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What Are the Different Types of Crab Appetizer?

Lori Kilchermann
Lori Kilchermann

Fresh and canned crab meat can be used to make a variety of appetizers, including crab fritters, crab puffs and crab appetizer Napoleons. Vegetables, including mushrooms, are often combined with crab meat when making appetizers, including crab-stuffed mushrooms. Mayonnaise, English muffins and cream cheese are also often used in crab appetizers, such as crab delights and crabby deviled eggs.

Canned crab meat is featured in several crab appetizer dishes. Appetizer crab pizza features a made-from-scratch crust. It is topped with a combination of cheese, canned crab meat and oregano. Bacon and crab meat wraps feature canned crab meat rolled up in slices of bacon and broiled. They can be served with duck sauce. Other crab appetizer recipes made with canned crab meat include baked stuffed clams, bite-size crab quiches and crab appetizer Napoleons.

Crab can be part of a stuffed mushroom appetizer.
Crab can be part of a stuffed mushroom appetizer.

Baked stuffed clams feature clam shells stuffed with canned crab meat, minced clams and bread crumbs. Bite-size crab quiches are made with refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, canned crab meat and Swiss cheese. Crab appetizer Napoleons combine horseradish, cream cheese and milk atop puffed pastries. They are topped with onions, almonds and paprika.

When making a crab appetizer recipe, it is common to combine the meat with one or more vegetables. Artichoke and crab meat triangles feature quartered English muffins topped with artichoke hearts, crab meat and mayonnaise. Crab and snow pea tartlets feature baked tart shells filled with blanched snow pea pods, mayonnaise and minced celery.

Fresh or canned crab can be used for crab appetizers.
Fresh or canned crab can be used for crab appetizers.

Mayonnaise is a common crab appetizer recipe ingredient. Crab delights feature processed cheese spread, mayonnaise and crab meat on top of English muffins. Crab fritters feature light mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and prepared horseradish. The mixture is stirred in with hush puppy mix before being deep-fried and served with garlic sauce. Crabby deviled eggs are made with mayonnaise combined with sweet pickle relish, prepared mustard and seafood seasoning.

Cream cheese is another common ingredient in many crab appetizer recipes. Crab puffs feature crab meat combined with cream cheese and garlic salt. Crab on a cracker combines cream cheese with crab meat, crushed pineapple and Worcestershire sauce. Mushrooms also are a common component in crab appetizer dishes, such as crab-stuffed mushrooms. Crab with Stilton cheese features fresh mushrooms, white wine and red grapes.

English muffins serve as a base for many crab appetizer recipes. Crabbies feature split English muffins topped with processed cheese spread, cooked crab meat and mayonnaise and then broiled. Crab meat toasts are made with crab meat, butter and mayonnaise piled atop English muffins and then broiled.

Discussion Comments

whiteplane

I love a good crab pizza and it's so easy to prepare. People think that crab appetizers will be expensive and complicated but this is rarely the case it you plan properly.

I love crab pizza because it's such a good idea to begin with and you can vary it in so many interesting ways. Once you put the crab on the sky is the limit. I have tried it with different combinations of veggies, cheeses and herbs and the results are almost always stellar.

nextcorrea

I think that crab dip is the best kind of crab appetizer. You get all the benefits of the delicious crab meat without any of the hassles of trying to eat it out of the shell.

I have a great recipe for it that my mother passed down to me. It calls for fresh crab meat but I have substituted canned and not noticed any huge difference. I make it for almost any gathering that I throw and it's always a hit. I almost never have any leftovers the next day.

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    • Crab can be part of a stuffed mushroom appetizer.
      By: manyakotic
      Crab can be part of a stuffed mushroom appetizer.
    • Fresh or canned crab can be used for crab appetizers.
      By: Gordon Logue
      Fresh or canned crab can be used for crab appetizers.