Absolutely—this is a rich, easy, restaurant-style dish that feels fancy but takes very little effort.
Baked Crab Legs in Butter Sauce
Servings: 2–4
Prep: 5 min | Bake: 15–18 min
Ingredients
- 2–3 lbs crab legs (snow crab or king crab, thawed if frozen)
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (plus lemon wedges for serving)
- ½ tsp Old Bay seasoning (or seafood seasoning)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Optional: pinch of paprika or red pepper flakes
- Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Prepare crab legs
- Arrange crab legs in a large baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet.
- If needed, use kitchen shears to slightly cut the shells so the butter can soak in.
- Make butter sauce
- In a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, melt butter.
- Stir in garlic, lemon juice, Old Bay, black pepper, and paprika/red pepper flakes if using.
- Pour & cover
- Pour butter sauce evenly over the crab legs.
- Cover tightly with foil to keep them juicy.
- Bake
- Bake for 15–18 minutes, until crab legs are heated through and fragrant.
- Finish & serve
- Uncover, spoon extra butter sauce over the crab legs.
- Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Tips & Variations
- Extra garlic: Add 1–2 more cloves if you love bold flavor.
- Cheesy twist: Sprinkle grated Parmesan over the crab legs for the last 5 minutes uncovered.
- Cajun-style: Swap Old Bay for Cajun seasoning.
- No oven? This recipe also works wrapped in foil on the grill.
Serve with crusty bread, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, or a simple salad.
If you want, I can also share a broiled version, garlic-Parmesan butter sauce, or foil-packet method for easy cleanup 🦀🧈
