Crab Appetizers

Made of just a few simple components—crabmeat, phyllo tart shells and cream cheese—crab appetizers are easy-breezy to assemble and full of flavor, making them just the dish to serve for your next dinner party. The keys are to use fresh lump crabmeat (not the canned stuff!) and season the meat well with chili sauce and seafood seasoning. Pair this crab appetizer with glasses of cold white wine, and your guests will be more than satisfied.

Ingredients for Crab Appetizers

• Reduced-fat spreadable garden vegetable cream cheese: Reduced-fat veggie cream cheese helps to greatly reduce the fat content in this dish.
• Seafood seasoning: Store-bought seafood seasoning works just fine, or learn how to make your own here.
• Lump crabmeat: Fresh crab is the star of the show. Avoid using shelf-stable canned crab as a substitute; the additives will affect the taste of the meat.
• Phyllo tart shells: Buttery and flaky (and already baked), phyllo shells are the ideal vehicle for creamy crab dip.
• Chili sauce: A bit of chili sauce adds a welcome spiciness and depth of flavor to crab appetizers.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the shells

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the empty phyllo shells on a baking tray and bake for three to five minutes. Allow the shells to cool.

Step 2: Combine the ingredients

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and seafood seasoning; gently stir in the crab.

Step 3: Prepare to serve

Spoon 2 teaspoons of the crab mixture into each phyllo shell; top with chili sauce.

Crab Appetizer Recipe Variations

• Add lemon juice: Adding a dash of lemon juice helps to brighten the flavors of this dish. Or, serve the crab appetizers with lemon wedges on the side.
• Serve on toast: Rather than phyllo shells, you can serve the crab dip on crostini.
• Top with fresh herbs: We love sprinkling fresh parsley or dill on these crab appetizers.

How to Store Crab Appetizers

Crab appetizers are really best served fresh—this isn’t the type of dish that’s meant to have leftovers. If you do anticipate having too many, we’d recommend saving any leftover crab mixture without putting it in the phyllo shells. The crab mixture can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator.  

Can you make crab appetizers ahead of time?

You can assemble the crab dip a few hours in advance (and store it in the fridge), then spoon it into the phyllo shells right before serving.

Crab Appetizer Recipe Tips

Can crab appetizers be served warm?

This recipe is designed to be served at room temperature. If you’d like to serve a warm crab appetizer dish, we would recommend checking out our baked crab dip recipe.

Can I double this crab appetizer recipe?

Yes, you can easily double this recipe.

What are some other uses for fresh lump crabmeat?

We love making crab cakes with lump crabmeat. They’re simply delicious.