The Best Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab (Easy Garlic Butter Recipe)

The Best Oven-Roasted Dungeness Crab Recipe

5 from 3 votes

The Best Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab (Easy Garlic Butter Recipe)

This oven roasted Dungeness crab is rich, buttery, and packed with garlic flavor—perfect for a special dinner that’s surprisingly easy to make at home. Tender crab legs are baked in a simple garlic butter sauce for a restaurant-quality dish you’ll want to make again and again.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: EASY, Quick &amp, Seafood, Valentines Day Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 604kcal

Author: Love Keil

Ingredients

3 Dungeness crab raw (uncooked)
½ cup butter
3 tablespoon olive oil
10 cloves garlic finely chopped
½ cup white wine
2 lemons sliced
salt & pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish

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