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Top down shot of a baking sheet filled with baked crab legs and clarified butter.

Baked Crab Legs (how to cook crab legs)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Erin Jensen
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2-4 servings 1x
  • Category: Seafood
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Our simple and delicious Baked Crab Legs are such an easy, mess-free way to cook your crab legs! 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 46 snow crab clusters OR 4-8 king crab legs
  • dipping: melted butter or melted ghee

Instructions

Snow Crab Legs (Fresh/Thawed – preferred method)

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
  2. Place crab legs on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Try not to overlap them as this may increase baking time. 
  3. Place in the preheated oven, middle rack, for 10-15 minutes. 
  4. Remove and carefully touch to ensure they are hot to the touch. If they aren’t hot, simply place back in the oven for 5 minute increments until they are warmed through. 
  5. Serve immediately with ghee or melted butter. 

Snow Crab Legs (Frozen)

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
  2. Place crab legs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Try not to overlap them as this may increase baking time. 
  3. Place in the oven, middle rack, for 15-20 minutes. 
  4. Remove and carefully touch to ensure they are hot to the touch.  If they aren’t, simply place back in the oven for 5 minute increments until they are warmed through. 
  5. Serve immediately with ghee or melted butter. 

King Crab Legs (Fresh/Thawed – preferred method)

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
  2. Place crab legs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Try not to overlap them as this may increase baking time. 
  3. Place in the oven, middle rack, for 15-20 minutes. 
  4. Remove and carefully touch to ensure they are hot to the touch.  If they aren’t, simply place back in the oven for 5 minute increments until they are warmed through. 
  5. Serve immediately with ghee or melted butter. 

King Crab Legs (Frozen)

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
  2. Place crab legs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Try not to overlap them as this may increase baking time. 
  3. Place in the oven, middle rack, for 18-22 minutes. 
  4. Remove and carefully touch to ensure they are hot to the touch.  If they aren’t, simply place back in the oven for 5 minute increments until they are warmed through. 
  5. Serve immediately with ghee or melted butter. 

Notes

  • Fresh vs. Frozen: Yes, you can definitely still cook crab legs from frozen, BUT the result is the crab shell ends up being a little softer due to all the extra moisture.  I would recommend thawing your crab legs for best results. 
  • Flexible: This recipe is pretty flexible so feel free to add more or less crab legs to the baking sheet, depending upon how many people you are serving (just try not to overlap them as that will impact cooking time).  
  • How to Thaw Crab Legs: The best way to thaw crab legs is to place them in the refrigerator overnight. If you are short on time, running them under cold water (and then patting them dry) works too.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cluster
  • Calories: 130
  • Sugar:
  • Sodium: 783.1 mg
  • Fat: 1.7 g
  • Trans Fat:
  • Carbohydrates: 0 g
  • Protein: 26.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 80.5 mg