Easy Cold Crab Dip with Cream Cheese & Cocktail Sauce

What is it about summertime that makes me crave seafood? This Easy Cold Crab Dip with Cream Cheese & Cocktail Sauce is an old favorite that I would make any time we stayed at the beach. It’s laid back and simple with only a few ingredients, and brings those beachy vibes to anywhere you might be. It’s also keto-friendly and naturally gluten free -bonus!

What’s in this Cold Crab Dip

This irresistible dip comes together with just four simple ingredients:

• lump crab meat
• cream cheese
• quality cocktail sauce
• fresh tarragon

Let’s keep it real – crab meat is expensive! A way I like to save a few bucks is choosing lump crab meat instead of jumbo lump crab meat. You’re going to flake the crab meat with a fork for this recipe anyway. So unless you’re serving crab cocktail, I see no reason to pay up for the jumbo kind.

Getting the right ingredients for this Cold Crab Cocktail Dip

The cocktail sauce you use in this dip really matters. The cheap stuff is going to yield a sweeter dip. And if that blows your hair back, then go for it. But I like this dip when it’s got a little bit of a bite, which comes from having enough horseradish in the cocktail sauce.

Now, it’s easy enough to make your own cocktail sauce out of ketchup and horseradish. But if you buy it pre-made, I highly recommend Kelchner’s. It is quite simply the bomb and it’s the only cocktail sauce I buy. If you’re unable to find Kelchner’s, I’d recommend adding a teaspoon of horseradish to whatever other cocktail sauce you’re using.

The cream cheese doesn’t matter as much. I use light cream cheese and always have. I’m sure that using the full fat version would be amazing, but you don’t have to. Don’t try using a nonfat cream cheese. That would just be gross.

What to serve with Cold Crab Dip

I like to serve this dip with simple water crackers, which remind me of the little oyster crackers that would be on the table at old school seafood restaurants. If you’re keeping it keto, try using sliced rounds of cucumber or zucchini. It’s super refreshing!

How long will this dip last in the fridge?

This is a great make-ahead recipe, and will also stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to 5 days if you happen to have leftovers. I’ve never seen it happen, but you never know!

If you make this Easy Cold Crab Dip with Cream Cheese & Cocktail Sauce, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment or drop a rating below. Enjoy!

For more crabby recipes, try these:

• Crab & Corn Pasta with Sherry Cream Sauce
• Herby Maryland Crab Cakes
• Skinny Crabmeat Stuffed Mushrooms

For more easy appetizers, try these:

• Greek Feta Dip with Pepperoncini
• Easy Pimento Cheese Dip
• Spinach Artichoke Bites

Easy Cold Crab Dip with Cream Cheese & Cocktail Sauce

A creamy and cool lump crab meat dip with fresh tarragon

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 0 mins

Total Time 10 mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
• 8 oz. lump crab meat
• 1 cup quality cocktail sauce
• 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon finely chopped

Instructions

 

• Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Chill before serving. Garnish with additional tarragon.

Keyword appetizers, easy, gluten free

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!