Creamy Hot Stove-Top Crab Dip for the Oven-Less
Enjoy this stove top hot crab dip for holidays, game day or weekend parties! It’s the perfect stovetop crab dip recipe that doesn’t require the oven.
Hot Crab Dip Recipe
I’m often impatient in the kitchen when it comes to having to use the oven to bake a simple dish. Just the thought of having to pre-heat the oven makes me cringe at the waste of time and energy it takes to create a simple meal. It’s a relief for me to be able to adapt a dish that is traditionally baked in the oven to be cooked on the stove. I just love cooking on top of fire, like the way the cavemen did it long ago.
But trust me, not all oven baked dishes can be adapted to the stove top. I’ve tried and failed on a number of occasions because the slow baked and crust inspired result of certain dishes just can’t be duplicated on the stove top, otherwise known as — Stovetop Fail. Some dishes just need to stay in the oven. And I will absolutely respect that! But it doesn’t mean that I won’t continue trying.
Slowly brown onions and add crab meat. Extra touches of fresh parmesan cheese, fresh lemon juice and mayo make this extra special.
Can you Make this Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can certainly make this ahead of time. Then when you’re ready to serve, just warm the dip on the stove until everything is melty and combined. If you have any leftover crab dip, just store it in an air tight container.
Secret for Stove Top Recipe for Crab Dip
Why is stove top crab dip recipe so good? Simply said, it’s the browning of the onions and crabmeat. Slowly cooking the onions to a caramel and then adding the crab meat creates a deadly combination of flavor that can’t be duplicated in the oven. That’s it. It’s not rocket science to imagine the flavors of the browned onions and lump crab meat. Add a few pleasant dollops of mayo and fresh parmesan cheese, you’ve got yourself a quick and easy stovetop dip to feed to the hungry masses. They’ll applaud you till the last bit of rich decadance is swiped off the bowl.
This bubbly hot stovetop crab dip is especially appreciated on those sweltering hot days when you don’t want to turn on the oven, but are still craving a creamy hot and cheesy appetizer. So there’s another great reason to go oven-less.
Live love life. Eat more cheesy dips.
diane
Creamy Hot Crab Dip on the Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) oil
- 1 cup (160 g) diced onion (about 1 small onion)
- 8 ounces (227 g) lump crab meat , drained (or more crab to preference)
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) fresh lemon juice , or to taste
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper , or to taste
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese (softened)(1 package)
- 1 cup (100 g) freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
Instructions
- Heat skillet on medium heat. Add oil and onion. Slowly cook onion until soft, slightly brown and fragrant. Continue to caramelize the onions if you like, but don't let them burn.
- Turn heat to low, add the crab, and gently stir the crab into the onions. Cook for about 1 minute.
- Add Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, black pepper, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and mayonnaise. Gently stir until all the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cook for about 5 minutes or until all ingredients are melted and combined well.
- Taste for seasoning and add extra lemon juice or other seasonings if desired. Make sure you have a plentiful amount of black pepper. Serve the dip hot with crackers, chips or crusty bread.
Nutrition Information per Serving
More Easy Stove Top Recipes
Aside from a few of my failed attempts, I’ve had some gratifying stove top triumphs, like my stove top macaroni and cheese recipe and stove top spinach dip. Now adding to my short and sweet list of stove top gluttony is this creamy hot crab dip.
- Stove Top cheesy corn dip recipe
- More easy dip recipes
- this recipe was originally published in 2010
I just discovered your blog. Absolutely loving it! Can’t wait to try all these recipes. Beautiful photos, too.
Which Saints? Oh, those Saints. Heh heh. Carry on ๐ You can’t go wrong with crab and onions and cheese! Maybe if you let it brown a little on the bottom and then flipped it over… no? ๐
Manggy- YES! but we couldn’t wait to dig into it, so there was nothing left to flip over. Next time!
Oh, lovely dip recipe. But I’m not sure I can easily get a crab meat in London. I will have a look though, as this looks truly delicious!
Sarka – The dip can be made without the crab if you are unable to find canned crab meet. To keep it more of an onion dip, just use 2 cups of minced onions instead of 1 cup. Or just replace the crab with one cup of chopped artichoke hearts or thawed, frozen spinach.
What a great idea! And I love it that the ingredients are typical pantry items for me (i.e., no need to wait for crab season).
All my favorite hot dips have mayo and parm. But on the stove top?! Perfect.
Yum – looks delicious! Quick photography question – when you pull together three photos to demonstrate a step like you’ve used in this post, are you doing that within you blog post software, or have you put them together in photoshop or something before you import them? Any tips on that would be greatly appreciated!
Michele- we put the collage together through photoshop. We’re not aware of any convenient plug-in or software that can do this. Maybe someone here knows. Any suggestions anyone?
This is fabulous; definitely game time material.
I use the toaster oven for all these small dishes, and only turn on the big ovens when a 1/4 sheet pan won’t fit the meal (or I need 2). Not much use for broiling unless I splurge and get the Breville ($$$), but that’s OK.
Yogi- using the toaster oven is a great idea to cook small dishes like these. Better yet, it’s very energy efficient! We don’t own an toaster oven, but maybe it’s time to get one.
I love crab dip. Thanks for the recipe!
I have been drooling over tiny cast iron ramekins for months now…with a delicious crab dip inside, you’re killing me! This sounds awesome and a perfect use for canned lump crab meat, one of the few seafood items I can actually find around here!
Phoo-D – I bought those cast iron ramekins at Ross discount stores a long time ago. I haven’t seen them since, although I did see some similar style ones at Sur La Table for about $6 each. Try checking them at SLT online?
at first i thought your cast iron dishes were full size…and thought boy, that is a lot of crab dip! ha!
this looks delicious and a perfect thing to serve to friends!
love your blog!
P.S. I love your cast iron ramekins.
Vicoria- Yay, you’re drinking ltos of the sidecar fizz! and those littel cast iron ramekins are cute, aren’t they? I bought them as Ross discounts stores for only $5. Love a great deal.
Hey, Diane,
This sounds good. I’ll have to give it a try. After all, you are the couple that brought us the Sidecar Fizz, which has turned into a regular Saturday night cocktail at the farm.
Upstate we have no air conditioning because it’s in the mountains and with rare exception is usually cool in the summer. When we redid the mudroom, which is right off the kitchen, I put an electric Bosch oven in. Everyone thought I was crazy, but it has turned out to be a blessing in the summer when I don’t want to heat up the kitchen, and I want to bake something in the oven. I just use the oven “around the corner.” Plus the Bosch is electric, and the kitchen oven is a gas Wolf, so I tend to bake cakes in the mudroom all the time.
Thanks for all the great recipes and concoctions!
What lovely photos. This looks mighty worthy of those calories! Yum!
It is so calorie deadly……if you can’t stop eating it, but sure sounds dalishus! Now to keep the recipe on file . Thanks.
great idea for the up coming game!
Ravenouscouple- yup, go Saints!
A georgous dish & so tasty looking!!
I am following your blog since ages , but now I will be commenting a lot because you 2 inspire me in my cooking all of the time!!
You have a COOL foodblog!