So the hubs was called out on a rescue mission last Friday night. The end of crab season, a fellow fisherman was stranded out on his boat pulling up his traps. He and the neighbor headed out, towed his boat in, and in return was paid handsomely with a huge amount of crab claws. Like, an entire stockpot full.

So there we were, at midnight, boiling and shelling crab claws. We yielded a few pounds of gorgeous crab meat, and my mind immediately started whirring about what kind of yumminess I could create with it.

Click here for the downloadable recipe

Of course, most crab dip recipes are filled with sour cream, mayo, cream cheese, shredded cheese: the usual cast of characters, and while so yummy, not terribly good for the poor soul trying to remain as dairy free, eating as clean as possible. I’m totally down with an 80/20 lifestyle, but if I can make something taste just as good…wait, this is me I’m talking about…I can make it taste BETTER than everybody else’s version, why wouldn’t I??

I will also vow, here and now, to never criticize a restaurant if I find a shell in a crab dish. I went through this meat three separate times and shells still managed to find their way in there! If you’ve never shelled crab claw before, in the middle of the claw meat, there is a slender, translucent piece of cartilage that is super easy to miss. A lot of recipes call for leaving the crab meat in lump form, but that’s how you end up with those buggers sneaking their way in. So I highly recommend running every bit of that meat between your fingers so you don’t miss any.

Of course, you can also grab canned crab meat from the seafood section at the grocery store…but I suggest going through that, too. Yup, I’ve found a piece of claw cartilage in there before.

And so here it is, and I absolutely went Maryland-style with the much-beloved Old Bay Seasoning, because of course I did, and because you’re really not living your best seafood life without it.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb crab meat
• 8 ounces non-dairy cream cheese
• 1/2 cup Vegenaise
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 teaspoons CLEAN Worcesteshire Sauce (grab that here)
• 1 1/4 cup dairy free cheese of choice
• paprika for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°.
Coat baking dish or cast iron skillet with olive oil.
Mix all ingredients together until well-blended.  Fill baking dish/skillet evenly. 
Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Again, easy-peasy. If you like it with a bit of heat, go ahead and add a dash or two of Tabasco. Or more. I’m not the boss of you.

We eat this up with Late July grain free tortilla chips, but it would also be great on crackers , or with fresh veggie dippers. You could also fill grilled portobello mushroom caps or zucchini boats with it. Or perch a pile atop a nice filet mignon.

Sure to become a family-favorite crowd-pleaser, you’ll be glad you have this tasty dish in your recipe collection.

Give it a go, and tell me your ideas of where else you’d use it! I’d love to hear them!