Prepare deliciously cheesy crab spinach dip that combines tender crab meat, spinach, and creamed cheese. Top it with parmesan cheese and bake it until golden brown. It’s an easy make-ahead appetizer for entertaining or snacking.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Spinach crab dip is easy to make and perfect for entertaining guests.
- All you need is a handful of ingredients, and you can make the delicious dip as easy or complicated as you want with fresh crab meat, canned crab, or imitation crab.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
- Butter: Saute fresh spinach in butter until it wilts.
- Spinach: Use three to four cups of fresh baby spinach or frozen spinach. Heat the frozen spinach in a skillet and drain to remove excess water before combining it with the other ingredients for the hot crab dip.
- Artichoke Hearts: I enjoy the earthy bitterness of artichokes to complement the cheesy components.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese is the key ingredient for smooth and delicious seafood dip.
- Parmesan: Finish the dip in the oven with grated parmesan cheese for an added touch of cheesy goodness.
- Spices: Finish the dip by seasoning it with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Crab Meat: Fresh crab meat produces the best results. However, I know many don’t have access to fresh seafood, so it’s okay to use canned or imitation crab meat. They may not taste as fresh as crab straight out of the water, but they still make for a delicious crab spinach artichoke dip.
Additions and Substitutions
- If you prefer a more creamy dip, consider adding mayonnaise, sour cream, or Greek yogurt.
- Top the hot crab spinach dip with grated parmesan cheese as I do, or try it with different kinds of cheese like parmesan shredded cheese, white cheddar cheese, or mozzarella cheese.
- Experiment with different kinds of spices like cayenne pepper, garlic powder, or Old Bay Seasoning. You can also put a Cajun spin on it with my Slap Ya Mama Seasoning recipe.
How to Make Crab Spinach Dip
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350℉ (176℃). Then, warm butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook until it begins to wilt, for 1-2 minutes.
Step 2: Transfer the spinach to a large bowl and stir in the artichoke hearts, cream cheese, ¼ cup parmesan, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and crab meat.
Step 3: Prepare a baking dish and spoon the mixture into the baking dish. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes.
Step 4: Remove the dish from the oven and stir to break up the cream cheese and combine the ingredients. Then, top it with parmesan cheese.
Step 5: Bake for 3-5 minutes until the cheese starts to bubble and turn golden brown.
Expert Tips
- If you use fresh lump crab meat, pick through the meat to remove any shells and cartilage.
- Bake the dip until heated through and slightly browned on top.
- Make ahead by preparing and refrigerating the dup. Just allow it to come to room temperature before baking it again to serve.
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What Goes Best With Crab Dip?
Serve the hot dip with crackers, toasted bread, or fresh vegetables like carrots and celery. Other dippers you can try are tortilla chips, homemade air fryer pita chips, baguette slices, and Dutch oven sourdough bread. Or you can try hollowing out a small bread round and filling it with the homemade dip.
What to do With the Leftovers
- Refrigerate – Crab spinach dip using fresh crab will keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator, but if using canned crab meat, the dip will keep for 3-4 days.
- Reheat – Place the crab dip recipe in a baking dish and bake at 350℉ (176℃) for 10-15 minutes, or until it’s warmed through
- Repurpose – Use the leftover spinach artichoke crab dip as a filling for crispy crab rangoons.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is crab dip made of?
Most recipes for crab dip call for crab meat, cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheese, lemon juice, spices, and a dash of hot sauce. Combine the ingredients with the crabmeat gently folded in.
Serve it chilled or warm, often with crackers, french bread, or vegetables for dipping. Adjusting ingredient amounts can make the dip creamier, more spicy, or more crab-forward, depending on personal preference.
Is spinach dip healthy to eat?
Spinach dip can be a healthy part of a well-balanced diet when eaten in moderation. Spinach provides vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but the cheese and cream tend to make the dip high-calorie. You can reduce the calories by using Greek yogurt instead of some cream cheese and to replace the mayonnaise if calories are a concern for you.
Where to buy crab meat?
Crab meat is available at many local supermarkets. You should be able to access it in the seafood section. Lump meat is a variety of crab meat that contains a collection of jumbo lump crab that’s perfect for crab dips and other recipes like filling for crab rangoon and crab bisque.
More Dip Recipes:
Crab Spinach Dip
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3-4 cups fresh spinach, loosely packed
- 1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened, cubed
- ½ cup grated parmesan, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces crab meat, chopped or shredded
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (176℃). Then, warm butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook until it begins to wilt, for 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer the spinach to a large bowl and stir in the artichoke hearts, cream cheese, ¼ cup parmesan, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and crab meat.
- Prepare a baking dish and spoon the mixture into the baking dish. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and stir to break up the cream cheese and combine the ingredients. Then top it with parmesan cheese and bake for 3-5 minutes until the cheese starts to bubble and turn golden brown.
- If you use fresh lump crab meat, pick through the meat to remove any shells and cartilage.
- Bake the dip until heated through and slightly browned on top.
- Make ahead by preparing and refrigerating the dup. Just allow it to come to room temperature before baking it again to serve.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.
Melissa Wagner
Wednesday 8th of November 2023
This crab spinach dip is my new go-to party appetizer! The combination of tender crab, creamy cheese, and spinach was absolute perfection. It came together quickly and baked up so beautifully. I'll definitely be making this again for my next get-together!