Steamed Crab Legs

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!

Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce for Crab

Lemon garlic butter sauce is a super easy seafood dipping sauce to make. You can put it together ahead of time!

It’s a delicious dip you will love to serve not just with crab meat, but with all your favorite seafood recipes.

You can try serving this recipe for boiled crab with our compound garlic butter recipe, too. It uses garlic and parsley for a rich garlic butter sauce that goes well with everything!

What are the best crab legs?

Cooking crab legs is the same whether you’re using snow crab legs, dungeness crab legs, or king crab legs, so 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.

Can I use frozen crab?

Yes, you can! If you can find fresh crab in your area, consider yourself lucky. We recommend using fresh if available! If not, frozen crab legs are also delicious and perfect for making steamed crab legs.

They are most commonly found and are perfect for this recipe. You don’t even have to defrost them prior to cooking. You can place them right in the water and the steam will cook them perfectly.

How to Cook Crab Legs

Steaming Crab Legs

1. Fill a large pot a quarter full with water. Leave plenty of room for the crab legs. Bring to a boil.
2. Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, vegetable oil, and beer.
3. Place the crab legs in the pot and bring the water back to a boil. Steam the crab legs for 5 minutes.
4. 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.

Boiling Crab Legs

1. Fill a large pot about half full with water. Leave room for the crab legs. Wait for the boiling water to rise.
2. Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, vegetable oil, and beer.
3. Place the crab legs in the pot and return to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the legs and set aside.

Grilling Crab Legs

Crab legs on the grill are also amazing. You can follow our step by step guide on how to grill King Crab Legs.

How Long to Steam Crab Legs vs. Boiling

It takes 5 minutes whether you’re boiling crab legs or steaming them. Prepare them whichever way you like the most!

For exact measurements, tips, and more, keep scrolling down to the recipe card!

Garlic Butter Sauce for Seafood

1. Melt butter and add garlic salt, lemon juice, and salt.
2. Mix together to fully blend.

How to Eat Crab

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!

Is crab keto-friendly?

Yes! With just about 4 carbs, this is a perfect keto-friendly recipe. Especially if you’re dipping the crab meat in our garlic butter sauce. Enjoy!

Is crab gluten-free?

Yes. This crab legs recipe is 100% gluten-free, so you can enjoy it on a gluten-free meal plan!

Is it better to steam or boil crab legs?

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!

How do you know when your crab legs are done?

One of the best things about cooking crab legs is that they cook very quickly. They are ready in only 5 minutes whether you’re steaming or boiling them.

However, if you want to double-check, crab legs are done when the crab meat is an opaque white and there is an orange or red coloration to it.

Crab legs are overcooked when they start to turn pink. Don’t cook them for too long or you’ll have rubbery crab legs!

Should crab legs be thawed before steaming?

No – you don’t need to thaw crab legs before steaming them. You can steam or boil them straight from frozen. They cook quickly!

Side Dishes for Crab

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:

• Oven Roasted Potato Wedges
• Asparagus Air Fryer Recipe with Lemon Aioli
• Broccoli Salad with Apples
• Tangy Southern Coleslaw
• Mexican Street Corn Recipe

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.

Try more of our best Seafood Appetizers, and my Grilled Lobster Tail!

Did you try this recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments and by leaving a rating! I love to hear from you.

📋 Recipe

Steamed Crab Legs

Isabel Laessig

Everyone at the table will love these steamed crab legs! It's a rich and decadent recipe, yet simple to make at home.

4.82 from 33 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 0 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Appetizer or main, Main, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Calories 315 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 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

Cooking Conversions

See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!

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.

Video

Notes

TIP—Crab leg cracker: If you bought your crab legs pre-scored, you can easily remove the meat from them by prying them open with your hands. Otherwise, you can crack them carefully by hand or use a crab leg cracker such as a lobster cracker, nutcracker, or even a meat tenderizer.

Carefully crack the crab legs with your tool of choice to avoid breaking too much of the shell and getting shell pieces in your crab meat. Once you have the crab legs open, you can easily remove the meat with a fork.

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 11gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 2725mgPotassium: 157mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 805IUVitamin C: 4.9mgCalcium: 69mgIron: 1.5mg

Keyword boiled crab legs recipe, Crab legs, King crab legs, snow crab legs, steamed crab legs

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Photography by Kristen King.