Home-cooked Crab Legs couldn’t get any easier, so you can make a restaurant-quality feast for much less than you would pay to dine out. I’ll show you the best ways to cook crab legs, from steaming to baking, grilling, and even using the Instant Pot. P.S. Don’t skip the mouthwatering garlic butter dipping sauce!
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“Easy and fantastic! That butter sauce is a keeper, will never dip without garlic again. Thanks!” – AbbyT ★★★★★
Crab Legs Video
In this video tutorial, I’ll show you how to cook crab legs at home. You’ll be shocked at how easy it is to make this delicious meal! Please tell me in the comments which method you prefer.
Crab Legs Recipe
In most grocery stores, crab legs are sold pre-cooked and either frozen or thawed from frozen, so to make them at home, you just need instructions on how to reheat them without drying out the meat or losing that delicious flavor.
Make sure you try garlic-butter dip I’ve included in the recipe. The combination of butter, garlic, and lemon pairs so well with seafood; that’s why I’ve used a similar flavor profile with our Broiled Lobster Tails and Baked Salmon.
Crab Legs with Garlic Butter Sauce
- Crab legs – See my notes for buying them below! I stock up when they go on sale (around Valentine’s Day) and keep frozen for later. *NOTE: Thawed crabs should be refrigerated and consumed within 1-2 days.
- Water – for steaming or cooking the crab
- Garlic butter dip – butter, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and lemon juice
How to Buy Crab Legs
If you’ve never purchased them before, here are a few pointers on what to look for:
- Snow Crab Legs – I used these to make this recipe. Buy legs attached together as a cluster. The cluster is filled with meat.
- Dungeness Crabs – works just as well. Ask the fish department at your grocery store for help cleaning/removing the shell.
- King Crab legs are significantly more expensive but very meaty and a real treat.
How to Cook Crab Legs
I’ve covered all of the best ways to cook crabs, from steaming to baking, grilling, and finally pressure cooking. The only method I don’t recommend is boiling, since it results in a watery mess when you crack the legs open and a diluted flavor.
Steamed Crab Legs
This Stock Pot method preserves the best flavor and texture of the crab, and so it’s my favorite for feeding a crowd.
- Steam in a large stockpot with a steamer basket and 1 cup of water, and then steam cook covered for about 5 minutes for thawed or 10 minutes for frozen meat.
Oven-Baked Crab Legs Recipe
Oven-baked crab legs may cook a bit longer, but they are easy for anyone without a grill or Instant Pot.
- Wrap – Using heavy-duty aluminum foil, create a foil pack for 4 clusters of crab legs. Bring the two ends together in the center, and fold them together twice. Then fold the other two ends together twice to seal the foil packet. Do not add water to the foil pack.
- Bake – Place foil packs on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 450˚F for 25 minutes (frozen) or 15 minutes (thawed).
Grilled Crab Legs Recipe
Add a little smoky flavor to the crab legs on the grill, but be careful not to overcook the meat!
- Wrap – Wrap 4 clusters in foil, as in the oven method, but remember that there’s no need to add water to the packets, as they will steam with their natural moisture.
- Grill over medium/high heat or about 450˚F for 15-20 minutes (frozen) or 10 minutes (thawed).
Instant Pot Crab Legs
This method is so quick, so it’s my favorite way to cook crab legs for 2 people.
- Fill the pot – Place a trivet into a 6 Qt Instant Pot. Add 1 cup of water and up to 4 clusters of fresh or frozen legs.
- Cook – Cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes and then quick release. Repeat with another batch right away using the same water.
Pro Tip:
Set up your Instant Pot outside or let it vent under the stove hood, or your kitchen will be quite fragrant!
How to Make Crab Legs Dipping Sauce
This garlic butter dip for crab legs is my favorite seafood dip, so try it with shrimp scampi or broiled lobster tails next.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter, and then stir in minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir for just 30 seconds and take off the heat, and then stir in lemon juice.
How to Serve Crab Legs
Serve the meat hot or cold, and use Crab Crackers or kitchen shears to carefully open the shell, and then dip the meat in the garlic butter. Add these sides to make a full meal:
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Baked Potato
- Homemade Biscuits
- Green Goddess Salad
- Chickpea Salad
- Roasted Asparagus
My crab legs recipe creates flavorful and moist crab meat in just minutes, so choose from one of the 4 methods: steaming, oven, grilling, or Instant Pot. And don’t forget the garlic butter drip! It’s amazing how easy it is to make restaurant-quality seafood at home.
Crabs Legs with Garlic Butter
Ingredients
What You Will Need to Cook Crab:
- 2 lbs snow crab legs, (4 clusters), or Dungeness or King Crab.
- 1 cup water, (for Instant Pot or steaming methods)
Ingredients for Crab Dipping Sauce:
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
Steamed Cook Crab Legs:
- Steam – Place a steamer basket or wire rack at the bottom of a large stockpot. Add 1 cup of water. Place crab legs over the rack (as many as your pot will accommodate). Bring the water to a boil, then cover and steam cook until fragrant and steaming hot (5-10 minutes). Frozen crab legs will take longer, thawed crab legs cook faster).
Oven-Baked Crab Legs:
- Wrap – Using heavy-duty aluminum foil, create a foil pack with 4 clusters of crab legs. Using a long sheet of foil with the crab legs in the center, bring the two ends together and fold them together twice. Fold the other two ends together twice to seal the foil packet. Do not add water since it will steam cook with the natural moisture from the crab legs.
- Bake – Place on a baking sheet and onto the center rack of a preheated oven at 450˚F for 25 minutes if frozen or 15 minutes if thawed. The crab legs are ready when you open the foil pack, and they are steaming.
Grilled Crab Legs:
- Wrap – Create the same foil pack of 4 crab leg clusters as in the Oven-Baked directions.
- Grill over medium/high heat at 450˚F for 15 minutes if frozen or 10 minutes if thawed. Crab legs are ready when you see steaming as you open the foil pack.
Instant Pot Crab Legs:
- Fill the pot – Place a trivet in a 6 qt Instant Pot and add 1 cup of water. Add 3-4 clusters of fresh or frozen crab legs per batch, folding the legs to fit more in (thawed are easier to fit than frozen).
- Cook – Close the lid, set the vent to sealing position, and cook on manual high pressure 4 minutes, then switch the vent to venting position and do a quick release* of remaining pressure.
How to Make Crab Dipping Sauce:
- Heat – In a medium saucepan, melt 4 Tbsp butter and add 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Stir 30 seconds until fragrant, then remove from heat. Off the heat, squeeze in 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice. Divide between ramekins to serve.
Notes
- Before cooking, thawed crab meat should be cooked/consumed within 2 days.
- After cooking, cool leftover crab meat and then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat from frozen in a saucepan set on low heat on the stove until warm (165°F). Sauté with a tablespoon of water or butter to prevent drying out.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Seafood Recipes for Special Occasions
- Salmon Cakes
- Teriyaki Salmon
- Creamy Shrimp Pasta
- Pan-Seared Cod
- Tuscan Shrimp Pasta
- Surf and Turf
- Tuscan Salmon
Thank you for making cooking so much easier with your ideas and recipes! I’ve printed out many of yours. Going to get the Crab Legs now!!
You’re very welcome, Pat! So glad it’s been helpful.
I hope you love this recipe!
I don’t have an Instant pot. I cook for one. I get frozen crab legs when decent sized ones are on sale. I take a cluster and wrap it in a damp clean paper towel which I then wrap with saran, Stick it in the microwave on hi for 2-4 minutes. Thickness, size, quantity and whether they are hard frozen or almost thawed. Usually serve with melted or drawn butter with a little lemon. I will try your garlic butter sauce next time. Keep these recipes coming.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Lee!
I can tell this is going to be good, so I’m going ahead and rating just so I don’t forget to leave a suggestion. My Instant Pot is a 6 qt. model and the instructions say not to use it with less than 1.5 cups of water, so I’m not sure if it would work well for me to only use 1 cup of water. Also, I usually add a tablespoon of liquid crab boil to the bottom of the pot, when I steam them on the stove. Going to try that with the Instant Pot as well. I don’t have a trivet that will work in my Instant Pot but ordered a steamer basket for it off of Amazon. Another idea might be to crumble up some balls of foil for the bottom, to keep the crab legs out of the water. Just a thought. Thank you sooo much for your recipes and for suggesting an Instant Pot. I’m disabled, so I’m thrilled to think I can make another type of delicious but quick dinner for my husband that doesn’t involve standing over the stove!
I am going to try and make this for dinner.My sides are corn on the cob and Mac and cheese for my husband
Oh, this was so good! First time ever trying to do crab at home, and it was delicious! We steamed them and it worked so well. The dipping sauce was perfect! I’m saving this recipe so we can do it again later. Thank you for sharing this with us!
That’s great, Jane! So glad you loved it.
Hello! I’ve used your method for oven baked snow crab legs and they came out delicious! Would the same method and cook time also work for king crab legs?
Hi Jorge, I bet this could work for king crab! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
We like to try new things, so we made the garlic butter for our snow crab tonight. My husband and I both thought the flavor was too strong and too salty. It did not compliment the crab legs.
How could it be salty if you used unsalted butter as stated in the recipe?
Think about the cold salt water they grew up in.
My husband passed away 2 yrs ago and he did all the cooking I miss him and his cooking I have list weight since his passing so that’s good but I wish he would of showed me how to make oat meal at least
Sorry to hear that, Ann. I’m sure you really miss him a lot but I hope my recipes will be helpful for you. Take care always!
Thanks Natasha! I loved the idea of using the instapot and it worked great! Loved the butter sauce!
You’re welcome, Richard!
Natasha, I made your steamed crab legs, coconut shrimp, and lobster tails, all 3 for my very first time (plus your Russian tea cookies) for New Year’s Eve and everything was delicious! I added Old Bay seasoning but otherwise everything else I did exactly how you wrote and it was amazing! I could not believe what an elegant and rather easy it was (the biggest problem was timing when to cook all 3 but it all worked out!). My husband now wants this for his birthday later this month! I’ve made your tres leches several times before and also a big hit as well as your red velvet, best vanilla cake, and many others! Your website is one of my first go tos when I need to come up with something! Thank you so much for your website and how easy your recipes are!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new celebration favorite, Litz! I’m happy you enjoyed this recipe. It truly is special!
My garlic turned blue. I would not add the lemon juice
Hi Colleen, I haven’t had that happen before, was the lemon juice ration to garlic accurate? I did a little research, and the good news is, the color doesn’t affect the taste or safety of the garlic. It just means too much acidity.
Which seasonings are you using for the water to steam. The dipping sauce sounds great, I want to flavor the crab also. Thank you
Hi Wanda, we didn’t use any seasonings here but our readers have mentioned trying this with Old Bay seasoning.