My Quick and Easy Crab Melts are seriously delicious and oh so versatile. They are great for a light lunch or brunch with some chips (crisps) or a salad, or you can cut them into small slices or squares and serve as appetizers, on a buffet, or at a cocktail party. I serve them a lot during the holiday season. Perfect for warmer days when you don’t want to have the stove going for too long, in cooler weather these Crab Melts are a tasty accompaniment to a warming bowl of soup.
Crab Melts are really satisfying with the crab meat and cheese; I serve half a slice of French bread or ciabatta per person. You can also make crab melts on toasted sliced bread. Of course, you can easily double or triple the recipe to serve more people. I use Seafood and Eat It white crab meat (not sponsored, just saying!), ready prepared in a little pot from the grocery store. It’s expensive, but a little goes a long way. You can also use canned white crab meat as a more frugal option.
Crab Meat Is Nutritious
Crab meat is relatively low in calories and very high in protein, vitamins and minerals. If I’m just making a crab melt for myself, I use wholegrain bread with chia seeds, or a nice sourdough rye bread to make it more nutritious, and I just use one slice of cheese. It’s still a treat, but it’s a relatively healthy one.
Love crab as much as I do? Check out these easy Crab Recipes!
You can use this cheese topped crab mixture on just about anything. I can’t get Triscuits here in the UK but I’d love to put a teaspoon of the crab mixture on top of several of them, top with cheese, grill and serve as tiny crab melts canapés.
Whether you serve crab melts as a light lunch, canapés or as part of a buffet, you will love how easy and delicious this recipe is!
How to Make Crab Melts
Put the French bread or ciabatta bread halves in the oven on a baking sheet at about 350°F (175°C) or under the broiler or grill for five minutes or until they are beginning to take on a bit of colour.
Meanwhile, mix the crab meat with the mustard, red pepper and celery. Add crème fraîche or sour cream as well as salt and pepper to taste.
Mix together gently. Divide the crab mixture between the pieces of bread.
Top with the cheese slices.
Return the crab and cheese topped bread to the oven for five to ten minutes, or place under the broiler or grill, until the cheese is bubbling and brown.
The cheese gets very hot, so allow these to cool a bit before serving half of the panini or ciabatta to each person, or cutting the crab melts into small pieces to serve as hors d’oeuvres.
Quick and Easy Crab Melts – Printable Recipe
Quick and Easy Crab Melts
Ingredients
- ½ cup white crab meat
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream low fat is fine
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 slices of Monterey Jack cheese or Swiss cheese or use Pepper Jack if you like a bit of spice
- a four or five inch slice of baguette or 2 or 3 pieces of sliced bread long French bread, or ciabatta bread, cut carefully in half lengthwise, or use ordinary sliced bread but toast it first
Instructions
- Put the French bread or ciabatta bread halves in the oven on a baking sheet at about 350°F (175°C) or under the broiler or grill for five minutes or until they are beginning to take on a bit of colour.
- Meanwhile, mix the crab meat with the mustard, red pepper, and celery.
- Add crème fraîche or sour cream as well as salt and pepper to taste. Mix together gently.
- Divide the crab mixture between the pieces of bread and top with the cheese slices.
- Return the crab and cheese topped bread to the oven for five to ten minutes, or place under the broiler or grill, until the cheese is bubbling and brown.
- The cheese gets very hot, so allow these to cool a bit before serving one half of the panini or ciabatta to each person, or cutting into small pieces to serve as hors d’oeuvres.
Notes
did you make this recipe?
Make sure to tag #apriljharris on Instagram and follow @apriljharris for more.
Comments & Reviews
this looks really really good. i bet my family would love it. i’ll have to try it out.
Thank you, Katrina! I hope your family enjoy them as much as we do 🙂
Those look fantastic, April! I can never get enough crab. 😉
Shirley
Thank you, Shirley. I feel like that about crab too 🙂
This is one of my favourite lunches thanks !!
Thank you 🙂 xxx
Ooooo, that must be heaven! I love crab and these crab melts are so easy to make! Thanks for sharing. #let’sgetrealfridayparty
They really are delicious, Ana 🙂
Oh wow. That’s the yummiest looking sandwich I’ve seen in a while. I live in Florida, so super fresh seafood is always available. I can’t wait to put some fresh crab to good use!
Thank you, Jennifer 🙂 This recipe would be lovely with just caught crab – I’d love to live a little bit closer to the sea!
Oh my goodness, that photo is making me drool! This looks absolutely delicious with its melty cheese goodness!
Thank you, Beeb 🙂
I Love Crab This Looks So Delicious I Must Make ASAP Thank You!
Thank you, Lisa. It really is a family favourite 🙂
That looks so delicious! Would love to have one right now! Crab is a favorite treat around here, will have to try this recipe soon.
Thank you, Barb! I hope you and yours enjoy it as much as we do around our house 🙂
You are right – these are seriously delicious!!!!
Thank you, MJ!
Glad we’re all on the same page about how delicious these look! I don’t often cook to impress, but I can see these being on the menu next time I do.
Thank you so much, Pauline! They really are fantastic for entertaining – quick, easy and always delicious 🙂
These look delicious April I would never of thought of crab meat but I bet it is great
It really is, Amber. Thank you 🙂
This looks so delicious you could cut them smaller and serve as appetizers to guests. I absolutely love crab so this is really appealing. Yum.
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Leanna. I make it so often and folks always seem to love it!
Afraid I only had can of crab ( I live in the prairies) celery and salt and pepper out of the recipe! So I used peppercorn ranch and marble cheese to add to the recipe! Still delicious!! Thanks!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Barb! Canned crab is absolutely fine, and I’m so pleased you were able to adapt the recipe to what you had on hand. Thank you so much for letting me know 🙂
What a perfect choice for summer picnics! Delicious!
Thank you so much, Laura!
These look truly delicious! Pinning! 🙂
Thank you so much, Donna, and thank you for pinning too! 🙂
Wow, that looks good, April.
Thank you so much, Carol!
April, all I can say is, “Yum!” I pinned this for…tomorrow!
Thank you, Helen! I hope you enjoy! Thank you for pinning too.
Hi April,
Congratulations your post is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us and hope you will share with us again soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much, Miz Helen! I really appreciate the feature!
it doesn’t let me share to FB or Pinterest?
I’m so sorry Patricia, there must have been a glitch with the plugin. It’s working now. I’ve managed to do both.
Has anyone tried these using imitation crab meat? Love in Tennessee and fresh seafood is not an option
I haven’t done it myself, Pamela, but I see no reason why it wouldn’t work. The flavour might vary a little but it would still be very nice 🙂 Let me know what you think if you try it!
This sounds delicious! I do love crab just about anyway but I especially like the simplicity of this recipe.
Thank you, Donna! I’m a big fan of crab too 🙂
I’m going to try these! They look so quick and easy, yet delicious!
Thank you, Niky! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
I made these for the kids yesterday and they LOVED them. We just had an order of frozen crab shipped in and had most of it for dinner Saturday, but I used the leftover meat for these melts. I think the kids liked these better than the fancy crab dinner I prepared!
I’m so glad your kids enjoyed the Crab Melts recipe, Arianna. Thank you for letting me know! Funnily enough, I’ve just served Crab Melts for lunch today 🙂
Wow! These cheese crab melts appear to be quite tasty.
Thank you for this recipe. 🙂
How any sandwiches will this recipe make?
Hi Bethany,
It really depends on the size of the bread you use. (I’m sorry, I know that is a very vague answer!) I generally find this recipe makes at least two open faced sandwiches on traditional bread, which will serve two people. However I often double or triple it to serve more people or when I’m using it as a recipe for canapés.
I hope this helps!
We love your Crab Melts, April. Your awesome post is featured this week on Full Plate Thursday, 573. Thanks so much for sharing with us and hope you will come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much, Miz Helen, and thank you for the feature too! I’m sorry I’m a bit late to the party this week – I’m on my way over now. Have a lovely week!
Made this recipe and it didn’t disappoint! Used canned crab, ciabatta bread. Could not find creme fraise so I used plain yogurt with a little lemon juice. Delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Dana! Thank you for letting me know.
Sounds delicious but doesn’t have any measurements how do I know how much celery and pepper I use
Hi David,
Thank you. It really is a delicious recipe.
The measurements are there – 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper, and 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery. That said, if you want to add a bit more or less chopped red pepper or celery there will be no harm done. I hope this helps.
Happy New Year!
Your recipe looks delicious, but after so many pop-up ads that covered about 2/3 to 3/4 of my screen, I’ve decided to look elsewhere. I’d love to come back if you will limit ads.
Heather, I am one of the few bloggers who do not have pop up ads on my site. In short, there are none whatsoever – and there never have been! In fact, I do not even have a pop up subscription box. My subscription box is stationary.
If you are experiencing pop up ads on my site, there is something very wrong with your browser or internet provider and I suggest you take it up with them. Either that, or I think you may have my site confused with someone else’s.
Hello, I’m about to run to Publix to pickup the ingredients. I noticed the recipe doesn’t indicate how many servings per standard recipe? It says 4 slices of Monterey Jack cheese = 1 slice of Cuban loaf bread with cheese per servings? Do you add light olive oil to the sliced bread to give the golden glow? Thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Suzi,
Thank you for your email. This is one of those recipes that really depends on the appetite of your diners.
When I make it using 3 slices of bread, my husband and I have a slice and a half of bread each, so it serves 2. However, for smaller appetites, you might serve 3.
If you using French or Ciabatta bread, it would probably serve 2 as well.
However, the recipe will but it would serve more people sliced as canapés. I’m sorry to be vague! The recipe basically makes the equivalent of 3 pieces of toast worth, so I generally estimate 4 slices of cheese. You may need more or less. You want to almost cover the crab with the cheese slice(s).
I often double or triple the recipe for entertaining.
I have never used a Cuban loaf bread (I’m sorry, I am not sure what that is?). I like French or Ciabatta bread because it is crusty, or ordinary bread toasted. I think it is important for the surface the crab goes on to be a little crusty so it does not go soggy.
Also, I have since used cheddar or Swiss cheese instead of Monterey Jack and this works well too.
The golden glow is just the toasted cheese. I have not used olive oil. I think it might make things quite rich with the cheese, but you could try it if you like. 🙂
I hope this helps. Please let me know how you get on!
Oh my goodness! This recipe brings back sweet memories of my mama and the yummy crab melts she’d make as a special appetizer! Can’t wait to give these a try! Thanks, April!
I’m so happy they brought back memories, Laura! I love how food can do that! I hope you enjoy my recipe, and that it’s close to your mama’s 🙂
I had a can of crab meat and looked online for ideas other than crab cakes. Found your recipe, which looked really great and — even better — really easy. I had to make some changes based on what I had on hand, so — soft sub roll from Walmart, chopped onion instead of celery, green pepper instead of red, a mix of sharp cheddar and colby/jack. So our dinner tonight consisted of a crab melt and a bowl of New England clam chowder. Totally delicious! Great idea! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Joanne, and I love how you adapted it with what you had on hand. Your dinner sounds delicious! Thank you for your kind comment 🙂
This was a great combination! I added a bit of diced onion that I had leftover and sautéed it with the celery and (yellow I had on hand) peppers on low with some olive oil just to soften them up a bit first. Served on some store bought garlic toast slices with Swiss cheese and finished off under the broiler. Divine!! I will definitely be making this every time the seafood truck comes through the prairies!
I am so glad you like the recipe, James! Onion would be a lovely addition to the crab melts – and garlic toast sounds fantastic as a base. Thank you for letting me know that you enjoyed the recipe!
Just Brilliant! I was gonna make a crab cake with leftover crab meat but this was WAY better!
I am so glad you liked it, Greg! It’s definitely a favourite around here. Thank you for letting me know!
I was out of many of my breads but I did have English muffins. So that’s what I used!
I toasted them first. I also had a 16 oz can of lump crab meat so I used the whole can and doubled all other ingredients. I heaped the ingredients onto 6 english muffin halves then topped with one slice of Swiss and broiled. Served with a spinach salad and it was a delicious dinner. I will make them again! Thank you for sharing!
Ooh, I love English muffins, Patti! I’m so glad you used them 🙂 I have not thought to try them in this recipe before, but I definitely will now 🙂
I’m really glad you enjoyed the recipe, and I really appreciate you letting me know! Thank you!
Oh my this sounds fantastic! Bookmarking so I can try later.
Thank you, Paula!