Mom's Best Holiday Crab Dip recipe is an easy 10-minute appetizer that can be served hot or cold. With cream cheese and mayonnaise, the decadent, perfectly seasoned snack is loaded with big chunks of tender, buttery crabmeat for a crowd-pleasing treat!
Simple is always best when entertaining, so you're going to want to hold onto this recipe because I guarantee that it will come in handy VERY soon!
Why This Recipe Works:
- This crab dip is just one of those great easy appetizers that's appropriate year-round -- hot or cold -- and it disappears in a flash.
- You can prep the dip in advance and just pull it out when your guests arrive.
- It's quick to stir together, and it's absolutely perfect with a glass of wine, a cold beer, or a fancy champagne cocktail on New Year's Eve!
HOW TO MAKE CRAB DIP COLD:
As I mentioned above, Mom's best crab dip recipe can be served hot or cold! Let's start with the cold dish, and I'll give you directions for heating it up in just a minute...
In addition to the high-quality jumbo lump crab meat (or claw meat, if necessary), the base of this crab dip starts with cream cheese. Don't all good dips start with cream cheese?!
For the cold crab dip, it's really just a two-step process. First, use an electric mixer to blend together cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, onion, garlic powder, and salt.
Then just fold in the parsley and the crab meat. Cover and refrigerate the dip until your guests arrive!
HOW TO MAKE CRAB DIP HOT:
If you want to serve a hot crab dip for a cozy snack on a chilly day, transfer the dip to an oven-safe dish and bake at 350 degrees F until bubbly and heated through (about 15-20 minutes).
How long is crab dip good for in the refrigerator?
Properly stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, your crab dip will stay fresh for about 3-5 days. After that, I'd toss it!
COOK'S TIPS:
- Make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature before you try to prepare this easy crab dip recipe. This will ensure that all of your ingredients blend smoothly together.
- To quickly bring cream cheese to room temperature, you can:
- Remove cream cheese from packaging, cut it into small cubes, and allow the cream cheese to sit out on a plate for 15-20 minutes; OR
- Remove cream cheese from packaging and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave in 10-second increments, flipping the cream cheese over after each 10-minute segment, for a total of about 30 seconds (or until the cream cheese softens). Be careful that you don't completely melt the cream cheese!
- Use an electric mixer instead of a simple whisk. The electric mixer makes the base of the dip nice and smooth.
- Use high-quality crab meat. My mom always splurged on jumbo lump crab meat for holidays! Sometimes I'm not able to find the pricey jumbo lump crab meat at my little rural grocery store, though. In that case, the refrigerated claw meat is a good substitute.
Looking for other great crab dishes? Try these:
Mom's Best Holiday Crab Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 16 ounces jumbo lump or claw crabmeat drained
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to blend together cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, onion, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Fold in parsley and crab meat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- This dip can be served hot or cold. For a warm dip, place in an oven-safe dish and bake at 350 degrees F until bubbly and heated through.
Notes
COOK'S TIPS:
- Make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature before you try to prepare this easy crab dip recipe. This will ensure that all of your ingredients blend smoothly together.
- To quickly bring cream cheese to room temperature, you can:
- Remove cream cheese from packaging, cut it into small cubes, and allow the cream cheese to sit out on a plate for 15-20 minutes; OR
- Remove cream cheese from packaging and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave in 10-second increments, flipping the cream cheese over after each 10-minute segment, for a total of about 30 seconds (or until the cream cheese softens). Be careful that you don't completely melt the cream cheese!
- Use an electric mixer instead of a simple whisk. The electric mixer makes the base of the crab dip nice and smooth.
- Use high-quality crab meat. My mom always splurged on jumbo lump crab meat for holidays! Sometimes I'm not able to find the pricey jumbo lump crab meat at my little rural grocery store, though. In that case, the refrigerated claw meat is a good substitute.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in December, 2015. It was updated in October, 2018.
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Crab dips always remind me of my Grandma, and she used to make something similar when I was younger. This dip looks fantastic, Blair! I love that it can be served hot or cold. I would devour this in no time!
Yes, Gayle! Crab dips are such a classic, right?! I'm taking this one to a holiday party with the girls tomorrow night!
Great post and I love that you found this in cards your mom gave you. I've actually taken photographs of mom and Nanny's recipe cards so I could have them digitally in their handwriting. Thanks for the post and for sharing your family recipe!
Thanks so much, Shelby! Aren't old family recipes THE BEST?
I would love to make this for my family Christmas dinner. What would be the best way to make this enough for 25 people? Thanks!
Hi, ak! That's great -- I'm so glad that you'll give it a try! It obviously depends on how much dip each person eats, but I think you would be safe if you double or triple the recipe. For instance, use 3 packages of cream cheese, 1 cup of mayonnaise, 3 teaspoons of Dijon...etc. Does that make sense? Enjoy!
Question....have you ever made it and froze it until ready to heat and eat? Would love to make and take on a sailing trip to the Caribbean. There will be 8 of us and it would make a fantastic appetizer
Hi, Jill! No, I have never frozen it. I make it ahead and keep it in the refrigerator, which works really well, but I'm not sure what the texture would be like if you freeze/thaw it. Your trip sounds wonderful!!!
Sounds yummy! Do you use fresh crabmeat or imitation?
Hey, Crystal! I splurge and use the fresh crabmeat. It's not cheap, but it's SO worth it for a special occasion!
What kind of seasoned salt do you use?
Hi, Allison! I always buy Lawry's Seasoned Salt. 🙂
How can you splurge for fresh crab meat when the pictures show canned crab? I live in the midwest and we are limited, so we either pay an arm or.leg or half an arm or leg. But ive never seen ""Fresh Canned Crab."
I meant splurging on the refrigerated cans of lump crab meat that you can find in the seafood section near the fish (rather than the inexpensive cans of other crab parts that you can find near the tuna fish in the canned goods section). Hope that helps to clarify. 🙂
Hello Blair! This looks fabulous and I’d like to make it for a New Year’s Eve gathering. I’ll be serving it cold. Do I need to let this sit out for a while to make it easy to spread? Thanks for posting!
Hi, Clare! You should be able to spread it straight from the fridge, but it will definitely soften nicely as it sits out. I wouldn't worry about it too much -- it can't hurt to give it about 20 minutes to warm up on the counter (if possible), but it's not a huge problem if you don't have that extra time. 🙂
Tried this and it was outstanding and makes a huge bowl of dip. With about half left over I mashed it into small cakes and made fried crab cakes out of the rest the next day. Delicious!
That's such a great idea for using up the leftovers, Bill! I'll have to remember the crab cakes! 🙂
What a clever idea! That sounds wonderful.
I made this tonight, it’s actually chilling in the fridge now. I added a pinch of Old Bay in addition to the Lawry’s. It tasted pretty good and I’m hoping that it will become even more flavorful as it chills. I’m
Hoping it will be a hit at a NYE gathering tonight. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Enjoy, Mia! I'm making a batch tomorrow for a New Year's Day party, too. It always goes fast at a party! 🙂
Do you cook the crabmeat before adding it to the other ingredients? (Cold dip)
Hi, Sue! Nope, you don't need to cook it first. 🙂
I love your meals
Thank you, Quita! That makes me so happy to hear!
i think using old bay seasoning instead of seasoned salt is a better ides
I have never used parsley in a recipe before. Is it regular parsley or Italian parsley you use? This looks delicious!
I actually use both. Normally I'll use flat leaf Italian parsley in a recipe, but I often garnish with curly leaf parsley. Either is fine -- it's just a matter of personal preference. Enjoy! 🙂
This delicious crab dip was ready in no time. And 5 of us devoured it. Quick, easy and delicious!
That's wonderful, Carol! Thank you for letting me know. So glad that you enjoyed it!
I made this crab dip several times for family and friends over the last few years and everyone Has loved it. We’ve had it hot and cold. It never lasts very long. Last month we had a crawfish boil and had a bunch leftover. So I substituted the crab with crawfish. It turned out awesome. So naturally I tried chopped shrimp from the boil and again the dip turned out great. Spices from the boil really added a kick. I think I see a combination of crab, crawfish and shrimp in the near future. Thanks for the great recipe.
I love the idea of the combination of shellfish in the dip. Your twists on the original sound delicious, Alan! Thanks for taking the time to come back here and leave a note. 🙂
Could I toss in some shredded cheese?
Absolutely! The more cheese, the merrier. 🙂
Super quick and delicious. Added some finely chopped red bell pepper for color and texture. Thanks for sharing this delightful recipe!
Thanks, Alicia! I'm so glad that it was a hit! 🙂
Instead of cream cheese could I use sour cream !
Hi, Maureen! Sour cream has a very different flavor than cream cheese, as well as a thinner texture. Yes, you can make that substitute, but the dip will not be the same and won't have that same cheesy flavor.
How many days in advance do you think you could make this? I am thinking that the flavours would meld the longer in the frig
Hi, Vicki! Yes -- you can definitely make this 1-2 days in advance. Hope you enjoy!