This crab mac and cheese is fresh crab tossed with pasta in a creamy, cheesy sauce. Add a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and fresh herbs for a decadent and elegant meal that’s perfect for any special occasion!
When I’m entertaining, I like to serve dishes that are easy, yet unexpected. Seafood is always a great bet, including options such as bacon wrapped scallops, seafood pasta, and this hearty crab mac and cheese.
You can never go wrong with homemade mac and cheese, whether you’re feeding the family or offering it up at a special occasion. Take your macaroni to the next level with this delicious and decadent crab mac and cheese, you’ll be glad you did!
Crab mac and cheese ingredients
The ingredients for this dish consist of corkscrew pasta, spices, black pepper, shredded cheese, lump crab meat, chives and panko breadcrumbs. The pasta cooks in a sauce made of milk, water, melted butter and flour.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Flavor variations
This dish is fabulous as-is, but you can add other flavors to customize it to your family’s tastes.
- Pasta: Any short pasta will be fine in this recipe. Some other options include penne, farfalle, elbow macaroni or fusilli.
- Protein: This dish will also work well with other types of seafood including shrimp or lobster. Bacon is also a nice addition for a hint of smoky flavor.
- Cheese: While cheddar is a classic in almost all mac and cheese recipes, other choices include Fontina, Parmesan cheese, Monterey Jack, Gruyere cheese, or even a soft cheese like a garlic and herb Boursin.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add some sauteed veggies to your mac. Some great options include red onions, zucchini, red bell peppers or mushrooms.
- Seasonings: You can add other herbs and spices such as Old Bay seasoning, Italian seasoning or even Cajun seasoning.
How do you make crab mac and cheese?
Start by making a thin sauce with a base of flour, butter, milk and water (Photo #1 & #2). Place uncooked corkscrew pasta into the pot along with seasonings, then simmer everything together (Photo #3 & #4).
The next step is to add a generous amount of grated cheese (Photo #5).
Next, the crabmeat is folded into the mix. Transfer the mac and cheese to a baking dish, top it with breadcrumbs, then bake until golden brown (Photos #6-8).
Add a sprinkle of chives and dinner is served!
Tips for the perfect dish
- This dish is really best with fresh crab meat. Canned crab meat does not have as good of a flavor or texture.
- I typically buy shelled crab meat for convenience, but you can also buy and steam whole crabs and then remove the meat yourself.
- Crab mac and cheese is best when served immediately, as the pasta will soak up all the sauce over time as it sits. If you need to prepare it in advance, you can store it covered in the casserole dish for up to 4 hours, then add the breadcrumbs and bake right before serving.
- I recommend using freshly grated cheese. The bagged pre-shredded cheese at the grocery store is coated in anti caking agents and does not melt as well especially for a cheese sauce.
This recipe calls for uncooked pasta. The pasta is cooked in the milk and water mixture before the cheeses are added. If you try to use cooked pasta, the dish will not turn out properly and will have too much liquid.
Recipe FAQs
Crab mac and cheese tends to be a richer dish, so I prefer to serve it with a lighter side such as a green salad, or roasted vegetables such as asparagus and broccoli. A loaf of bakery style bread is also a nice accompaniment.
There are so many different ingredients you can add to mac and cheese to enhance the flavors! Some of my favorites include peas, spinach, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, bacon, fresh herbs and hot sauce.
More seafood recipes you’ll enjoy
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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Crab Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter divided use
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 4 cups milk I use whole milk
- 1 pound corkscrew pasta UNCOOKED, such as cavatappi or cellentani
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cups cooked crab meat plus more for garnish if desired
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chives thinly sliced
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 2 or 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour, then whisk until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Pour in the water and whisk until smooth and just starting to thicken.
- Add the milk and whisk until well combined.
- Stir in the pasta, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender.
- Turn the heat to low, then stir in the cheeses. Keep stirring until the sauce is smooth.
- Gently fold in the crab meat. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and stir it into the panko breadcrumbs.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the pasta. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
- Sprinkle with chives and garnish with addition crab if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- This dish is really best with fresh crab meat. Canned crab meat does not have as good of a flavor or texture.
- This recipe calls for uncooked pasta. The pasta is cooked in the milk and water mixture before the cheeses are added. If you try to use cooked pasta, the dish will not turn out properly and will have too much liquid.
If ionly have almond milk and 10% cream, how do you suggest I do it as the recipe calls for more milk? thanks
You can add a tablespoon of cream to each cup of almond milk to make a mixture that’s roughly equivalent to whole milk.
How can you make mac and cheese even better? You just did! Can’t wait to try this out looks absolutely delicious!
This is my sort of pasta dish. Seafood is so good with pasta and this version is so decadent and tasty too.
This recipe was so delicious I’m already being requested to make again! Which I definitely will. Yum!
This was just insanely good! It was rich but full of flavor – drool worthy and a huge hit with the family! The smoked paprika is a must!
This Mac & Cheese is absolutely decadent: just reading the recipe made me hungry! Such a great combo of flavors, and the texture of the corkscrew pasta is so satisfying. Thanks fo this amazing recipe – we will be making this one again!
Wow! This mac and cheese looks insane. I can’t wait to make this for my family… They’ll love it.
Had leftovers from last night and threw it into this for a second meal, OMG so good!
So much yum with the crab in this awesome mac and cheese! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
What a fun twist on a regular mac and cheese!! This felt like an elevated version and was delicious for dinner!
This mac cheese was a super hit! My kids devoured it and have requested me to make them again..