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Baked King Crab Legs

Easy Baked King Crab Legs are rich and moist with sweet tender meat and succulent flavor. Dip them into this garlic butter enhanced with lemon and Old Bay seasoning.

This recipe is moderately low-carb, but not necessarily by Keto extreme low-carb guidelines.

This simple recipe is incredibly delicious and quick, ready in just 25 minutes.

a graphic of Easy Baked Crab Legs and Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce Recipe for Two
Easy Baked King Crab Legs for Two

This dish is perfect when you want to indulge a bit and makes a great lunch, elegant dinner, or very impressive yet super easy date night meal for two. Try them for Christmas, New Year's Eve or Day, and Valentine's Day.

We don't follow a low-carb diet so we served these easy baked King Crab Legs with a side of baked potatoes and cheesy garlic biscuits.

For more information about these large crustaceans check out this King Crab article.

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How to cook King Crab Legs in the oven

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Place crab legs on a large rimmed baking sheet. Click for a large baking sheet.

three king crab legs on a baking sheet

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted, about 3 minutes.

Whisk in Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.

butter, old bay seasoning, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil cooking in a pan

Set aside half of the sauce to use for dipping later.

Brush the crab legs with the remaining butter mixture and pour any extra mixture over the crab legs.

king crab legs brushed with butter mixture on a baking pan ready to bake

Place in the oven and bake until opaque and flaky, about 20 minutes.

We used a chef's knife to cut them each in half before serving.

This crab leg cracker and pick set works great for getting the meat out of the shell. Make sure to dig out every last little bit of that tender juicy crab meat. Yum!

Easy Baked Crab Legs on parchment paper with a side of garlic butter and Old Bay dipping sauce and cheddar biscuits
Baked King Crab Legs

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Easy Baked Crab Legs with garlic butter dipping sauce

Easy Baked King Crab Legs

Easy Baked King Crab Legs are rich and moist with sweet tender meat and succulent flavor. Dip them into this garlic butter enhanced with lemon and Old Bay seasoning. Ready in just 25 minutes!
4.43 from 77 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Seafood
Cuisine American
Servings 2
Calories 518 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds thawed King crab legs (2 or 3 legs)
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  • Place crab legs on a large rimmed baking sheet. Click for a large baking sheet.
  • Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted, about 3 minutes.
  • Whisk in Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.
  • Set aside half of the sauce to use for dipping later.
  • Brush crab legs with the remaining butter mixture and pour any extra mixture over crab legs.
  • Place in the oven and bake until opaque and flaky, about 20 minutes.
  • We used a chef knife to cut them each in half before serving.
  • This crab leg cracker and picks set works great for the getting the meat out of the shell. Make sure to dig out every last little bit of that tender juicy crab meat. Yum!

Notes

  • This crab leg cracker and pick set works great for getting the meat out of the shell. Make sure to dig out every last little bit of that tender juicy crab meat. Yum!

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 518kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 16gFat: 50gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 892mgPotassium: 200mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 747IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 1mg
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Hi and welcome. I’m Zona and I have a passion for recipes. I share recipes, tips, tricks, and resources to help you cook for two. Eat, drink, and enjoy!

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Baked Crab Legs on a baking sheet.
Easy Baked Crab Legs Recipe
4.43 from 77 votes (76 ratings without comment)
Recipe Rating




Robin

Sunday 1st of January 2023

Do I cook them from frozen, or defrost?

Zona

Sunday 1st of January 2023

Hi Robin, you should thaw them first, don't cook them frozen. Thanks for your question :)

Dianne Davies

Tuesday 18th of May 2021

I've never tried them in the oven. I've made them before boiling them but the taste was way too salty. I tried them again by rinsing them several times in water but they were always too salty. How do you prepare yours before you put them in the oven?

Zona

Sunday 23rd of May 2021

Hi Dianne, I put them right on the baking sheet with no other prep. But I found this article on how to remove salt from crab legs (you will need to copy it and paste it into your browser) https://www.ehow.com/how_7727558_remove-salt-frozen-crab-legs.html

I hope that helps :)

Marcie

Tuesday 16th of June 2020

I made this the other day and it was amazing. Could you substitute with snow crab”legs?

Zona

Wednesday 17th of June 2020

Hi Marcie, I have not tried this recipe using snow crab legs but I think you can use either kind. Let me know how it turns out for you :)

Chanel Frampton

Saturday 6th of June 2020

Excited

Martha

Tuesday 17th of March 2020

I am confused. Why bother with buttering the shell? We don’t eat that! Can we slit the legs lengthwise and butter that way?

Terrence

Monday 21st of June 2021

@Zona, I like the recipe And the buttery zest on the shells added to there flavor Good call Thanks Terrence

Zona

Tuesday 17th of March 2020

Hi Martha, brushing the outside of the legs with the butter definitely adds flavor. I have not slit the legs before cooking them. If you choose to cut the legs in half lengthwise it may shorten the time needed to cook them. With either fresh or pre-cooked legs, it does provide an opportunity to flavor them more thoroughly with the butter and seasonings. It takes a sharp, heavy knife or good kitchen shears to cut the crab legs, and reasonably strong hands. Overall it's easier to cook the legs whole, and then split them, but you can do it first if you choose. I hope that helps :)