Baked Crab Legs in Butter Sauce – Easy baked crab legs brushed with a decadent garlic butter sauce ramped up with Creole seasoning. Enjoy a gourmet treat right at home without the huge restaurant price tag. And it’s ready in less than 20 minutes—from start to finish!
Seafood is the dinner of special occasions, whether for Valentine’s Day, an anniversary, or a well-deserved promotion. Those are the times when the price tag is worth it. But save money by making this deliciousness at home for a truly intimate date night.
Not only are baked crab legs super easy, but they’re also a whole lot cheaper than hitting the local seafood restaurant. Drizzle them with a decadent butter sauce, and you’ll be glad you didn’t go out.
Choosing Which Crab to Buy
Before going to your nearest grocery store, let’s discuss which crab legs to buy and why. We can typically choose between three types of crab legs. Dungeness crabs, king crabs, and snow crabs are usually available fresh or frozen, depending on the season.
Dungeness crabs are smaller but sweeter with a nutty flavor. King crabs are monsters, so you can plan on two legs per person but have a seafood cracker on hand to get that sweet, lobster-like meat out. Snow crab legs are easier to open for delicate and briny meat that’s oh-so-delicious. Unfortunately, snow crabs are disappearing thanks to climate change.
Recipe Ingredients
- Crab Legs – Take your pick between Dungeness or king crab legs, fresh or frozen.
- Garlic Butter Sauce – Melted butter, garlic, Creole seasoning, and lemon juice make the ideal sauce for any seafood!
- Garnish – Sprinkling the crab legs with chopped chives or parsley makes an attractive dinner entree.
How to Bake Crab Legs in Butter Sauce
Prep the Crab Legs
- Defrost – Thaw crab legs in the refrigerator overnight or place them under cold running water for a few minutes to thaw faster.
- Preheat oven to 375℉ (80℃).
- Prep – When ready to cook, cut the crab legs in half lengthwise to reveal the crab’s flesh. Use kitchen shears or scissors instead of a knife for safer slicing. (Photo 1)
- Arrange the crab legs in an oven-safe pan or baking sheet. (Photo 2)
- Mix butter, garlic, and Creole seasoning in a small bowl and microwave on low for about a minute. (Or heat it in a pan like I did.) Remove when melty and add lemon juice; give it a good stir. (Photos 3-4)
- Brush the garlic butter sauce all over the crab legs—reserve extra for serving. (Photos 5-6)
Bake
- Bake the crab legs for approximately 5 minutes or until heated. Sprinkle with parsley or chives.
- Serve your baked crab legs immediately with the remaining garlic butter sauce and lemon wedges.
Recipe Variations
- Seafood swap. You can swap the crab with other crustaceans or seafood using the same recipe.
- Seafood pasta. Remove the crab meat, mix it with the sauce, and stir it into your favorite pasta for a seafood pasta extravaganza. A drizzle of heavy cream and some freshly grated Parmesan delivers a delicious seafood Alfredo.
- Seasoning swap. Trade out Creole seasoning for Italian, jerk, or Old Bay seasoning.
Tips and Tricks
- Remember to split the legs in half because that’s how your sauce flavors the crab meat. Cutting them also makes them easier to eat.
- Avoid overcooking the crab legs since that will give you rubbery crab legs. 🤦🏾♀️ Keep in mind that frozen crab legs are usually pre-cooked.
- Yes, you can skip thawing frozen crab legs, but it adds just a little cooking time.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Buying frozen crab is excellent for making ahead. Then, make your butter sauce and keep it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for three months.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Crab legs in butter sauce are best straight from the oven.
In the unlikely event of leftovers, store cooled crab legs in an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 2 days. You can also transfer them into a freezer-safe bag and freeze them for up to 2 months.
What to Serve With Baked Crab Legs in Butter Sauce
Crab legs go wonderfully with roasted fingerling potatoes and corn on the cob, similar to seafood-boil ingredients. Cheddar biscuits are an ideal match as well. If you’re looking for the perfect wine, try a dry Riesling or Chardonnay.
More Mouthwatering Seafood Recipes to Try
This blog post was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated with additional tips
Baked Crab Legs in Garlic Butter Sauce
Would you like to save this?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450g) king crab legs
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1-2 teaspoons (4g-8g) Creole seasoning
- ½ tablespoon (7.5ml) lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (3g) chopped chives or parsley
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Thaw the crab legs in the refrigerator overnight or, for faster results, place them under cold running water for a few minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
- When ready to cook, cut the crab leg shells in half lengthwise so the flesh is visible. Please skip the knife and use kitchen shears or scissors to do it. You'll thank me later.
- Place crab legs in an oven-safe pan or on a baking sheet.
- Add butter, garlic, and Creole seasoning in a small bowl—microwave for about a minute. Remove and add lemon juice. Mix well.
- Brush the butter mixture all over the crab legs – reserving extra for serving.
- Place the crab legs in the oven for about 5 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley or chives.
- Serve immediately with the remaining sauce and lemon wedges.
Tips & Notes:
- Remember to split the legs in half because that’s how your sauce flavors the crab meat. Cutting them also makes them easier to eat.
- Avoid overcooking the crab legs since that will give you rubbery crab legs.
- Keep in mind that frozen crab legs are usually pre-cooked.
- You can skip thawing frozen crab legs, but it adds just a little cooking time.
- One of the great things about this recipe, you are not trying to cut open hot crab legs with scissors, the prep is done before they are heated.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used.
Betty says
Thank you for this detailed recipe and information on how to cook Crab-legs, especially the “How-to pictures”; also, compliments to the photographer. I’ve always wanted to cook Crab-legs, but did not know how. I’ve taken notes and now, I can do it. I’m planning something different for my Valentine, birthday boy, and my menu consists of your recipes of Baked Crab-legs, Twice Baked Potatoes, Garlic Bread, along with a salad and the birthday cake. I’m a want-to-be cook and I spend a lot of time on your site reading your wonderful food creations. You have taught me a lot. Thanks again
Imma says
I’m so glad it worked for you. And thank you for your kind words and serving suggestions. Sounds great!!!
Shaikha says
I loved these so much! Made them about a year ago and glad i found it again, will be making it for lunch also. I remember the flavor was so strong and the crab was soft❤️
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Shaika! That is soo nice to know! If ever you are looking for something and you can’t find it, please know that you can always reach out through my social media accounts. 🙂
Rashida Laurence says
I don’t have a stock pot. So I needed this recipe. They came out fantastic! So delicious. I made snow crabs (bought frozen) and bought thawed king crab legs. The king crab leg shells were partially cut open from Sam’s club $31/lb so I did not cut them open. I made sure the butter went over these areas. Oh my, they were so good.
Immaculate Bites says
Oh that sounds soooo good, Rashida!
Kiah says
I used Snow Crab Legs (it was what I could afford) for my birthday dinner and girl! Your butter sauce is to die for! I added some tarragon and parsley to the butter as it melted then brushed over the crab legs and it was AMAZING!
Imma Adamu says
Thank you so much for the appreciation and support, Kiah! I’m glad you liked it!
Hailey Ann says
The butter sauce in this is to DIE for. I’m planning to whip up some more to put on all my seafood dishes (and more crab, which I just ordered! for the next month! Great recipe, even the kids liked it LOL
ImmaculateBites says
So happy it was a hit with the kiddos. Thanks for the feedback.
Neshia says
Made this last night! This was so good. Kitchen shears was a smart choice. Still was hard to cut thru some parts but doing this ahead of time was smart!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for taking time to share with us.Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Jessica says
Do you cook them covered or uncovered?
ImmaculateBites says
I cook uncovered .
Sophie says
Crab legs is my favourite game time food and with NBA season going on, nothing can be better than having a plate of Baked Crab Legs in Butter Sauce in my lap and a glass of Beer.
ImmaculateBites says
Great! Couldn’t agree more.
Vergaline S. says
Once again Imma, you have taken one of the simplest of foods and suggested how to make it a delightful meal/treat. I love all kinds of crab but I usually fix what we have here in northern California, Dungeness. Thank you for a different way to make the other kinds of crab. You are right, King is a bit more expensive, but likes like it’s well worth the treat. Thanks for the inspiration.
Robyn Owsley says
Can I use snow crab legs instead? Same prep, less cook time?
ImmaculateBites says
I don’t see why not.