grocery store bakery departments carry small bread bowls during the holidays.
I like to serve this dip with Ritz Crackers but it is also delicious with sliced baguette or tortilla chips for dipping.
Valerie’s Tips
Grate your onion. Using a cheese grater is a great trick when you want the flavor of onion without noticeable texture. It works beautifully for dips, spreads, and even meatballs.
Not too spicy. The “hot” in Hot Crab Dip refers to serving temperature, not heat level. The few shakes of hot sauce add flavor, not fire.
Want it spicier? If your crowd likes things hot, go ahead and add extra hot sauce or even a little diced jalapeño. I usually keep it on the mild side when serving a group, but you can easily turn up the heat.
Make it ahead. Assemble the dip, cover, and refrigerate it overnight. When you’re ready to serve, bake as directed — it turns out just as creamy and delicious.
Slow cooker option. If you’d rather keep your oven free, you can make this dip in your slow cooker. See the alternate directions in the recipe card below.
I hope you add this one to your party menu this New Year’s Eve or tuck it away for Super Bowl Sunday. It’s just around the corner.
Enjoy, and Happy New Year, friends!
More Party Appetizers You’ll Love
- Shrimp Dip
- Antipasto Skewers
- French Onion Dip from Scratch
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Check out my entire collection of tasty appetizer recipes!
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Cheesy Hot Crab Dip
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounce package cream cheese or Neufchatel (light cream cheese), softened
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup light or regular sour cream
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon grated white onion
- 12 ounces lump crab meat , from 2 6-ounce cans
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning salt, I use Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
- a few shakes of Tabasco, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- crackers, baguette slices, or tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
Oven Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a medium mixing bowl and stir until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and stir again until well combined. Transfer to a small baking dish and transfer to oven.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until browned and bubbly.
- Serve with crackers, baguette slices, or tortilla chips.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add the ingredients to a small (3- to 4-quart) slow cooker, stir to combine, and set it on LOW for 2 hours. It needs to cook until the cream cheese melts completely. Stir the dip and then let it cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
- It should keep well for up to an hour on the KEEP WARM or LOW setting. Be sure to stir it occasionally to prevent it from burning or separating.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Fun Party Food
Is Chicken of the Sea the best brand to use for this recipe? Is this brand’s quality consistently good? Never bought canned crab before. Thanks!
Hi Anastasia. The brand shouldn’t matter much as long as it is lump crab meat. If the can says “white crab meat” or “fancy crab meat” it will be smaller flakes of crab and not best for this recipe. You can also look in the meat section for small containers of fresh lump crab meat but they much more expensive than canned.
This looks amazing. Can i double the recipe and freeze half for a later time?
Hi Donna. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture of cream cheese can change when frozen and thawed.
Wow!!! Yummy! I added a big clove of garlic because we love garlic. And I used a whole pound of canned crab because why not! Soooooo yummy!
Absolutely, why not!!! So glad you loved it and thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
I made this and added red pepper flakes and green onion too! I used seafood seasoning instead of Lawry’s an extra cheese on top absolutely fantastic!
So glad you loved it! Thanks so much for your comment Deb 🙂
Delicious! Thank you! I am fortunate, though. I live on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. So I used Chesapeake Bay blue crab, straight off of the boat.
So lucky! Thanks, John 🙂
My family loves this dip! Whenever there are extra bags of frozen Alaskan king crab my family asks me to make this! Making it again today. I dont use the lemon juice! I’m afraid it will make it too lemony. Am I wrong? Please let me know! Also I dont use the seasoning salt as I dont keep any on hand! This is a great recipe! Thank you!
Hi Char. So glad you’re loving the recipe! Lemon is wonderful with seafood, including crab. I don’t think it makes it too lemony at all, it’s just a nice accent.
This is the second time I have made it. It has become a staple for entertaining.
I loved this recipe!!! I have made it twice now and both times it has been excellent. I left out the onion but added in loads of sliced jalapeños. It’s delicious with Ritz crackers as you suggested! I’m thinking of other variations already, I’ll probably make it without the crab and add loads more jalapeños then use it as a cheesy nacho topping.
I’m making this for a New years afternoon party. I can’t wait to try it.
I hope you love it, Tandra. Happy New Year!
I love u and your recipes
Thanks, Jan. 🙂
Made this recipe for a party today with crawfish tails instead of crab. I used frozen peeled crawfish tail meat that I thawed and squeezed the water out. I added 1 diced jalapeno no seeds. 1/2 tsp lawrys – 1/2 tsp old bay. I grated a 6oz block of sharp cheddar and some fresh grated romano cheese that I had on hand. Used real lemons. It was not spicy, not fishy. I made it in the oven then transferred to a crock pot. Really good when piping hot.
Love what you did with it and so glad it was a hit!
My family thought this was a hit! Will make again on game night! Taste better than my favorite restaurant’s crab dip!
Yay! So glad to hear this, Angela. Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂