This Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe looks fancy but is simple to make, healthy, and perfect for everything from a holiday appetizer to a family dinner. This restaurant-quality dinner comes with a handful of ingredients like fresh shrimp, lump crab meat, garlic, lemon, old bay, panko, and cream cheese. With little filler, these fun shrimp appetizers are baked to perfection, sure to impress your guests.
Love healthy crab dishes? Also try my Crab Deviled Eggs, Crab Cake Sandwich, or Crab Stuffed Mushrooms.
Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe
This Crab-Stuffed Shrimp recipe is simply a showstopper. Whether you serve it as an appetizer or a main course, these healthy baked shrimp are sure to wow your friends and family. But don't let the fussy presentation fool you; these are actually pretty simple to make at home with easy-to-find ingredients.
The shrimp and crabmeat are the stars of this show and the main ingredients. The simple crab cake filling is seasoned with garlic, onion powder, lemon juice, old bay, and mustard. They are simply held together with cream cheese and a touch of mustard. My version is healthier than most! This recipe doesn't have mayonnaise and it's oven-baked instead of fried.
Serve them by themselves or with my Cajun Remoulaude Sauce for dipping. You can't go wrong with the bursting seafood flavors and tender taste of these shrimp. They are delicious!
These shrimp are also super versatile and can be served as a Christmas appetizer or as a dinner with sides. Either way they are absolutely delicious and will remind you of your favorite seafood restaurant.
Crab Stuffed Shrimp from Running in a Skirt Share on X
Why You'll Love this Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe...
- These Crab Stuffed Shrimp are bursting with seafood flavor!
- They look fancy but are easy to make. It takes a bit of time to assemble the shrimp, but it's not hard.
- My recipe is healthier without butter or mayonnaise.
- They are seasoned with old bay and lemon, which is a winning combination.
- They are less than 200 calories per serving.
- It's a great way to impress your guests with a restaurant-quality dish at home!
Ingredients:
Here's an overview of what you'll need to make this Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe, but keep scrolling for the full recipe amounts.
- Shrimp: Small shrimp will not work for Crab Stuffed Shrimp! You need to get the jumbo shrimp or colossal shrimp with the peel on, so you can peel them and leave the tail on. Jumbo has 16-20 shrimp per pound and colossal have 10-15 shrimp per pound, which are larger. Colassal can be hard to get, so jumbo is find is that's all your store has.
- Crab Meat: The other main ingredient is real crab meat. I like to use jumbo crab meat for this. Claw crab meat can also work. Look for crab meat in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. You'll either find fresh crab meat or refrigerated canned crab meat there. Look for one that is hand-picked or fresh-picked so it doesn't have shells. You'll still want to look over your crab meat to make sure they didn't miss anything.
- Egg: One beaten large egg is needed to hold the crab holds these beauties together.
- Garlic: I used minced garlic to get lots of fresh garlic flavor into these stuffed shrimp.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon pairs perfectly with crab and shrimp. You will need a tablespoon to add to the crab mixture, save the rest for seasoning the shrimp and garnish.
- Mustard: Dijon mustard serves as a bit of moisture to keep the crab stuffing together.
- Parsley: I love adding fresh parsley! It really bring green color to the plate. It's also a lovely garnish.
- Whipped Cream Cheese: Whipped Cream Cheese is my secret ingredient to give the crab stuffing lots of yummy flavor and give it all a good way to stick together. I like to use that instead of mayonnaise. I also like the use the whipped because it's lighter and mixes better with the crab meat because it's easier to stir.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: I use just ¼ cup of panko breadcrumbs to get that crab stuffing texture without really counting as a filling.
- Old Bay Seasoning: I love using old bay with any shrimp or crab dish. It's the perfect blend of spices that matches seafood.
- Onion: A bit of dried onion powder really makes the flavors pop.
- Salt and Black Pepper: The crab stuffing doesn't need extra salt, but I do like to season my shrimp with salt and pepper.
Sauce Options:
These are great plain, or serve them with a sauce or dip. My remoulade sauce is the classic choice, but all of these options would taste great to mix it up.
- Greek Yogurt Cajun Remoulade Sauce
- Homemade Tzatziki Sauce
- Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing
- Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Avocado Lime Creamy Dressing
- Melted Butter
Instructions:
This is an overview of the instructions to make this Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe, but the full detailed printable recipe is below in the recipe card.
Step One: Prepare the Shrimp
- Remove the shell of the shrimp, leaving the tail of the shrimp on for presentation.
- First you will devein the shrimp by taking a sharp paring knife make a small cut to remove the vein on the back. Pull he vein out of the shrimp.
- Next, you need to butterfly the shrimp's by making a deeper cut and butterfly the back of the shrimp by cutting down the middle of the shrimp but not all the way through. This should allow the shrimp to sit flat for stuffing.
- Repeat until all your shrimp are butterflied.
Step Two: Prepare the Crab Stuffng:
- In a large bowl, mix the beaten egg, minced garlic, onion powder, lemon juice, old bay, mustard, parsley, and whipped cream cheese. Add the panko last.
- Carefully fold in the crab meat, being careful not to break up the peices.
Step Three: Assemble the Crab Stuffed Shrimp:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. For easy clean up you can line it with parchment paper.
- Carefully place the butterflied shrimp on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Carefully take about 1 tablespoon of the crab mixture and form it into a ball. Add the crab to each shrimp, carefully wraping the tail around the crab stuffing. Press the tail down, so it sticks.
- Repeat with all of the shrimp, laying them flat on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and the crab meat starts to brown. Do not overcook or the shrimp will be tough. If the shrinmp is opaque, it is done.
Variations
I love this Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe recipe as written, but here are some fun variations.
- Make it Spicy: To make these spicy use add some of your favorite hot sauce or red pepper flakes to the crab stuffing mixture.
- Make the Cajun: Instead of using Old Bay, use my Homemade Cajun Seasoning.
- Make it Ritz Crackers: Instead of panko breadcrumbs, you can use crumbled ritz cracker crumbs. It gives the stuffing a richer, more buttery flavor. Many restauarnts use this.
- Make them Gluten Free: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs to make them gluten-free.
- Make them in the Air Fryer: Preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees and cook in batches for around 8 minutes.
FAQ
Storage & Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They are best enjoyed fresh, but you can reheat them in the microwave or oven.
Freezing
Since your shrimp have most likely already been frozen, this is not a good dish to try to refreeze.
Make Ahead
You can prepare the entire stuffed shrinmp reciipe ahead of time, including making the stuffing and actually stuffind the shrimp. Store the raw shrimp, covered in the fridge for up to a day ahead of time. When you are ready for you party, you can bake the shrimp fresh.
These Crab Stuffed Shrimp are So Tasty!
These crab stuffed shrimp are perfect for seafood lovers. This is a fancy enough dish to impress at any occasion including Christmas and New Year's too. I love how these are lighted up some, with no mayo and lots of fresh ingredients. Plus you can't beat that these are a baked stuffed shrimp recipe, not fried.
My family, includig the twins, gobbled these up and asked for more.
Serve them as a simple appetizer or as part of meal with some of the sides below.
Serve it With:
- Garlic Green Beans
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Broccoli and Mushrooms
- Lemon Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
- Kale Ceasar Salad
- Mediterranean Roast Vegetables
- Herb and Garlic Roasted Baby Potatoes
- Arugula and Pear Salad
More Crab Dishes to Try:
- Healthy Crab Cakes
- Crab Cake Sandwich
- Crab Deviled Eggs
- Healthy Baked Crab Dip
- Crab Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
- Crab Pasta Salad
More Shrimp Dishes to Try:
If you make this Healthy Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw shrimp, jumbo or colassal
- 8 ounces crab meat, lump or claw
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon old bay
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 tablespon parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup whipped cream cheese
- ¼ cup panko
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Shrimp:
- Remove the shell of the shrimp, leaving the tail of the shrimp on for presentation.
- Next, take a sharp paring knife make a small cut to remove the vein on the back. Pull he vein out of the shrimp. Then make a deeper cut and butterfly the back of the shrimp by cutting down the middle of the shrimp but not all the way through. This should allow the shrimp to sit flat for stuffing.
Prepare the Crab Stuffng:
- In a medium bowl, mix the beaten egg, minced garlic, onion powder, lemon juice, old bay, mustard, parsley, and whipped cream cheese. Add the panko last.
- Carefully fold in the crab meat, being careful not to break up the peices.
Assemble the Crab Stuffed Shrimp:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Carefully place the butterflied shrimp on the baking sheet. Sprinkel the shrimp with salt and pepper and lemon juice.
- Carefully take about 1 tablespoon of the crab mixture and form it into a ball. Add the crab to each shrimp, carefully wraping the tail around the crab stuffing. Press the tail down, so it sticks.
- Repeat with all of the shrimp, laying them flat on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and the crab meat starts to brown. Do not overcook or the shrimp will be tough.
Notes
Nutrition
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