Name: Quick Crab Roll Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces jumbo lump crab meat; ¼ cup purple onion (diced); ¼ cup celery (finely chopped); 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning (We used Old Bay.); ⅓ cup mayonnaise; 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 4 sandwich rolls (lobster roll buns or hot dog buns)

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Bring the flavors of the coast to your kitchen with our crab roll. A mouthwatering crab salad made with celery, onions, and our favorite seafood seasonings!

As you may know, Kim and I lived in Florida for a number of years. The East coast of the state was our favorite area.

The mix of cultures, food, and scenery were amazing. It was a culinary wonderland.

Then we moved to the Gulf side and while it had a certain charm, the food was not the same. In fact, there was a disturbing lack of fresh seafood.

Well, if you enjoyed Grouper and shrimp, you were in heaven. As result, I learned how to make a lot of my coastal favorites at home.

Which brings us to today’s crab roll. It’s rich, creamy, and loaded with jumbo lump crab. Furthermore, this crab sandwich comes together in less than 10 minutes.

I don’t know how much easier it can get. So, let’s start cooking!

Four crab rolls, on a long rectangular plate, garnished with fresh parsley.

How to make a crab roll:

Alright, so I used canned crab and I recommend you do the same. Especially, if it’s your first time making a crab roll.

Mainly, because nobody wants to spend hours steaming and cracking open crab shells. With that being said, if you have access to fresh, steamed crab meat, then chill it and use it instead. For now, start prepping your ingredients.

Grab your crab, dice your celery and onions, and measure out the mayo and lemon juice.

The crab roll recipe ingredients like red onions, crab meat, and buns.

After that, begin adding your ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Start with the crab, then add the diced red onion, celery, seafood seasonings, mayonnaise, and finally the lemon juice.

Two things to note. For the lemon juice, we used fresh squeezed.

Also, Kim and I prefer to use Old Bay seafood seasoning. But, that’s just a flavor preference. If you have a favorite brand, then substitute it instead.

All of the crab roll ingredients placed into a large mixing bowl.

Once you have everything in a bowl, get a rubber spatula or large spoon and start stirring. Make sure you evenly coat the crab meat with the mayo and seasonings; otherwise, it will effect the taste of your crab roll.

For example, some bites will have too much seasoning, while other bites will be bland. Now that you have the crab salad or filling prepared, there’s only one last step.

The crab salad filling has been mixed and is ready for buns.

The final step involves putting the crab roll filling into the buns. For our recipe, we simply divided the filling equally between four (4) buns.

The nutritional facts below are based on that, as well. You could use deli or hamburger rolls, it’s up to you.

Just keep in mind that any changes from the recipe will change the nutritional information. Well, that’s it, your crab roll recipe is done.

A close-up view of the crab roll, showing the crab meat.

Crab Roll Tips:

One of the best tips I can give you is to be gentle during the mixing process. Try folding the ingredients together. Because, if you’re too rough, you’ll break up all that luscious crab meat and that would be a real shame.
Some people don’t have access to fresh crab meat, but don’t fret, the base recipe can be used on other types of seafood. In fact, this works for shrimp as well. Also, be sure to check the canned meats section of your local grocery store. I know for a fact that Chicken of Sea offers canned jumbo lump crab meat.
The last tip involves lemon juice. I know it’s a pain to buy 1 lemon and juice it for this recipe. Trust me though, it’s worth it. The refrigerated concentrates are too strong for the delicate meat and will overpower a lot of the flavor. What do I recommend? Try buying a bag of lemons and making homemade lemonade with the extras.

Other crab recipes you may love:

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