Crab Legs with Garlic Lemon Butter

4.45 from 79 votes
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Garlic lemon butter crab legs are one of the best king crab leg recipes. Season the crab with garlic herb and lemon butter sauce, this recipe is so good!

Crab legs with garlic lemon butter on a tray.
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I love crab, especially King crab and snow crab. They are my favorite seafood, especially during summertime when I host a seafood fest of crawfish boil, shrimp boil (or seafood boil).

These crab legs are deliciously seasoned and cooked to perfection, offering a succulent sweetness in every bite. Absolutely divine.


How To Cook Crab Legs

Crab legs recipe with King crab legs and butter in oven.

In the United States, crab legs we get from the market are mostly pre-cooked, heavily salted and frozen.

Here are the three basic cooking methods for home cooks:

  • Boiling.
  • Steaming.
  • Oven baked.

At restaurants, they are boiled in hot water and served with melted butter. However, I don’t recommend boiling because it depletes the natural sweetness of the crab. It also overcooks them.

If you choose boiling method, I recommend boiling for 5 minutes, in rolling boil water.

Steaming is a better method and I recommend steaming in a steamer for 5 – 10 minutes.

The best method is oven baking. Season the crab legs with melted butter, garlic, lemon juice, parsley and bake them in the oven for 5 minutes.

This is one of the best crab leg recipes ever!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.


Cooking Tips On How To Make Crab Legs

How to cook crab legs with garlic, herb and lemon butter sauce.

For the best results at home, please follow my tips below:

  • If you choose boiling as the cooking method, do not use salted water.
  • Do not overcook. Over cooking will make the texture tougher and taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to thaw frozen crab legs before cooking?

The answer is yes. Thaw them before cooking for moist, tender and juicy crab meat.

King crab legs vs. snow crab legs

King Crab Legs: These come from king crabs, which are larger and have thicker legs. King crab legs are known for their large size, meaty texture, and sweet flavor. They are typically more expensive than snow crab legs.

Snow Crab Legs: Snow crab legs come from snow crabs, which are smaller in size compared to king crabs. Snow crab legs are thinner and have a more delicate texture. While they are still flavorful, they are usually less sweet than king crab legs.

Both types of crab legs are delicious and can be prepared in various ways, such as steaming, boiling, or grilling, and served with butter or dipping sauces. The choice between king crab legs and snow crab legs often comes down to personal preference, budget, and availability.

Where is the best place to buy crab legs?

Crab legs are not cheap but you can get discounted price from stores whenever they are on sale. The best place to buy is Costco. Costco has good quality King crab legs that taste sweet, fresh and not too salty. During sales and promotion, you can get them for less than $20 per pound.

How many calories per serving?

This recipe is only 401 calories per serving.

Crab legs with melted butter.

What To Serve With Crab Legs With Garlic Lemon Butter

This recipe is best served with a side of crusty skillet garlic bread, cheesy garlic Texas Toast or cheddar bay biscuits, as an appetizer. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

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4.45 from 79 votes

Crab Legs

Garlic lemon butter crab legs are one of the best king crab leg recipes. Season the crab with garlic herb and lemon butter sauce, this recipe is so good!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2 people
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Ingredients  

  • 1 lb (500g) king crab legs
  • 1/2 stick salted butter, melted
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • lemon slices

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
  • Thaw the crab legs if they are frozen. Using a sharp knife or a pair of a scissors, slice or cut the crab legs into halves to expose the flesh. Arrange them evenly on a baking sheet or tray.
  • Melt the butter in a microwave, for about 30 seconds. Add the garlic, parsley and lemon juice to the melted butter. Stir to mix well. Drizzle and spread the butter mixture on the crab. Save some for dipping.
  • Bake the crab legs in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the crab legs are heated. Serve immediately with the remaining garlic lemon butter and lemon slices. Squeeze some lemon juice on the crab before eating.

Nutrition

Serving: 2people, Calories: 401kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 156mg, Sodium: 2080mg, Potassium: 502mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 0.2g, Vitamin A: 930IU, Vitamin C: 21mg, Calcium: 122mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Rasa Malaysia

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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Recipe Rating





64 Comments

  1. Mahy Elamin says:

    5 stars
    Wow. We love it! My husband is raving about it. This is definitely how we will cook them from now on.

  2. Annette says:

    5 stars
    Amazing

  3. Parenting says:

    5 stars
    Looks very delicious, my daughter would love this recipe, thank you for sharing…

  4. King Crab says:

    5 stars
    The sauce came out perfect. I made these on father’s day. The family absolutely loved the king crab prepared this way. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Tina says:

    5 stars
    I multiplied the recipe x5 because we were feeding a crowd for Mother’s Day Dinner. It was delicious! So simple and the butter served on the side was fantastic. Once we got the crab legs to thaw completely, cutting them in half was pretty easy. I will never even bother to try another King Crab Leg recipe, as I believe I’ve found ‘the one’. Thank you!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Tina, awww, thanks so much for trying my king crab leg recipe. :)

      1. sandy says:

        are you baking these then with no shells?

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          Sandy, I baked these with shells, as you can see from the pictures. Please check the recipe card on the method.

  6. Edie Brillhart says:

    Iโ€™ve never made crab legs. Is the 5 minute cooking time really correct?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Yes. They are already boiled and cooked. You just need the garlic lemon butter to get inside the crab legs and warm them up. :)

      1. Britney Nichols says:

        5 stars
        Would i be wrong to ask that, the legs are boiled and cooked before you bake them, or after cooking them for 5 mins?

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          Frozen crab legs are already cooked. I didn’t boil them.

  7. Farrel says:

    5 stars
    I have always just put frozen king crab legs in a big steamer to heat them. But after buying a couple of pounds of them for a dinner with company, this looked so good I decided to shake things up a bit. I really thought the prep would be harder/more work than it was. But the crab legs thawed quicker than I thought they would and it was pretty quick work using kitchen shears and a sharp knife. The split legs are in the fridge, ready for buttery goodness. Doing the prep ahead of time will make dinner time easier and more pleasant, not to mention not as messy. Excited to see how they turn out! I am sure they will be delicious.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Farrel, awesome, let me know how they go!

      1. Farrel says:

        5 stars
        The crab legs turned out great! One of the great things about this recipe, you are not trying to cut open hot crab legs with scissors, the prep is done before they are heated. Dinner was so much easier and cleaner, no crab juices running off our elbows. Our guests loved them. I will never, ever steam crab legs again when this method is so much better. Thanks.

  8. Tiffany says:

    4 stars
    thawing the crab legs? Do you rinse them in water until thaw or put right into oven to thaw?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Thaw at room temperature. Do not put in the water.

  9. Kelly Karp says:

    5 stars
    I made these last night…they were fantastic. I followed pretty much exactly…cut thru the shells, etc. THANK YOU RASA!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Kelly, thanks for trying these garlic lemon butter crab legs!! :)

  10. maura a hart says:

    bake at what temp?