Jalapeno Crab Dip is a deliciously cheesy baked dip, served warm, with a little kick from jalapenos and hot sauce.
My sister-in-law makes this wonderful dip for every Thanksgiving get-together. This year we didn’t travel to her home this year and I sure missed the dip. Mostly missed visiting with the family, but missed this dip, too!
The original recipe is an old one from Emeril Lagasse’s Everyday is A Party Cookbook and I’ve adapted it a little more towards our tastes (i.e., less salty and less spicy).
The ingredients are easy to get ahold of locally and the end result is a wonderful party dip. Cheesy, warm, and oh, so good with your favorite crackers or croutons.
A Few Tips I’ve Learned Along the Way:
- You can use fresh lump crab meat or canned. I use canned – be sure it says ‘lump crab meat’ on the can instead of the shredded crab meat. It makes a nicer dip.
- Kick up the heat – the original crab dip recipe calls for 1/2 cup of pickled jalapenos. I like hot and spicy, but this was too much for me. You can experiment with heat level to your tastes.
- Use Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese – it has a different flavor and slightly different texture than Parmesan and works great in this recipe. You can find it in your local grocery’s deli or cheese section.
- This dip is so flavorful, you’ll want to use crackers that are on the plain side so they won’t clash with the dip flavor.
The part I like best about the dip is the crusty brown outer edge. That Parmigiano-Reggiano gets crisp and chewy around the edges and is great!
It’s hard to find a good appetizer that you can serve at room temperature – seems like they all need to be served while warm. That’s kind of tricky when you’re transporting the appetizer and it cools off before people get a chance to enjoy it.
This Jalapeno Crab Dip is best served warm, but is OK cooled off a bit, too. This will be a good New Year’s eve appetizer or a quick fix for the Super Bowl.
It’s really hard to stop eating this delicious, substantial dip!
Jalapeno Crab Dip
Delicious cheesy crab dip, served warm, with a bit of a kick.
Ingredients
- 2 cans (6 oz each) lump crab meat
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 C chopped pickled jalapenos
- 1/4 lb Monterey Jack cheese with jalapenos, grated
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 C mayonnaise
- 2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
- Various crackers for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Combine the crab meat, garlic, jalapenos, Monterey Jack, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt, and mayonnaise in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir to completely combine.
- Pour the crab mixture into a 8 to 9" pie plate and sprinkle the Parmigiano evenly on top.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
This is an old Emeril Lagasse recipe that I adapted just a bit - the original amount of jalapeno was 1/2 cup, but I found it way too spicy (and I like spicy).
Original recipe calls for 1 pound of lump crab meat. You can use fresh or canned - I chose to use two 6 oz. cans of lump crabmeat.
I also cut the salt from 1/2 teaspoon to 1/8 teaspoon.
I use Cholula for the hot sauce - it's very flavorful. You could also use Tabasco.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 tbspAmount Per Serving: Calories: 82Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g
Nutrition Values are Approximate