If you are a FAN of Crabs 🦀 then you will love this “ Garlic Butter Spiced Crab Legs” recipe. It takes little time to prepare then BOOM you will be ready to dig in & taste this YUMMY spiced garlicky meat!
What kind of Crabs to use?
Here in the USA: Snow Crab legs, King crab & Dungeness crab are mostly precooked & frozen.
You can choose your favorite Crab legs for this recipe or even mix 2 different kinds. YUM!!😋
Cooking Method: it can be boiled, Steamed, or oven-baked. I like boiling it because it’s easier for me.
I used pre-cooked & frozen Snow Crab, I buy them in bulk or whenever on sale. You can find them at Costco or Sams club.
The Seasoning
I LOVE Old Bay seasoning, it gives this “Garlic Butter Spiced Crab Legs” recipe a KICK! You can always add more seasoning if you want. Just start with 1 teaspoon, taste then add more if desired.
I love this seasoning, it works great with all seafood dishes. Turn it to a whole meal and add some shrimps to this recipe too. YUM 😋!
Do NOT add salt in the water while boiling it, because the seasoning already contains some salt and we are adding a bit of salt at the end.
You don’t have Old Bay seasoning, no problem! Instead you can add this mixture:
- ½ teaspoon celery salt (if not available use regular salt)
- 1 Bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon Allspice
- 2 cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
If some of the spices are missing no worries, just use what’s available home. Sometimes I just use paprika, Garlic powder, Onion powder & Cayenne.
I like serving this as a side dish beside the Seafood Paella
How to make Garlic Butter Spiced Crab Legs
Ingredients
- 1 ½ LBS Snow Crab legs – or Dungeness crab or mixture of both
- ½ cup Butter
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Big Lemon
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons Mixed Parsley & Cilantro for garnish
- 1 Teaspoon Old Bay seasoning taste then increase if desired
Instructions
step 1:
- Bring 3 ½ inches of water to a boil, in a large deep pan over medium heat.
- Add lemons, then place the crab legs in the pot and cover.
- Wait 6-8 minutes. (that’s for pre-cooked Snow Crab, if it's raw then cook it for 12-14 minutes or until fully cooked)
- Drain the snow crab, put aside, and cover to keep warm.
step 2:
- In a clean same size pan, add butter.
- Once melted right away add the garlic, salt, seasoning & add lemon slices. Stir for a 1 minute.
- Then return the snow crab legs and toss to coat with the sauce.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side and garnish with the (parsley & cilantro). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Make sure you don’t overcook it or it will make the texture tougher.
- I used pre-cooked snow crab in this recipe. You can use raw crab but it will take a longer time for about 12-14 minutes or until fully cooked.
- You can add shrimps with them too since they cook fast or even use the precooked shrimp.
- You can add less or more Garlic if you want, I love garlic so I added 3 cloves
I like Mediterranean cuisine 😋 yum