Recipe: Baked Crab Dip

This is a delicious dip that is filled and baked inside a bread bowl. If the Corned Beef Dip I published yesterday doesn’t ring your chimes… this will surely do the trick.

This recipe is very easy and is very pretty .... a nice addition to the buffet table…. The down side is that you need to heat it in the oven, which is a consideration when you decide on your final list of appetizers and hor’dourves you plan on serving.

By all means this should be on your list of considerations, it can be prepped ahead and while it does need the oven… you can put it in first and set it out while other oven baked appetizers are being baked.

I like using the imitation crabmeat, it’s easy to work with. With the canned crabmeat you have to make sure there isn’t any cartilage… a chore I’m not fond of. Of course you could use fresh crabmeat from the seafood counter… be forewarned… it tends to be expensive…. If you have ever wondered what exactly imitation crabmeat is…. Someone asked the Taste of Home kitchens that very question…. This was their response:

“Imitation crabmeat, also called surimi, is fish that is shaped, flavored and colored to resemble crab. It is typically made from Alaskan pollock, a lean firm fish with a delicate flavor. Both natural and artificial flavors are used as well as artificial coloring.”


The dip can be stored in the refrigerator ahead of time. I found a recipe almost exactly the same in Taste of Home which says that the breads can be filled and kept in the refrigerator for 1 ½ hours … then brought out for 30 minutes before baking. I wouldn’t recommend that, if you need to make this ahead, store the dip in a storage container in the fridge and remove it about an hour before baking to get it closer to room temperature. Then fill the bread bowls and bake.

It’s absolutely delicious!






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Baked Crab Dip Recipe:

All you need:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
2 cans crabmeat, drained, and flaked or 1 package imitation crabmeat from the refrigerated section of the seafood area in the supermarket, finely chopped
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 green onions, chopped
¼ cup parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
2 round loaves of bread (Sourdough, Italian or Boule)
Crackers

All you need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

Add the sour cream, mix thoroughly.

Fold in the crabmeat, cheese, garlic powder, salt, green onions and parsley.

Prepare the breads by cutting the tops off and scooping out the insides, leaving a one inch wall.

Cut up the top and scoped out insides into cubes.

Spoon crab mixture into bread bowls and place each bread on a baking sheet with the bread cubes around it.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Garnish with snipped or chopped chives.

Serve with the toasted bread cubes and crackers.