A crab melt is an elevated lunch or an easy weeknight dinner in less than 30 minutes! The open-faced sandwich includes crab salad, sliced tomatoes, and melted cheese.
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If you love crab, don’t miss this crab imperial, my mom’s famous crab cakes recipe, Aunt Bee’s crab bisque recipe, this crab roll, and this 10-minute crab dip recipe, too!
A Simple-Yet-Elegant Crab Melt Recipe
A crab melt sandwich is a hot sandwich that includes bread, melted cheese, and crabmeat. There are endless ways to prepare these ingredients, but we happen to think that this particular method is the absolute best! The open-faced sandwich is topped with the tastiest crab salad, vine-ripened tomato, and melted, gooey cheese. It’s flavorful, it’s simple, and it’s the most perfect upgrade on an old-fashioned tuna melt recipe or a cold New England-style crab roll recipe.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Use a thick-sliced hearty bread such as a crusty loaf of artisan French bread or baguette, Italian bread, sourdough bread, or this homemade no-knead Dutch oven bread. Ciabatta rolls (shown here) and English muffins are also great options since they’re sturdy, and those little nooks and crannies soak up any extra juices from the sandwich toppings.
- Jumbo lump crabmeat from Maryland or Virginia blue crabs is the best of the best! While it’s also the most expensive fresh crab meat that you can purchase, it’s well worth the investment for special occasions. Nothing else has the same rich, buttery texture, bright white appearance, and large chunks.
- If jumbo lump crab is not available, or if you don’t want to spend that kind of money on a single ingredient, try lump crab meat, “special” crab meat that includes the smaller pieces of white meat from the body of the crab, or even claw meat. Pick whichever option is available and best suits your budget.
- I’ve shown Swiss cheese here, but you can use just about any variety of cheese that you prefer. Other good options include Gruyere, sharp cheddar, provolone, Havarti, mozzarella, Colby, Pepper Jack, and Monterey Jack.
How to Make a Crab Melt
You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Stir together the crab salad. Start with a small amount of mayonnaise and slowly add more, if necessary. The amount of mayonnaise in a crab salad recipe is really a matter of personal preference. It’s very easy to add extra, but it’s hard to take it out.
- Butter and toast the bread, rolls, or English muffins.
- Top the toasted rolls with the crab salad, tomato slices, and cheese.
- Place the open-face sandwiches under the broiler until the cheese melts.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley just before serving. Enjoy the crab melt sandwich with a fork and knife, or dig in with your hands!
Serving Suggestions
Keep it simple and serve the sandwiches with a side of potato chips or French fries and dill pickles — diner style! If you like, you can add a cup of tomato soup, a simple house salad with candied pecans, carrot and raisin salad, three bean salad, or fruit salad to offset the creamy crab.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: Crab melts are best when enjoyed fresh and warm. If you’d like to prep ahead, you can make the crab salad in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
- How to Store Leftovers: Crab melt sandwiches can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days. It’s important to note that the bread will likely get soggy as the sandwich sits.
- How to Reheat: Place the crab melt in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is gooey and the crab salad is warmed through. You can also reheat the sandwich in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until heated through.
Crab Melt
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 8 minutes
Total: 23 minutes
This easy crab melt recipe is an elegant lunch and a quick weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 lb. lump or jumbo lump crab meat (or other crab meat of choice), drained if necessary, any shells or cartilage removed
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 large ciabatta rolls, split in half (or use 4 English muffins or 4 large slices of hearty bread)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 4 tomato slices, optional
- 4 slices Swiss, gruyere, or cheddar cheese
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, Old Bay, and sugar. Add the crab, celery, and green onion. Stir gently to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add extra mayo, if desired.
- Preheat the broiler. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spread the butter on open face of each ciabatta roll half. Arrange the buttered rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Place the rolls about 6-inches from the broiler and toast until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them so that they don’t get too dark.
- Top each open-face roll with the crab salad. Add a tomato slice if desired. Top with cheese.
- Broil 6-inches from the heat until the cheese melts, about 2-3 minutes.
Notes
Adjust the number of sandwiches that you prepare to serve the size of your family. For instance, cut all of the ingredients in half to make 2 sandwiches. Similarly, you can double or triple the ingredients if you’re entertaining or serving a larger group.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 of the recipeCalories: 440kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 29gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 1351mgPotassium: 271mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 426IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 214mgIron: 1mg
Recipe Variations
- To add even more flavor to the crab salad, mix in other fresh herbs like chives, tarragon, or parsley, a dash of garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, capers, a dollop of Dijon mustard, or minced red onion.
- For a crab melt panini, make the sandwich closed (rather than open-faced) and press it on a grill pan or panini press. Don’t forget to butter the outside of the sandwich or brush it with olive oil.
- It might not be as traditional, but everything’s better with bacon, right? Add a couple of strips of cooked, crispy bacon to each sandwich.
- Top the toasted bread with sliced or mashed avocado in addition to the crab salad, tomato, and cheese.
More Sandwich Recipes to Try
Tuna Salad Recipe
10 minutes mins
Salmon Sandwich (in just 20 Minutes!)
20 minutes mins
Turkey Sloppy Joes (Crock Pot or Stovetop)
3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
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