Baked Crab Dip With Old Bay and Ritz Crackers
This crab dip is inspired by a recipe called “ritzy dip” from the “Three Rivers Cookbook,” a Pittsburgh community cookbook published in 1973, in which canned crab is mixed with cream cheese, topped with Ritz crackers and baked. Fresh lump crab meat is the star in this updated version, with lemon juice, scallions and plenty of Old Bay seasoning to spice things up. This recipe doubles easily for larger groups, and the whole thing can be assembled and refrigerated up to a day in advance before being baked.
- Total:
- Serves: 6 persons
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, for greasing the baking dish
- 8ounces fresh lump or jumbo lump crab meat
- 4ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½cup grated Parmesan
- 3tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½teaspoon fresh lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1scallion, trimmed and minced, plus more for serving
- ¾teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, plus more for serving
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼cup crushed Ritz crackers (from about 7 crackers), plus more whole crackers for serving
- Sliced English cucumbers and other crackers, for serving
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a shallow, 2-cup capacity baking dish or ovenproof skillet with butter.Step 2
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the crab meat, cream cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, scallion, Old Bay and salt; mix with a fork until thoroughly combined. Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth into an even layer.Step 3
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and the crushed Ritz crackers; sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dip.Step 4
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until bubbling and golden brown on top. Dust lightly with Old Bay, sprinkle with a few minced scallions, and serve hot with sliced cucumbers and crackers.