Hot Crab Bake
Submitted by kimmieb
Hot crab bake with crab meat, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and pimento in a buttery white sauce, topped with breadcrumbs and slivered almonds. Individual baked crab casseroles for an elegant seafood starter.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
35 minREADY
45 minIndividual crab bakes served in their own little casserole dishes make a simple weeknight dinner feel like a special occasion.
The base is a classic white sauce: butter and flour cooked into a roux, milk added all at once, then stirred until thick and bubbly. Crab meat, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and pimento fold in, creating a rich, creamy filling with chunks of seafood and egg in every spoonful.
Buttered breadcrumbs and slivered almonds go on top for a toasted, crunchy contrast to the creamy filling underneath. Twenty to twenty-five minutes in the oven and they come out golden and bubbling.
Kitchen Tips
- Add the milk all at once and stir constantly. This prevents lumps in the white sauce. If you get lumps anyway, strain before adding the crab.
- Pick through the crab meat for shell fragments. Even canned crab often has small pieces of cartilage hidden in it.
- Don’t overfill the casserole dishes. Leave room for the topping and for the sauce to bubble without spilling over.
Variations
- Use fresh lump crab meat instead of canned for a sweeter, more delicate flavor.
- Add a splash of dry sherry or white wine to the white sauce for depth.
- Swap almonds for panko breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan for an extra-crispy, cheesy topping.
Ingredients
Directions
In skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter; blend in flour. Add milk all at once, cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Stir in crab meat, chopped eggs, pimiento.
1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Spoon mixture into 6 individual casserole dishes or baking shells.
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter, toss with bread crumbs to combine.
Sprinkle crumbs atop crab mixture.
Top with slivered almonds.
Bake uncovered, at 350℉ (180℃)., for 20 to 25 minutes.
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