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Steamed Crab Legs are so tender and sweet! I'll show you how to steam crab legs easily with my step-by-step guide. They're ready in less than 30 minutes with garlic butter sauce on the side for dipping, so you can enjoy restaurant-quality results in no time at all!
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Tender crab meat dipped in garlic butter sauce is an irresistible meal that's perfect for a family Sunday dinner or entertaining for holidays!
Honestly, there is nothing my family loves more than sitting around the table and enjoying a big plate of steamed crab legs together. Seafood dinners are some of our favorites, and what could be better than crab?
Whether you steam, broil, or grill them, crab legs are a dinner that always gets the table excited. I am thrilled to show you how to steam crab legs!
Ingredients for Steaming Crab Legs
| Ingredient | Notes & Substitutions |
|---|---|
| Old Bay Seasoning | A classic choice for seafood, Old Bay combines primarily celery salt and paprika with other spices such as cayenne and mustard powder. You can use any seasoning of your preference. |
| Salt | I always recommend Maldon Sea Salt Flakes. Kosher salt is a good alternative. For best flavor, avoid using fine table salt. |
| Crab Legs | You can use fresh or frozen crab legs for this recipe, both work! I have a guide to using frozen crab legs below in addition to the fresh guide. My photos picture king crab legs, but use your favorite. |
| Vegetable Oil | Use a neutral vegetable oil such as canola oil or avocado oil. |
| Light Beer | You want to use canned light beer, not beer from a bottle. |
| Corn Cob Halves | This is optional, but I love to cook some corn on the cob at the same time as crab for an easy side dish. Then it's like a proper seafood boil! |
Note About Seasoning: Crab seasoning is a matter of preference. Steaming allows you to infuse the meat with more flavor, so you can use just a bit of seasoning and get the most amazing results!
My personal favorite seasoning for crabs uses a can of light beer and Old Bay. I love the flavor it infuses in the crab legs! But, you can steam them in plain water and enjoy them just as much. Crab meat is so tasty either way!
What You Need to Steam Crab Legs
- A large stock pot for steaming the crab
- Tongs to remove the crab legs from the pot
- I love using crab leg crackers to make the job easier, but they aren't necessary.
How to Steam Crab Legs
- Fill a large pot a quarter of the way full with water, leaving plenty of room for the crab legs. Bring the water to a boil.
- Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, vegetable oil, and beer to the pot of water once boiling.
- Place the crab legs in the pot and bring the water back to a boil. They should sit over the water rather than submerged within it. Steam the crab legs for 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove the legs using tongs and set aside. Cover them to keep warm.
- At this point, you can also optionally make it a crab boil. Add frozen corn cobs to the same pot and bring it back to a boil. Remove and serve with lemon garlic butter sauce.
Comprehensive Guide to Cooking Crab Legs
For more info, tips, and recipes for crab legs, check out my guide on How to Make Crab Legs! It's comprehensive and has everything you need to know to cook crab legs perfectly.
Top Reviews
Made steamed this evening. I didn’t notice any difference in steamed vs boiled but they were heavenly with the butter garlic parsley sauce! - Jen
See them all here→ or keep scrolling to the comments section below! I appreciate all of the amazing reviews on this recipe.
Other Sauces for Crab Legs
- Lemon garlic butter sauce is a super easy seafood dipping sauce to make, so I recommend giving it a try to serve on the side.
- You can also serve this recipe for steamed crab with our compound garlic butter recipe, too. It uses garlic and parsley for a rich garlic butter sauce that goes well with everything!
FAQ
Cooking crab legs is the same whether you're using snow crab legs, dungeness crab legs, or king crab legs. It's up to your preference which variety you use.
For this recipe, I use king crab legs. They're nice and long, with plenty of meat inside. King crab leg meat is so sweet and tender. Cooking king crab is easy, and some come pre-scored so you can easily pry them open with your hands to get the meat out without a hassle.
Yes, you can steam frozen crab legs! Frozen crab is commonly found and perfect for this recipe. You don’t even have to defrost the crab legs prior to cooking. You can place them right in the water and the steam will cook them perfectly. If you can find fresh crab in your area, consider yourself lucky!
Crab legs are done when the crab meat is an opaque white and there is an orange or red coloration to it. They are overcooked when they start to turn pink. Don't cook them for too long or you'll have rubbery crab legs!
Yes, you can also use this same recipe to boil crab legs! Follow these directions for boiling crab legs:
1. Fill a large pot about half full with water, leaving enough room for the crab legs. Wait for the boiling water to rise.
2. Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, vegetable oil, and beer to the water once boiling.
3. Place the crab legs in the pot, submerged in the water, and return to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the legs and set aside.
This is really up to your preference. I personally prefer to steam my crab legs as I find it gives them more flavor than boiling. However, some people do prefer to boil theirs. Try steaming them first, and when you're comfortable with steaming crab legs, try boiling them. See which you prefer!
If your crab legs came pre-scored, you can easily remove the meat from them by prying them open with your hands. Otherwise, you can carefully crack them by hand or by using a tool such as a crab cracker, lobster cracker, nutcracker, or even a meat tenderizer.
Avoid breaking too much of the shell so you don't wind up with shell pieces in your crab meat! Once you have the crab legs open, you can easily remove the meat with a small fork or seafood fork.
Cracking crab legs is easy to do once you do it a couple of times. It's really a lot of fun to be able to pull out a full juicy crab leg and dip it into a bowl of lemon garlic butter sauce. Every time, it feels like you won the jackpot!
Side Dishes for Steamed Crab Legs
A crab leg boil, made by boiling corn right in the same pot as the crab legs, makes for the most delicious crab dinner. It's a simple seafood boil recipe, but it works perfectly every time.
There is nothing quite like a big, warm, and welcoming platter of steamed crab legs with a vegetable side. Here are a few of my favorite side dishes for crab:
Steaming crabs is an easy way to have an impressive seafood dinner at home that your family and guests will rave about! There is nothing quite like juicy crab meat with a side of garlic butter. Did you try the recipe? Leave a comment and a rating below!
Steamed Crab Legs
Video
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 12 oz can light beer
- 2 lbs frozen crab legs (thawed or partially thawed)
- 6-8 corn cob halves (optional)
For Flavored Butter
- 1 stick butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
- or garlic butter recipe
Instructions
- Fill a large stock pot about a quarter full with water (leaving plenty of room for the crab legs) and bring to a boil.
- Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, vegetable oil, and beer.
- Add crab legs and return to a boil. Steam crab legs for 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove crab legs and set aside. Cover to keep warm.
- Optional: Add frozen corn cobs in same pot and bring to a boil. Remove. Serve everything warm with lemon butter sauce.
For Lemon Butter Sauce
- Melt butter and add garlic salt, lemon juice, and salt.
DebWV says
The only difference I see between steaming and cooking the crab legs, is that when steaming, you use a quarter of a pot of water where the boiling method calls for half a pot of water. Shouldn’t the steaming method call for using a basket to put the crab legs in, then lower it into the pot? Was that step omitted?
Em Beitel says
Hi Deb! There's no need for a basket. The difference in water levels is what allows the crabs to steam rather than boil. Having the lower water level cooks the crab legs through the steam rather than the boiling water. There is no need for a basket, so no step was omitted. Thank you and please enjoy!
Jen S says
Made steamed this evening. I didn’t notice any difference in steamed vs boiled but they where heavenly with the butter garlic parsley sauce!
Hey - water in Florida is expensive so less of it works for me.
Em Beitel says
That is awesome, Jen - we're so glad you enjoyed it! I like them steamed, too.
Julia says
Are the frozen crab legs usually precooked? If so, is this recipe for precooked crab legs?
Isabel Laessig says
Hi Julia! This recipe works for both fresh and frozen crab legs.
Evelyn Wagner says
I like the flavored butter since I often wondered what I can do to make the butter tastier. What I don't want is SALT!! I can't use it, but the actual meat has plenty in it. I will make it tomorrow...can't wait!!
Isabel Laessig says
Enjoy! Thanks so much, Evelyn!
LJames says
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Isabel Laessig says
You are so welcome!