A traditional crab imperial recipe starts with jumbo lump crabmeat, is topped with Parmesan cheese, and then baked in the oven until golden brown. It looks and tastes fancy, but the easy dish requires just 10 minutes of prep!
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I’m originally from Virginia…boy, did this bring back memories. This recipe is AMAZING. I’ll be making this for every special occasion. It can’t be beat.
– Angela
How to Make Crab Imperial | 1-Minute Video
Those of us raised in the Maryland, Virginia, and the southeast are very familiar with the wonder of blue crabs. The Chesapeake Bay, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and the Tidewater region of Virginia are full of the popular shellfish, so dishes like crab cakes, crab melts, and crab imperial are practically a way of life. These favorite recipes have become part of the local culture, and most home cooks have their own preferred version.
Crab Imperial is a classic American dish made with blue crabmeat that has been combined with mayonnaise or a sherried white sauce, and spooned into blue crab shells, scallop shells, or individual ramekins. The crab mixture is topped with Parmesan cheese or bread crumbs and baked to golden brown perfection.
What to Know Before You Get Started
- Crab imperial tastes sweet and savory, and is very similar to crab cakes without the filler. As a result, crab imperial tastes like a baked crab cake in a casserole dish! There’s no filler necessary, so we’re not adding breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs to bulk up the recipe. Instead, each individual serving is bursting with lump crabmeat in a creamy, delicately seasoned sauce.
- Jumbo lump crab meat works best for this crab imperial recipe. While it’s also the most expensive crab that you can purchase, it’s well worth the investment for special occasions. Nothing else has the same rich, buttery texture, bright white appearance, and large chunks. I buy refrigerated jumbo lump crab meat in the seafood section at the grocery store. This crab meat is fully cooked and ready to use in recipes.
- If available, use a wedge of Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself instead of using canned pre-grated Parmesan cheese. The freshly-grated version has a richer taste and melts better.
- Use the crab imperial as stuffing for shrimp, salmon, or flounder. This is another great way to stretch the flavor of the pricey crab.
Serving Suggestions
Crab Imperial is served as both an appetizer and as an entree, and is best warm from the oven. Since crabmeat is expensive, serving smaller portions as appetizers in scallop shells can be a nice way to stretch the quantity that you have. Offer crackers, baguette slices, or crusty bread for scooping. It’s like a hot crab dip!
This Crab imperial recipe also makes a great special occasion dinner. A little bit goes a long way (thanks to all of those rich ingredients), so a small 8-ounce ramekin should feed one person. Serve the creamy dish with lemon wedges or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a bright, acidic contrast. Chopped fresh parsley or sliced green onion are also classic finishing touches. On the side, offer a simple green salad with red wine vinegar dressing, house salad with candied pecans, vinegar coleslaw, or sauteed spinach with garlic. To round out the meal, you might like Charleston red rice, buttermilk biscuits, or a pan of Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: You can prepare the Crab Imperial up to 1 day in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Allow the dishes to come to room temperature on the counter for at least 30 minutes before baking. It’s perfect for entertaining!
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
- Do not freeze crab imperial. The creamy mayonnaise mixture will “break” when thawed.
- How to Reheat: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the dish in the hot oven and bake just until the dish is warmed through (about 10 minutes).
Fabulous. I am a crab cake snob. But I’ll never bother with them again. I did not do the red pepper or onion and upped the Worcestershire and added 1/4 tsp cayenne. Followed the rest of the recipe and was totally wowed!
– Buzzer
More Crab Meat Recipes to Try
Classic crab recipes that every crab-lover will enjoy!
Maryland Crab Cakes
1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Crab Dip Recipe
10 minutes mins
Crab Bisque Recipe
40 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
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Watch How to Make It
Crab Imperial
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely diced onion
- ¾ cup mayonnaise, divided
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat (or see my notes below for substitutions)
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 4 (8-ounce) ramekins or one (1-quart) casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and onion; sauté until soft (about 5 minutes). Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, egg, pepper and Old Bay seasoning. Stir in the cooled vegetables. Add the crab and gently fold to mix, being careful not to break up the crab.
- Divide the mixture among the 4 prepared dishes. Use the remaining ¼ cup of mayonnaise to spread about 1 tablespoon on top of each dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition
Crab Imperial Recipe Variations
- I prefer jumbo lump crab meat for this recipe, but you can also use lump crab meat (which is a little bit smaller than the jumbo lump) or even backfin crab meat (or a combination of these). I do not recommend using canned crab, claw crab meat, or imitation crab meat for this recipe. Readers have reported that Dungeness crab also works well.
- If you don’t have individual ramekin dishes, you can substitute with one 1-quart baking dish.
- Cooking Just for Two? Cut all of the ingredients in half and bake two portions of the recipe instead of 4. The rest of the instructions remain the same.
- Many crab meat recipes call for sherry, which I do not include here. If you like, you can add a splash of sherry to your mayonnaise mixture.
- Instead of Dijon mustard, add a dash of dry mustard to the crab mixture.
- Make it spicy by adding a dash of cayenne pepper to the sauce.
This recipe was originally published in July, 2020. It was updated in December, 2024.
Entirely too liquidy and salty. It feels like it’s missing a key ingredient
I’m sorry to hear that, Jamie. We’ve never had that complaint before. Did you accidentally omit the egg? That helps it set up. Otherwise, there’s nothing that should water down the ingredients, since you saute the veggies in a skillet first. Again, sorry that it wasn’t a success for you.
Had a package of frozen rock crab meat and made this recipe. It was soooo good! Family gave it two thumbs up and we’ll be making it again. For health reasons we had to skip the second dollop of mayo that goes on top (too much fat for a family member with issues) and instead sprinkled with some cracker crumbs. We used shredded gouda instead of parmesan because we didn’t have any parmesan in the house but the gouda still worked out. There was a little left over which ended up being even better the next day. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Hi, Connie! I’m so glad to hear that it was a hit, and that you were able to make it work for you. Thanks for your note!
I love southern food and seafood.
Me too, Mary Lou! 🙂
So delicious! I used Dungeness crab and baked it into halved spaghetti squash instead of ramekins. I will definitely be making this again and again.
Sounds delicious, Tara. Thank you for letting me know!