Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab Recipe – Learn how to make oven roasted Dungeness crab with garlic butter for a tender, flavorful seafood dish. This easy recipe is ready in under 40 minutes and perfect for weeknight dinners or entertaining.
Known for its naturally sweet, tender meat, Dungeness crab is a simple yet impressive seafood dish that is the best when roasted in the oven with lemon, butter, garlic, and white wine. This easy method enhances the flavor, making it perfect for special occasions and easy dinners at home!
Crab was always something I reserved for ordering at a restaurant, but since learning how to cook whole Dungeness crab in the oven, I’ve never looked back. It’s surprisingly quick and beginner-friendly, and it always delivers restaurant-quality results!
Looking for more seafood recipes? Don’t miss my beer-battered Baja fish tacos, honey garlic salmon, and baked trout recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Minimal prep. Just clean, boil, and roast!
- Ready in 35 minutes. Perfect for weeknights and busy weekends.
- Pairs well with everything! Serve as a main dish, as an appetizer, or as part of a seafood feast!
- So much flavor. Tons of buttery goodness in every bite.
Ingredients Needed
- Fresh parsley: For garnish.
- Dungeness crabs: This recipe makes enough for three whole crabs.
- Butter and olive oil: Used as the base of the buttery sauce.
- Lemon slices: The crabs rest on the slices as they roast, infusing the sauce with citrusy flavor.
- White wine: Use whatever white wine you like to drink. A dry wine is always a good option: sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, riesling, etc.
- Garlic, salt, and pepper: Garlic always goes wonderfully with butter, and the salt and pepper adds just a touch of extra seasoning.
How to Clean Dungeness Crab
Before cleaning the crab, I like to humanely cook it for 5 minutes in a pot of salted boiling water. Then, immediately place it in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and to make it easier to handle.
Hold the crab firmly, and lift off the top shell by pulling it away from the body. Inside, you’ll see the feathery gray gills (sometimes called “dead man’s fingers”), which you can pull out and discard. Next, remove any dark or soft internal organs.
Rinse the crab under cold water to remove any remaining bits, and now it’s ready for seasoning and roasting!
How to Cook Dungeness Crab in the Oven
Step 1: Make the garlic butter sauce by adding butter, olive oil, and chopped garlic to a skillet. Cook on medium for 3 minutes, and then add the wine and simmer for another minute. Remove from heat.
Step 2: Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the clean crabs on top and pour the garlic butter and white wine sauce over the crab. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes. As they’re baking, I like to boil the crab shell for another 10 minutes.
Step 4: Once the crabs are done cooking, transfer them to a serving plate. Drizzle with the melted butter from the sheet pan, garnish with parsley, and place the top shell back on the crab. Enjoy your garlic butter Dungeness crab with crispy potato wedges or baked potato with rosemary and thyme!
Recipe Tips
- Serve with the proper tools. Having nutcrackers or seafood crackers handy makes it easier to enjoy. Less messy too! If you don’t have crackers, kitchen shears will work.
- Use fresh or high-quality crab for the best sweet and delicate flavor. Thawed from frozen works too.
- To save time, you can see if your market sells pre-cleaned Dungeness crab. It’s one less step for you.
- Be generous with the garlic, butter, and lemon. Crab is meant for tons of flavor!
- Line your pan with parchment paper or foil for easier cleanup. It also helps to catch the butter sauce.
- Crab tastes the best straight out of the oven, so serve it immediately if possible.
What to Serve with Dungeness Crab
Serving it with sourdough bread, soft dinner rolls, or even a no knead bread would be great for soaking up all the sauce.
We love it with a side of Instant Pot mashed potatoes and a simple cucumber salad. It might also be excellent with a creamy dill potato salad on the side.
FAQs
If your crab isn’t pre-cooked and cleaned, you’ll need to boil or steam it before removing the shell, gill, and organs. Then it’s ready for roasting.
I think 15-20 minutes at 350°F is perfect, but you could also roast it for 12-15 minutes at 400°F for something a little faster. Just be careful that you don’t overcook it; otherwise, it’ll be tough and chewy.
Yes! Just make sure to fully thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before roasting.
You can’t go wrong with the classic butter, garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper. However, if you want to ramp up the seasoning, similar to my grilled fish recipe, you can also add paprika, cayenne, chili flakes, or a seafood seasoning blend.
More Yummy Dinner Recipes:
- 10-minute Honey Garlic Shrimp Recipe
- Garlic Butter Dungeness Crab Recipe
- Super Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
- Baked Chicken Pasta in Buttery White Sauce
- Oven Baked Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- The Best Creamy Chicken Pasta
- Easy Oven Baked Chicken Pasta in Buttery White Sauce
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📖 Recipe
The Best Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab (Easy Garlic Butter Recipe)
Ingredients
Instructions
How to Clean Dungeness Crab:
- Before cleaning Dungeness crab I like to boil it in salted water, so bring a big pot of salted water to a boil, add crab bring it to a boil and cook for 5 minutes on medium/high heat.
- Right after 5 minutes of boiling, place crab into icy cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Flip Dungeness crab on its back and pull away the triangle shape part - “apron” and toss it away.
- Now, take the top shell of the crab & pull it up away from the body and set aside. Using hands remove the gills/lungs & the mouth.
- After removing crab's insides, rinse the crab body & the top shell until squeaky clean.
How to Make Garlic Butter Sauce for Dungeness crab:
- In a skillet add ½ cup of butter, 3 tablespoons of Simple Truth Olive Oil and 10 cloves of chopped garlic. Cook on medium heat for 3 minutes, pour in ½ cup of white wine. Simmer for 1 minute, remove from the heat, sauce is ready.
How to Cook Dungeness Crab:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Place clean Dungeness crab on top of lemon slices, pour garlic butter sauce over the crab, season with salt & pepper.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. While the crab is baking I like to place the crab's top shell back into the pot and boil for 10 more minutes.
- Pour the melted butter from the baking sheet into the bowl and drizzle over the top. Garnish with chopped parsley. Place the top shell of the crab on top of the crab. Serve with nut or seafood crackers.
Notes
- Save time by asking the store to clean the crab—most seafood counters will do this for free.
- Don’t skip the ice bath after boiling—it stops the cooking process so the crab doesn’t overcook.
- Use fresh garlic and butter for the best flavor—this is where most of the taste comes from.
- The white wine adds depth, but you can skip it or substitute with broth if needed.
- Bake just until heated through—crab cooks quickly, and overcooking can make it rubbery.
- Spoon the melted garlic butter from the pan over the crab before serving—it adds so much flavor.
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice right before eating really makes the flavors pop.
Nutrition
Happy Cooking!
Roger
But what’s the secret ingredient ?
Munchkin Time
Hi Roger, the white wine is the secret ingredient in this recipe.
Cindy
Can I preboil the crab then freeze? And when it’s time eat, go directly to the next step with the oven?
Munchkin Time
Hi Cindy! Thats a great question, I haven't tried it yet, but I don't see why not 🙂
Christina
Why do you boil the top of the crab while the body is baking?
Susan
To make sure it is fully cooked.. 5 mins of the initial boiling time isn’t long enough. Boiling for a bit longer ensures you are not putting a semi raw shell back on top of fully cooked crab.
Munchkin Time
Hi Susan, the shell is being cooked more than 5 minutes, you boil it for an additional 10 more minutes so 15 minutes total.
Munchkin Time
For garnish, you don't have to, you are welcome to simply throw it away into the garbage. 🙂
Francesca
Great recipe! First time trying Dungeness crab and first dinner of the new year. The sauce was delicious!
Munchkin Time
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe review, Francesca! I am so glad you liked it!
Rusti Segares
Is this recipe for live or pre-cooked crab at time of purchase?
Munchkin Time
Thats a great question. It's for a raw crab.
Adam
This sounds delish but also try Dungeness crab with nothing added, it's really good all on it's own!
Munchkin Time
Thank you Adam!
Miz Helen
Thanks so much for sharing this delicious crab recipe with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
Munchkin Time
You are very welcome Miz Helen! This Dungeness crab recipe is our favorite way to celebrate Valentines day!