Crab dip is a dipping sauce made with crabmeat and along with cream cheese, mayonnaise, milk, flavoring ingredients like cayenne pepper, garlic powder, etc and seasonings like salt and pepper. The dip is a delicious accompaniment to raw vegetable dippers or crackers, and adds zest and flavor to these foods. Different versions can easily be made with leftover crab meat and other common kitchen ingredients to pep up any snack time. It is popularly eaten in coastal regions, particularly in Southern United States.
Crab Dip Preparation Overview
Ingredients: Ingredients suggested by the crab dip recipe are crabmeat, cream cheese, mayonnaise, milk, garlic powder, dried cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper. If fresh crab is not easily available, one can use canned crab instead. Some recipes also suggest the addition of chopped onion in the dip.
Method of Preparation: All the ingredients except for the crab are first mixed well, after which, the chopped crab is gently stirred in. It is chilled before serving. Another version is prepared by baking the ingredients together till bubbly.
Serving Suggestions
Crab dip can be served chilled with crackers, chips, toasted bread and raw vegetable dippers like carrots and celery, most often for parties. The dip can also be mixed with pasta to make crab pasta salad.
The baked version of the dip can be served hot in a bread bowl. For this, a circle is cut in the top of a loaf of bread, and the inside is scooped out to make a bread bowl. The removed bread is then torn and baked for a few minutes before serving it along with the dip.
Crab Dip Recipe Variations
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One version of the dip is made by processing together onions and cream cheese in a food processor, and then adding crab meat and processing again. The resultant mixture is baked to prepare the dip.
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A spicy version is prepared by heating cream cheese, then mixing in chopped crab, followed by hot sauce and lime juice. The mixture is heated till bubbly.
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Yet another version of the dish can be made by combining sour cream, mayonnaise, dried dill, lemon juice, grated lemon zest, shallots, Worcestershire sauce and white wine vinegar. The crab meat is folded into this mixture, after which salt and pepper are added as per taste. The dip thus prepared is chilled before serving with crackers or raw vegetables.
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A hot crab dip can be prepared by addition of chili sauce to the regular crab dip ingredients.
Nutritional Information
A single serving of crab dip contains about 198 calories, 11.5g fat and 42mg cholesterol. The dip is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which are found in crabmeat. Omega 3 fatty acids are helpful in improving immunity, lowering blood pressure and reducing risk of heart disease. Crab is also rich in lean protein, and seasoning ingredients are known to aid digestion.