Creamy Baked Spinach and Crab Dip
Creamy and cheesy Baked Spinach and Crab Dip is serious comfort food that also happens to be the best holiday and party food! You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to throw together.
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- Casserole Dish (or Cast Iron Pan)
- Cast Iron Pan (or Casserole Dish)
Ingredients
- Butter to grease pan + more for topping
- 1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid squeezed out
- 8 ounces crabmeat (See Notes.)
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2 cups chopped green onions, both white and green parts (about 2 bunches)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese or mild white cheddar (about 1½ cups shredded)
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1½ Tbsp hot sauce (use more or less, as desired)
- 4 tsp dry mustard
- 2 tsp Old Bay seafood seasoning
- 1½ tsp paprika + more for topping
- 1 tsp black pepper
- To taste salt
- About ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- PREP: Prep and gather all ingredients. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Use the convection setting if you have that option. Be sure to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the thawed spinach. Gently pick through the crab meat to check for shells. Find a casserole dish or cast iron pan that will hold about 6 cups (or use 2 smaller ones like I did here) and rub the bottom and sides with butter.(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)1 pound frozen chopped spinach,, 8 ounces crabmeat
- MIX: Combine the following in a large mixing bowl: cream cheese, green onions, heavy cream, mayonnaise, cheese, lemon juice, worcesterchire and hot sauces, dry mustard, Old Bay, paprika and black pepper. Mix well until all ingredients are well-combined. Make sure the cream cheese is completely at room temperature or this step will be a bit more difficult.(I used my hands, as in making a meatball mixture, but a large spoon will do. You can also put it in a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment if you are so inclined.)12 ounces cream cheese,, 2 cups chopped green onions,, ½ cup heavy cream, ½ cup mayonnaise, 4 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, 1½ Tbsp hot sauce, 4 tsp dry mustard, 2 tsp Old Bay seafood seasoning, 1½ tsp paprika, 1 tsp black pepper
- Then, fold in the spinach and crab. Don’t worry too much about over mixing. Just make sure all ingredients are well-incorporated.8 ounces crabmeat, 1 pound frozen chopped spinach,
- TASTE TEST: Then, taste it and see if the mixture needs any salt. It might not. (I used ½ tsp salt, fyi.) If it does, mix it in.
- PLACE IN PAN: Next, transfer the dip mixture to the greased pan or pans and spread it out in an even layer.
- TOP: Top the dip with panko breadcrumbs, then several pats of butter, then a sprinkling of paprika. If you have extra crab leftover, you can add that to the top, too!
- BAKE: Place the baking dish/dishes on the middle rack of the 375°F preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is golden and the edges are bubbling. If you’re not sure if the dip is hot enough in the center and want to use a stem thermometer, insert it into the center and make sure it reads at least 165°F.
- REST & SERVE: After it comes out of the oven, let the hot dip rest about 5 to 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.Serve with baguette slices, breadsticks, crackers, tortilla chips, pretzels or raw veggies. Buon Appetito!
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes about 6 cups dip. I figured about ½ cup per person but adjust accordingly. Since it’s very rich, though, and will likely be served with other dishes, it would probably feed more than 12 people.
- There’s no need to use the more expensive lump or jumbo lump crab meat in this dip, unless you really want to. Their signature chunky texture will get lost once mixed with the other ingredients. Backfin, claw or “special” crab meat are great options. “Special” crab is made up of small pieces of crab meat from the body of blue crabs and is perfect for this recipe (and I used it here).
- Gently pick through the crab meat before using to check for shells.
- Be sure to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the thawed spinach. Excess moisture may result in a watery dip.
- Also, even though this recipe calls for one pound of spinach, you can use up to 20 ounces since many bags of frozen spinach are packed in this size.
- The cream cheese should be completely softened at room temperature so that all the ingredients mix up very easily.
- Be sure to grate or shred the cheese yourself using a box grater. I don’t recommend pre-shredded cheese as it has an unpleasant anti-caking film on it and will not melt really well.
- You can mix/assemble the dip mixture 1 to 2 days in advance (without the breadcrumbs and butter topping), if necessary, and hold it in the refrigerator. Remove it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. (Or, allow about 10 minutes more baking time if baking right from fridge.) Then just transfer the spinach and crab dip mixture to a baking dish and top with breadcrumbs, butter and paprika and bake.
- The time in the recipe is an estimate, but just make sure the edges are bubbly and the top is golden brown. You can use a stem thermometer to check the center if desired (but not necessary). Make sure it’s about 165°F.
- Based on experience, this dip goes VERY quickly at parties. Like, faster-than-you’d-think-blink-and-it’s-gone quickly. So, here’s my suggestion: break up the dip mixture into two smaller baking dishes (like I did here), serve one and hold the second in a warm/low temperature oven covered until you need it.
- Leftovers actually hold up really well for up to 5 days. Either reheat them in the microwave (individual servings) or covered in a 350°F oven until heated through. Stir the reheated dip gently before serving.
