A tangy, rich crab dish that will be enjoyed by the family or by guest. Incorporate scallops and tiny shrimp to dress up the dish.

Crab Imperial II

crabmeat

mayonnaise

lemon juice

Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM

salt

cayenne pepper

dry mustard

egg, beaten

bread crumbs

paprika

butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).


In a medium bowl, combine crab meat, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay Seasoning, salt, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, and beaten egg..  Mix thoroughly.


In an 8" pie dish, spread mixture and lightly coat the entire dish with bread crumbs. Then sprinkle the top with paprika.  Dot the dish with the butter.


Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.


My husband made this for dinner tonight.  It was AWESOME!!  The only thing he changed was instead of using bread crumbs, he used Ritz crackers for a richer crust on the bottom and he used clawmeat because it was on sale.  Definitely a make again!!

It really is bizarre that some people modify the recipe then give it 2 or 3 stars. I found the most helpful suggestions coming from those who simply stated use less salt b/c Old Bay is salty. And, cut back on the Cayenne if you don't want it real spicy. Ritz Crackers I have found always taste good with dishes requiring bread crumbs. Crabmeat has a strong flavor all on its own. This recipe is very easy  to adjust to your palate by simply going by what your tastes are. This was an awesome recipe for us and the phyllo cups I put mine in were heavenly.

Nice and spicy.  I used the mixture to fill little phyllo dough cups, baked them in the oven and served them as an appetizer.  Everyone loved them and asked for the recipe.

Dear God in heaven, instead of writing a completely new recipe and an entire how-to manual, my 5-star rating is based on THIS recipe as written. A tweak here or there is one thing; but, please submit your total revamp as an original recipe with a photo of your creation. This recipe is delicious over chicken breasts or a filet. It is the absolute best over rockfish. Looking forward to the many NEW recipes to be submitted, rather than finding them in the reviews. Tiny rant over. Enjoy this dish!

This recipe made a very nice crab imperial,
 with quite a "spice" wallop. Those who prefer less spice should throttle back on the peppers and perhaps the mustard pwd.
---- I varied the recipe by skipping the old bay (didn't have any) and substituting fresh chopped parsley.
 I also substituted crushed low carb wasa bread for the bread crumbs.I added a crisscrosss of grated cheese on top.

 Overall a very good recipe , quick and easy!
and my 15 yr. old ate it!

DEEEEE-licious! Easy and quick to make. I portioned this into four 6-oz ramekins instead of the pie tin, and it was great. This is very spicy, so I think I will cut the cayenne in half next time. Definitely a keeper!

This is one great recipe - pan grilled some boneless chicken breast and then topped it off with the crab imperial in individual dishes before baking. Not too spicey for my group. Great dish.

I am born and raised in Maryland and currently live on the eastern shore of MD. This recipe will stand up to any crab imperial recipes out there. Bravo and thanks for sharing!!

god, i love my crab imperial. people in the UK just don't get crab like us folk from the mid-atlantic coast of the U.S.  thankfully, i can still get good white crabmeat here, although it's very pricey. so worth it tho. we ate this guiltlessly while doing the low carb thing.

I used DJTRAINS suggestion about topping chicken breasts (I dredged mine in flour seasoned with Old Bay and pan fried until almost done as I was also trying another crab topped chicken recipe that called for that preparation) with the crab mixture and baked them in individual casseroles. The spice heat was perfect for us and the taste was delish!

I live on the Chesapeake Bay in rural Virginia, and this is the REAL DEAL.  For Valentines' Day my husband and I decided to cook a decadent meal together, so we made steaks, sweet potato biscuits, sauteed spinach and this crab imperial.  Not only was this absolutely heavenly, it was not even difficult for my husband to help prepare, and he is a kitchen novice!

I made this in individual ramekins, used lump crab meat, and drizzled with melted butter before popping in the oven. Def. will be making this dish over and over again!

Not like imperial crab to me. This was more  like a crab cake pie, but overly salty, spicy and to dry.  Not one I'll make again. Sorry.

I entered this recipe in a seafood cooking contest and won first place!   Quick and easy and fantastic!

I added 1/8 cup cooking sherry and - to make it healthier - 1) cut out almost all of the butter (used just a few tiny dots); and 2) used light mayo. Half way through cooking, I sprayed the top with nonfat cooking spray to help crisp up the breadcrumbs.  This was really good and I expect I will make it again.  I will add 1-2 t of chopped pimento and I think it will be perfect.

very good but skip the salt - doesn't need any extra.  also 1/4 to 1/2 t. of garlic powder adds flavor.  we really liked this except for the saltiness.

Wow!!  I used back fin meat.  This was awesome!!  We really liked the spicy kick, it was just right not too hot. Oh..and we really like the consistancy, not overly wet, just super moist.  This is Easy!  I will make this for company. next time.

quite tasty, I found it easier to prepair in four custard cups.  The breadcrumbs could go.

I modified the recipe using 1/2 cup mayo, and 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup grated parm and romano, 1/2 sqeezed fresh lemon, 1 cup chopped french bread, 2 T parsley, dried onion flakes, and paprika each--1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper, 1 t each sea salt and frsh groung pepper, 1 T horseradish and garlic powder, 1 4 oz can tiny shrimp, 1 cup bay scallops...I used a light coating of italian bread crumbs on top. Worstershire and bay seasoning is way too salty in a dish like this...

I just don't get it...c cianci COMPLETELY changed this recipe to something utterly different and then only gave it three stars!  This is a great recipe all by itself AS WRITTEN!

I really liked this recipe.  The results are very close to what would be served in a seafood restaurant in MD.  I did not put more salt since I knew Old Bay had salt in it.  I also added parsley and paprika to the bread crumb topping (looked pretty).  This recipe is a keeper.

Absolutely delicious. Tastes like a dish you spent hours working on when it's really super simple. My only tweak to this recipe was that I omitted the salt. There's plenty (in my opinion) in the butter and in the Worcestershire sauce, adding any more would have made this far too salty tasting for me. But with that one little change, I found this to be a fabulous dish!

Well, I think I will stick with my recipe that uses cream cheese instead of mayo, plus mine has Italian cheese mixed in it and on top.  I read reviews where this one just isn't that creamy and mine is.  Crab legs can get $$$ to make this recipe.  But this recipe did have some dry mustard in it which mine doesn't  So, I will give that a try the next time I make mine to add a little zing to it.  Oh to everybody skip the salt, not needed with the Old bay and/or Cajun spice.

Thank you -- Mom-in-law called --- yikes--- said she had 2 crabs for us.  What's to do???  Go on line and find a quick and easy recipe.  Already worked 12 hours today and had to pick the Dungeness crabs.  This was simple, easy, quick and, as it turned out --- YUMMY!!  The Old Bay was the clincher - love that stuff forever (super for steaming shrimp).  Served with simple green salad and steamed veggies.  Fast and wonderful!!

The only change I made to this recipe was that I used 8oz lump crab meat and 8 oz mock crab(less expensive), plus used black pepper and regular mustard (not dried). It was out of this world. I baked in individual ramekins. We found that a little more fresh lemon juice squeezed over it at the table was to our liking. I can picture this being served with a small steak and fresh steamed asparagus. What I had on hand was buttered noodles and green beans. Will use leftovers to stuff mushroom caps, as there were 2 of us and this recipe serves 4.

what a disapointment  I should of give more attention to the other reviewers.  Thank goodness I did not offer this to guests as the submitter suggests.  It was way too spicy, that kind of hot itch in the back of your throat/makes you cough kind of hot.  It was dry and crumbly.  Needed way more moisture from somewhere.  Seems to be calling out for maybe cream cheese/ half and half, something creamy.

This recipe is awesome.  I didn't have to make an changes.

I am not sure how other people are saying this is a dry dish. Mine was very moist when finished cooking. I had some issues with this dish but it did turn out that I liked it. This may just be MY tastebuds here, but to me, it tasted more like sardines then crab and I even used premium claw crab meat. here is where I said I liked it, I happen to enjoy sardines to so it wasn't that big a deal to me. Now, I don't know why I got that type of taste but honestly, it was not what I expected yet I still liked it.

One other thing to note, people need to realize when it comes to spices like cayenne, that you need to ignore the recipe amount and put in what your heat level is. I saw lots of complaints about the heat level yet using the recipe, I could tell there was cayenne in it but it was not hot. Now I am a hot freak so my tolerance for spicy foods are much greater than normal folks. I just wanted to mention that so that people keep that in mind when they are cooking recipes. To me, this also goes along with salt and pepper. What is salty to one person can be bland to another, so keep that in mind to, when you are rating these recipes.

I recieved this recipe about twenty years ago from my husband's secretary and somehow lost it so many thanks for posting it.   I always used to fix this as a party dish, serving it hot with "toast points". Just spread the crab on and enjoy.  Always a big hit!

This is not a true Imperial because it's not super creamy...however, this is amazing on top of a nice piece of sirloin!  The only change I made was to broil it for a couple of minutes at the end to really give it a nice crust with the bread crumbs.

Made this for dinner last night.  Very tasty, but I should've made a side dish to go with it, like a salad and corn on the cob.  Just crab was a bit much!

This recipe sounds delicious and easy to prepare, but I have questions! We live in Nova Scotia, (eastern Canada), so what is in "Old Bay Seasoning" so I can try to find an equivalent mix? - Thanks!!

I used imitation crab and this was not a good move. Please use real crab meat!!!

I can't have shellfish and so made this with  artificial crab.  It's a very good and very easy dish.  I did increase the Old Bay to 1 tsp and would, next time, increase the mayo for a creamier texture. 

Since I live in north Texas crab is extremely expensive so I used imitation.  I like imitation, so it wasn't a problem.  My son loves crab.  There was none left and I barely got a decent-sized serving.  I also used Ritz instead of fresh bread crumbs.

Totally agree with Baltolady!!!  A few pointers ... claw meat is always "fishy" tasting (remember, you get what you pay for).  Recipe did NOT call for crab legs -- you didn't like it b/c you didn't follow the recipe.  Stick to lump crabmeat and try it again.    "Old Bay" is a must!  Those who have heard "Maryland" style crab cakes, etc. -- unless it has Old Bay, it's not Maryland style.  This is AMAZING served over chicken or steak.  I have 5 kids (ages 10-19) and they all love it too!

This was great served on crustinis as a New Year's appetizer. My only suggestion would be to add some cream cheese to it so it spreads easier.

No modifications necessary for a 5 Star Rating in this kitchen.  Thanks!!!

This is as good as any Crab Imperial I have ever had in Maryland.  I made the recipe exactly as described using wonderful crabmeat from Costco. The only addition to the recipe was that I cooked the crab on four large Portobello mushroom caps slightly hollowed out.  It was wonderful and I got rave reviews.  Thanks.

Very Good. Excellent topper on seafood. I cooked up some rockfish and put the crab on top then baked it in the oven. Excellent

I did not care for this recipe. I think it was due to the fact that i used can crab meat. I dont have a fish market near me and the local super market did not have any fresh lump crab meat. i would suggest not using the canned stuff. I love crab and was really disappointed.

Omitted the worcestershire, added some minced pimento, and added parmesan cheese to my bread crumbs. Will make again with more mayo and more parmesan. 

Love it! Used panko instead, skipped the Old Bay seasoning and cayenne pepper, still tasted wonderful.

This was really great...I actually put it atop filet mignon. Just be careful not to overdo the cayenne pepper. It gives it some kick. Thanks for this recipe!!!

I haven't tried this yet, but intend to. I am disappointed that so many reviewers think that this is supposed to be a crab dip. Crab Imperial is not a dip, anyone living in the coastal area knows that. For those reviewers that live in the coastal area that said this recipe is right on, that's good enough for me.

I love this recipe. I use it as filling in a crescent ring.

This was fantastic!  I was expecting it to be okay, but the combination of flavors was great!  I didn't use bread crumbs, but butter crackers instead.  Very tasty and so extremely easy!

Don't understand why people get upset when people make suggestions and changes to recipes. This is what I enjoy the most.  

Great recipe - esp. using other's suggestions.

5 STARS without a doubt!  I am not a person to mess with the flavor of crabmeat.  Therefore, I was a little hesitant to try this recipe.  What I can tell you is it enhances, not changes, the flavor of the crabmeat.  I used lump crabmeat but wouldn't hesitate to use jumbo lump.  It is that good!  I skipped the cayenne pepper but other than that, followed the recipe.  I have only a little left over and I plan to stuff a couple fillets of flounder for tomorrow.  I served this dish with a side of sweet potatoes and coleslaw.  Thank you Al Peacock for sharing your recipe.  It's a winner in my book!

This was absolutely delicious!  My only change was to cut out the 1/2 t. salt and add 1/2 t. extra of the Old Bay seasoning which is salty anyway.  So easy and so good.  I must agree with some other reviewers:  this is NOT a dip!  Crab Imperial is a wonderful seafood entree and needs no cream cheese as a crab dip would.  Try it!  It couldn't be any easier to make.

No one cared for this dip. The recipes with cream cheese just have a better meld.

Very tasty and very easy.  I didn't put in the cayenne pepper, and it turned out great and was not too spicy.

This was very good! I love the kick from the cayenne! This reminded me of a crab cake! I made it as written except I used imitation crab meat. I also made a mistake and added the fresh breadcrumbs TO the crab mixture AND ontop of the crab mixture! This was so good that my hubby wants me to serve it on Easter as an appetizer!

As I am new to the culinary world, I like to try the recipes as is then tweek it the second time around. "Crab Imperial II" was very tasty, but we found it to be a tad dry. Next time I'll add a bit more lemon for taste and a created sauce broiled over it. That will indeed make this a 5 star for my family &amp; I!

Okay, fabulous as written and 20 years ago I would have made it that way.  But my tummy can no longer handle real spicy stuff (jalapeno poppers are a challenge), so I left out the cayenne entirely.  To compensate for that, I upped the Old Bay some.  To compensate for the additional Old Bay, I left out the salt entirely as well.  And since I was nearly done with the mixing before I discovered that I have exactly NO bread in the house, I topped it with grated Monterey Jack instead.  It was good that way, too.  This recipe is so easy to adjust to individual tastes and needs, I'm very surprised at the low ratings I've seen. I also used a cake pan instead of a pie plate.  I have a feeling that it didn't detract from (or improve) the finished product.

Fantastic as it is!  This is not a dip, it's an entree, so it's not supposed to "spread" on anything.  Highly recommend this and it couldn't be easier!

This is NOT Crab Imperial! However, it is excellent "croutons" for a Crab Louie salad!

Except for scaling back a bit on the cayenne, I followed this recipe exactly. I found it way too salty. I also thought it was too dry. I served it with rice and had hoped for more of a  sauce. Instead it just seemed like the inside of an over-salted crabcake.

I made this receipe my own by making a few modifications and it turned out great!  Everyone at Thanksgiving Dinner loved it!  I doubled the receipe and added 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 cup of Greuyere cheese mixed in. I omitted the lemon Juice (just because I dont like it), salt and bread crumbs. I served it with crackers on the side instead. I also reduced the Cayenne Pepper to 1/2 tsp, I am glad I did as we would not have been able to eat it if I had used what the receipe called for.  Try it my way and hope you like it, my family sure did!

This is a great recipe! My first time making it but not my last. Instead of bread crumbs I added shredded mexican blend cheese during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Just make sure to watch it so it doesn't burn. The leftovers are great on a toasted english muffin. 

This was a little like eating a large crab cake except not as good.  Only 1 of 4 people at the dinner table cared for it.

This came out a little too salty.  Also, I am going to follow the "fresh bread crumbs" instruction next time.  It's not the same with regular bread crumbs.  Otherwise, it was quite tasty and is terrific on italian bread or crackers.

No one in my family really enjoyed this one.  Not sure what the strong taste was, but sorry to say it wasn't a hit.

The recipe is a good one, but I will need to tweak it considerably for my family's personal tastes. It came out very hot, and that's not something we enjoy. However, the texture is good, and made in small individual ramekins, it was delicious. 

I think instead of Old Bay and mustard next time, I will be using parsley, lemon peel, black pepper, shallots, and roasted garlic.

For some reason mine came out a little dry, but the flavor was excellent.

I tried this recipe stuffed in a rock fish and it was divine, now I make it every Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas.

The taste is good, but the crab seems to get lost in there.  Maybe it's because I was using canned crab meat.  It doesn't seem to stand by itself, so definitely use it as either a dip or as a sauce over chicken or another fish.

I have only a few minutes before I can try this dish. I can't wait!....................Ahhh we just had dinner. It was great. I think next time i will cover it up. Recipe never did say. It was just a little dry. I added shrimp to mine. ;)  Sarina Engle

This wasn't worth the expensive crab meat.  I made this for New Year's Eve and splurged on King Crab Legs for the crab meat.  This wasn't as much of a dip as a giant crab cake which no one seemed to enjoy.  No complements and i took 1/2 of this back home with me.  What a disappointment.

I have made this a few times. Being from Maryland I know what Crab Imperial should taste like. This is a great recipe!  We will be having it again tonight for our New Year's Eve dinner.

I made this for the Allrecipe's Allstar's group recipes for March 2012. It is basically, a baked and lightly seasoned crab. I used a good quality of steamed crab meat. I think that makes all the difference flavor wise. However, unless the crab meat is steamed at home, there is an issue with some shell pieces that are very annoying. 1 lb of crab is a little pricey to. I wish the recipe would have noted to sift through lump crab meat, when purchased, for those that have never used it. That would have been a slight pain anyway, but better than not. The only change I made was using Duke's lite mayo, as it was what I had on hand. I also baked them in 6 ramekins, sprayed lightly with pan spray, on a foil lined sheet. I mixed half the paprika directly into the breadcrumbs. Overall, this was actually quite quick to make. The flavor was also descent. I had thought it would be creamier, for some reason, but the worst part was still those small shell pieces. It made me not want to eat any.

Not a review; a question.    Would this make a good dip?  Sorry don't know where to post just a question for a recipe.  Giving 5 stars as to not lower the current rating.  Thanks.

I doubled the crab and everything else, but used the only 1/2 tsp. cayenne and 1/2 tsp. paprika this time. I love spices, but it was overpowering the crab. 

Using JUMBO LUMP is more expensive, but so worth it. Makes ALL the difference. Used Kerry Gold Unsalted butter (not melted) right before I put it in the oven. Ridiculous! :D

I took the advice of other reviewers and used crushed Ritz crackers for the bottom. I also used backfin crab meat and more Old Bay...I'm from MD and 1/2 tsp of Old Bay just wasn't enough. Mine was a little bit on the dry side but maybe that was because I added more Old Bay. It was still really good and I'll make it again. BTW, I'm glad I used backfin; it has more flavor and cheaper then lump.

I use egg whites only, not an entire egg. Makes it much fluffier. And I only mix a tiny amount of imperial with the crab. The rest goes on top - other wise you will get over browned crab bits on top that are not tasty. No salt.

Made this for Mother's Day and Mom loved this recipe. I confused it with another recipe and added a chopped red bell pepper and it worked well. I used claw meat and it was fine ( IMHO Lump crabmeat is too precious to mix with other ingredients) This is not a creamy crab imperial but rather a showcase for crab flavor. If you are sensitive to heat, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper.

Too much salt and no flavor. Save the crab for a better recipe

No changes were made to the recipe; it was excellent as written.

I used imitation crab in this recipe and it was delicious.

Too eggy for me! It was fine. My husband really loved it on garlicky toasted fresh bakery bread, but I thought it was a little boring. 
Tonight I'll use the leftovers on top of a baked potato!

I made the recipe last evening, and followed the instructions exactly.  Found this to be dry.  It tasted fine, but did not have the creamy texture I was looking for.  Disappointed because a pound of crabmeat is very expensive.

Made it for dinner tonight - baked as indicated then served broiled over baked tilapia.  Used the recipe as posted with the only change a slight reduction in salt - will definitely make again.

I followed some of the suggestions others made to reduce salt, and lightened it up by cutting the mayo by half.  Also added 1/2 a diced red bell pepper.  Topped it with crushed Ritz crackers and dotted with butter.  Delicious on its own, over grilled chicken, and as a dip!

With exception of picking through the crab, it was pretty easy to make, which I did exactly as written, but added small diced roasted red peppers.  VERY dry, flavor ok but not spectacular.  Served it on toast points. Definitely not the CI I was looking to recreate from a favorite restaurant that doesn't serve it any longer.  Won't do again.

We did not care for this at all. Did not smell good while cooking, came out mushy and we did not like the flavor.

This was delicious.  I lessened the amount of salt and cayenne pepper used and added a tad  bit more lemon juice.  I also used this as a stuffing for my rock fish. FANTASTIC!

Yummy!! I took Al's advice &amp; added 8 oz of small 'salad shrimp' a MUST in my opinion.  But for the 'tender' pallets in my family, I'll have to omit the cayenne in the future.

This was very good. I followed the recipe exactly and will make it again. I thought it was just slightly dry, so next time I may add about a TBSP of cream/half and half to the mayo. I will also go a little heavier on the Old Bay, as we like spicy. And, I must say, being from Maryland, that you should use Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab meat for the best possible outcome! Great recipe!

I thought there was a bit too much cayenne but hubby loved it that way. Very moist and flavorful. I’ll definitely make it again.

I made this exactly as is. Did not like the texture. The crab imperial I’m used to is more buttery and “cooked”. This seemed as if I didn’t bake it at all and I did follow the directions. The only takeaway is one review that suggested putting this over chicken breasts. I’ll do that with the leftovers. Sorry but not a winner for me.

I made this dish last night for dinner and it was a great hit. I left out the salt and most of the Cayenne pepper based on many comments.

My Grandson and I made this, and thought it was really good!  The only thing we would change is to use a little less salt.

This was good.  I took some others advice and reduced the cayenne pepper so my 2 year old granddaughter could eat it. I also cut  the salt and went with a little extra old bay.  It turned out great and my granddaughter absolutely loved it.

Very good traditional crab imperial, super easy to make.

crab imperial ii

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Servings: 4

Author : Allrecipes Member

Ingredients

Instructions

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