Our Warm Buttery Grilled Crab Roll is a deliciously decadent dinner that is perfect for any special occasion! Made with tender crab meat and flavorful, melted butter. These crab rolls are a summer staple!
The Best Crab Rolls
Cooked crab legs are always a huge hit around here! We absolutely love cracking into that fresh crab meat and this epic crab roll recipe is no exception. Every year, we make crab legs for New Year’s Eve but in the summer we love nothing more than tossing everything on the grill. These grilled crab rolls are definitely going to be enjoyed at any special occasion we have over the summer!
Looking for More Crab Recipes?
If you love them as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Crab Salad!
Substitutions
- Crab Meat: highly recommend cooking some Grilled Crab Legs, but feel free to use lump crab meat from your local grocery store. We have also noted other cooking techniques for fresh crab in the recipe card below.
- Brioche Rolls: love a good split top brioche bun, but some simple hot dog buns would work too!
- Butter: option to use regular butter, plant-based butter, or ghee.
- Fresh Herbs: we used fresh parsley, but fresh chives would also be delicious!
How To Make Crab Rolls
Follow along as we show you the step by step process for making warm and buttery grilled crab rolls.
First, fire up an outdoor grill and cook the crab legs until warmed through. Crack the shells and remove all that amazing crab meat.
Warm the butter, garlic, and fresh parsley in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted.
After a quick toss of the crab meat with some melted butter and toasting the buns, it is time to assemble. Add your desired amount of crab and drizzle some more melted butter on top.
What Do You Serve With Crab Rolls?
We love serving these buttery crab rolls with some lemon wedges for that fresh squeeze of lemon juice on top. And if you are looking for a side dish recipe, try our Grilled Potato Wedges, Grilled Asparagus for a fresh veggie, or lighten things up with a side House Salad!
Crab Roll vs. Lobster Roll
We have made both options and love both options! One is made with crab meat and one is made with lobster meat. There are a few different ways to make a New England style lobster roll. Either a warm lobster roll with fresh meat or with a cold lobster salad. After testing all these options, we prefer this warm crab roll because it is much easier to buy crab legs than the amount of fresh lobster needed to make lobster rolls. If you have access to a large amount of fresh lobster, feel free to use that in place of crab in this recipe.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- What is a crab roll made of? A traditional warm crab roll is made with simple ingredients – crab meat, melted butter, a little garlic, and fresh herbs.
- What to put in a crab sandwich? We enjoyed this easy recipe on a toasted bun with some fresh lemon juice but you could also add some lettuce leaves or chopped celery for some added crunch.
- What kind of crab meat should I use to make crab rolls? In our recipe, we kept it simple with snow crab clusters, but you can also use Dungeness, king crab, claw, lump, or even imitation crab meat.
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Crab Roll
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Grill + Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our warm, buttery grilled Crab Roll recipe is an epic summer dinner that is melt-in-your-mouth delicious! So good!
Ingredients
- 4 bunches of snow crab legs, thawed
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter (sub plant-based butter)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
- 6 Brioche rolls, (regular or gluten-free)
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- for serving: fresh lemon wedges
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat grill to a medium-high heat (400-500 degrees F) and clean the grill grates.
- Grill Crab: Place the thawed, dry crab legs directly on the hot grill grates and cook over direct heat for about 5-7 minutes with the lid closed. Open the lid, flip the crab legs, and let them cook another 4-5 minutes or until warmed through. Carefully remove from grill.
- Melt Butter: While the crab is on the grill, put the stick of butter, 1 tablespoon garlic, and 1 tablespoon minced parsley in a small saucepan. Melt over a medium heat on the stove top and mix to combine.
- Toast Rolls: Brush some of the melted butter mixture on the inside of the brioche rolls. Place the rolls with the butter side down directly on the grill grates for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Carefully remove and set aside.
- Combine: Crack all of the crab shells and remove crab meat. Place all of the crab meat in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter mixture to the bowl and gently toss to coat.
- Make Crab Rolls: Divide the buttery crab mixture between all of the toasted rolls. season with a little salt and pepper, and then drizzle with more of the melted butter mixture on top.
- Serve: Enjoy immediately with lemon wedges to add a fresh squeeze of lemon juice before eating!
Notes
- Warm Rolls: these crab rolls are best enjoyed warm so feel free to set your oven to a very low or warm heat if they will be sitting for a bit before eating.
- Fresh Lemons: HIGHLY recommend adding that fresh squeeze of lemon juice when serving, it really brings all the flavors to life!
- Cooking Techniques: if grilling isn’t an option for you, feel free to make Baked Crab Legs or learn How Long to Boil Crab Legs on the stove top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 crab roll
- Calories: 349
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Sodium: 742.2 mg
- Fat: 18.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.8 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 22.5 g
- Cholesterol: 94.4 mg
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