Instant Pot Crab Dip—creamy, cheese crab dip with Old Bay Seasoning tastes great served on a sliced baguette or crackers.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions for this recipe are in the recipe card below.
Each week in 2020 I’m sharing a recipe inspired by one of the 50 states. So far I’ve covered…
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- See all the state recipes in one place.
If you have an idea for a state I haven’t covered yet please email me [email protected] –remember it’s a recipe that has to be made (at least in part) in the Instant Pot.
Today’s recipe is inspired by the Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State–Maryland. Maryland was one of the thirteen original colonies and played an important role in the founding of Washington, D.C. (which was established on land donated by the state).
Maryland is known for its fishing industry. It produces the most blue crabs in the United States. Blue crabs are prized for their sweet, delicate flavor and tender meat. Steamed crabs, crab cakes, soft shell crab, cream of crab soup, crab imperial, Maryland crab soup and crab dip are all popular dishes made from Maryland crabs.
Another popular food (spice?) from Maryland is Old Bay Seasoning. Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that originated in Baltimore, Maryland. The seasoning mix includes celery salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and paprika. It tastes great on seafood!
Instant Pot Crab Dip
For today’s recipe I used both crab and Old Bay Seasoning to create an amazing cheesy crab dip. This dip tastes great with sliced baguette, crackers, celery or chips. It makes a lot so if you’re hosting a party it’s perfect. If not, you can halve the recipe or even freeze the leftovers.
I warmed the dip in the Instant Pot using the pot in pot method. I used my 7 inch by 3 inch Fat Daddios pan* for the dip and it worked perfectly. You can also make this in your crockpot (I prefer a 3 quart crockpot for this recipe) with great results!
What is lump crab?
Lump crab meat is composed of smaller or broken pieces of jumbo lump, along with other smaller pieces of body meat. It’s white and has a delicate flavor. Lump crab meat guarantees those big, tasty bites of crab. If possible stay away from the canned crab meat. Or if you do use canned crab meat use the refrigerated canned stuff found by the fresh fish. The best choice is to look for the fresh crab meat sold in a 1 pound plastic tub from the seafood counter.
What is Old Bay Seasoning?
Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that originated in Baltimore, Maryland. The seasoning mix includes celery salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and paprika. It tastes great on seafood! You can find Old Bay Seasoning next to the other spices at your grocery store. You can also make your own Old Bay Seasoning at home.
Instant Pot Crab Dip
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 12 1x
Description
Creamy, cheese crab dip with Old Bay Seasoning tastes great served on a sliced baguette or crackers.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz) brick cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (divided)
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1 pound fresh lump crab meat
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Use a hand held mixer or a stand mixer to beat the cream cheese until creamy.
- Add in the mayo, sour cream, 1 cup of cheddar, ground mustard, lemon juice, Old Bay, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Beat until well mixed.
- Fold in the crab meat.
- Transfer the mixture into the pot-in-pot pan*. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cover the pan with foil.
- Pour 1 cup water into Instant Pot. Place the pan on a trivet with handles and lower it in the Instant Pot.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 25 minutes. When time is up move the valve to venting and remove the lid and the dip pan.
- Serve chip with bread, crackers, chips or vegetables.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Use a hand held mixer or a stand mixer to beat the cream cheese until creamy.
- Add in the mayo, sour cream, 1 cup of cheddar, ground mustard, lemon juice, Old Bay, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Beat until well mixed.
- Fold in the crab meat.
- Transfer the mixture into the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 1 ½ to 2 hours or on low for 3 hours. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and let melt.
- Serve chip with bread, crackers, chips or vegetables.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I usually don’t get a reply but I’m gonna ask anyway…all the ingredients in this recipe are cooked (not raw). Just curious why the PC time is so long? 25 minutes seems like overkill. It’s not that it’s an issue or that it’s difficult, but I’m just curious.
Thank you!🥰
Oh it’s just because it’s a pot in pot recipe and those always take longer for the food in the pot to heat up.
Hi! What size pot in pot do you recommend for an 8 quart instant pot for this recipe?
You can use a 7×3 or 7×4 inch dish or a 3 quart IP liner inside the 8 quart. Love them all! I put the link to the pot I used in the recipe card.
This was great. Made as written. Can I refrigerate leftovers?
Yep! You totally can.
Can imitation crab meat be used instead of real crab meat?
Sure you could definitely try that.
What is the most economical way of obtaining Crab? Because at Costco their container of lump crab is usually over $20 a pound.
Right. It’s super expensive. Mine was about the same price. I guess this is a dish that you might not make weekly but on special occasions!
Can I substitute something for the crab? Can’t eat crab.
You could use canned chicken.
I cant wait to try this recipe…looks delicious!!! Can you tell me what kind of mixer you are using? I have never seen 1 like that before!
No, reply, but I am interested in what kind of mixer that is, too!!
Hi Jennifer it is a Bosch mixer. I inherited it from my sister’s mother in law. It is probably 25-30 years old! I love it and will use it forever.