Tasty hot crab dip appetizer with lump crab meat, cream cheese, mayo, and seasonings.
My friend and neighbor Molly passed along her mother’s recipe for crab fondue the other day. It’s a tradition in her family to prepare this hot crab dip while everyone is gathered for the holidays.
Garrett and I whipped up a batch recently, adding wine, onion greens, and more spice to the original recipe.
As Molly says, it’s “totally addictive”! Good for gatherings on cold winter days.
Crab Fondue Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
We also peeled and chopped up bosc pears to use for dipping in this recipe. If you are avoiding wine, just use water to get to desired consistency.
Ingredients
- 18 ounces (3 6-oz packages) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon mustard (yellow or Dijon)
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar (or 1 Tbsp cornstarch if you want to skip the sugar)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons (or more to taste) Old Bay seasoning (or paprika with a little ground ginger and cayenne)
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup dry white wine or dry sherry (optional)
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3/4 pound to 1 pound of lump crab meat, fresh or canned
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion greens, chives, or parsley
- Day old French or Italian loaf bread (best not fresh or will fall apart when dipped), cubed into 1-inch cubes
Method
1 Make fondue base: Slowly heat the cream cheese, mayonnaise, powdered sugar, garlic powder, Old Bay, lemon zest, and mustard in a double boiler until the cheese is completely melted.
(If you don’t have a double boiler, fill a saucepan a third of the way with water and bring to a boil, place a metal bowl over the saucepan. This will work as a double boiler.)
2 Stir in the wine, lemon juice, crab, and onion greens: Slowly stir in the wine and lemon juice (adjust quantities to taste and desired consistency). Slowly stir in the crab meat and onion greens.
3 Transfer to chafing dish or fondue pot: To serve, transfer to a heated chafing dish or fondue pot to keep warm.
Serve with bread cubes and forks for dipping.
