Restaurant-Style Crab Legs with Warm Butter
If you already love fresh lobster, chances are you’ll adore this baked crab legs recipe. I grew up eating crab with my family, and it’s still one of my favorite seafood dishes — especially because it’s so easy to make. Most crab legs sold in stores are already cooked, so the gentlest way to reheat them at home is by baking.
Why you’ll love this method: minimal prep, hands-off cooking, no cutting the legs down, and no need to boil water or mess with a steamer basket. This recipe is written for Alaskan king crab legs (King crab meat is so juicy!), but you’ll find tips below for using snow crab or Dungeness too. Just don’t forget the hot melted butter for dipping — it’s essential!
Other Varieties of Crab Legs To Try Next
- Dungeness crab: Similar in flavor to king crab but much smaller, with significantly less meat per crab.
- Snow crab: A great alternative (and the most similar to King crab) — the meat is slightly sweeter, smaller, and more budget-friendly, but still similar in taste and texture.
- Blue crab: An East Coast favorite available from April to December. These are much smaller and typically served whole, often seasoned with Old Bay.
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How Much Crab Per Person?
Plan on about ¾ lb of king crab legs per person for a main course, or ½ lb for an appetizer. Serving snow crab instead? Go with 1 lb per person — it has less meat per shell. This recipe scales easily, so double or triple it based on your guest list.
Minimal Prep Required
King crab legs are impressively large — in the best way! If your baking dish is small, you may need to cut them into sections, but most standard rimmed baking sheets can handle them whole with no trimming needed.
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Want to level up your dipping sauce? Make clarified butter: melt butter over medium-high heat until it simmers, cook until the water evaporates and milk solids settle, then strain through cheesecloth. For a deeper dive, check out this great guide from Serious Eats.
Fresh Crab vs Frozen Crab Legs
Most king crab legs are sold fresh-frozen, meaning they’re cooked shortly after being caught, then frozen to preserve freshness. For best results, thaw them overnight in the fridge before baking.
Cooking from frozen? No problem — just add about 10 minutes to the bake time, whether you’re using king, snow, or Dungeness crab.
Can You Add Seasonings?
You can season the crab with Creole or Old Bay (and yes, it’s delicious — check out our homemade Baltimore-style crab cake recipe!), but it’s totally optional.
These baked king crab legs are a luxurious, crowd-pleasing addition to any dinner at home. And if it’s the holiday season, consider adding them to your Feast of the Seven Fishes menu! These with pan-seared Chilean sea bass or tender crab-stuffed shrimp would be amazing.
Chef-Tested Tips!
- Check king crab legs for doneness early — start at 15 minutes instead of 20 to avoid overcooking (remember, you’re just warming them through!).
- The shells will turn bright orange and the crab should be hot to the touch — that’s your sign they’re ready.
- King crab shells are tough, so use kitchen shears to cut through them easily. We recommend keeping a couple pairs on hand for guests.
- Serve with individual ramekins for the butter, and a small bowl of lemon wedges for the table so everyone can squeeze to taste.
If you give this restaurant-worthy crab dish a try (trust me, you’ll feel like a chef 👩🏻🍳!), be sure to leave a review and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below — I can’t wait to hear your feedback!
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Oven-Baked King Crab Legs (No Steamer Needed)!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs (1360g) King crab legs, thawed
- 8 Tbsp (113g) unsalted butter
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Bake the crab legs. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Place thawed king crab legs on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the crab legs. Crab is done when the shells are very warm to the touch on the outside. Serve immediately with melted butter and lemon wedges)
- Melt the butter. While the crab is in the oven, place 1 stick unsalted butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over medium heat. Keep warm over low heat until crab is ready. You can either divide this immediately between dipping bowls or remove the milk solids to make clarified butter.
- If making clarified butter: Continue cooking melted butter over medium-high heat until water fully evaporates and milk solids completely sink to the bottom of the saucepan. Strain through a cheesecloth. Full recipe linked in notes below.
Notes
- To make clarified butter, check out this great article by Serious Eats.
- How much crab per person? Plan on about ¾ lb of king crab legs per person for a main course, or ½ lb for an appetizer. If you’re serving snow crab, bump it up to 1 lb per person since it contains less meat. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled depending on your crowd.
- Frozen vs thawed: For best results, thaw frozen crab legs overnight in the fridge before baking. If cooking straight from frozen, no problem — just add about 10 minutes to the cook time, whether you’re using king, snow, or Dungeness crab.
while i’m melting the butter could I mince a couple of cloves of garlic and use it to flavor the butter
Yes, absolutely! A match made in heaven. Report back and let me know what you think! Cheers, Ari
Thank you so much for this! I am planning on making King Crab for a special dinner in December and have never done it before!
I will report back!
Happy Holidays Ari!
Kristen Berry
Can’t wait to hear what you think! These are incredibly easy to make. I usually buy a few packs of King crab legs from Costco during the holidays because they’re a great value and feed a small army. Yay! Cheers, Ari