Blue Ribbon Crab Quesadillas
Submitted by ellkay
Oven-baked crab quesadillas loaded with sweet lump crab, sauteed tri-color peppers, two melted cheeses, cilantro, and a kick of jalapeño and lime. Ready in 30 minutes for an easy seafood dinner or crowd-pleasing appetizer.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
10 minCOOK
20 minREADY
30 minThese crab quesadillas are the real deal, and with a 4.7-star rating from dozens of home cooks, they’ve earned their blue ribbon.
Sweet, tender crab meat gets folded with cilantro, lime juice, a touch of cayenne, and a blend of melted cheddar and Monterey Jack. Sauteed tri-color bell peppers and onions go down first, then the crab mixture piles on top before the whole thing gets baked until golden and bubbling.
Thirty minutes, start to finish. Serve them quartered with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole on the side.
Chef Tips
- Fold the crab mixture gently. You want big, beautiful lumps of crab in every bite, not shredded mush.
- Pick through the crab meat carefully to remove any shell fragments before mixing.
- Use a mix of green, red, and yellow peppers for color and a range of sweet-to-mellow flavor.
- Spraying the top tortilla lightly with cooking spray gives it that golden, crispy finish in the oven.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 450F.
In a skillet heat the oil on medium heat and add the peppers, onion, and garlic, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until translucent. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the crabmeat, cilantro, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, cumin, 1 cup each of the cheeses, jalapeno pepper, and lime juice.
Fold ingredients gently, so as to avoid breaking crab meat.
Place six tortillas on a large baking sheet.
Equally divide pepper, onion, and garlic mixture on each tortilla.
Equally divide crabmeat mixture on the tortillas.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of crab mixture. Cover each of the tortillas with those in package.
Lightly spray top of each tortilla with cooking spray.
Bake in oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and quarter each tortilla.
Garnish with lime slice and serve salsa, sour cream, and guacamole as accompaniments.
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