Decadent Stuffed Shrimp deserves its place as star of the holiday table, whether you serve it as an appetizer or a main course. Succulent crab filling with a good dousing of butter make this classic dish truly swoon-worthy!
While you can serve this dish any time of year, crab-stuffed shrimp is a luxury you might want to save for the holidays or other special occasions. Pair with Green Beans Almondine and Parmesan Smashed Potatoes for an elegant meal.
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Why Make This Recipe
When it comes to crab, I’m a purist. I want lump crab meat and not a bunch of fillers. So you won’t find onions, celery, artichokes, bell peppers, or cream cheese in this crab filling. And you won’t get a filling that is more breadcrumbs than crab. Instead, you get juicy, perfectly cooked shrimp with a savory crab filling that lives up to its name.
🥗 Ingredients
- Shrimp: The bigger the shrimp, the easier they are to butterfly. However, if you want to serve this dish as a one-bite appetizer, you might want to get slightly smaller shrimp. I prefer jumbo size shrimp (21-25 count per pound), if you intend to serve this as a main course. You can even go bigger for an even more luxurious feel.
- Crab Meat: Fresh lump crabmeat will give you some good chunks of crab in your filling, without the expense of jumbo lump crab meat. Maryland bluecrab meat is my favorite, as it’s local to me!
- Butter: I use salted butter but unsalted butter is fine too. You can also use olive oil as a substitute.
- Mayonnaise: Hellman’s (Best Foods) or Duke’s are my favorite brands, but use what you prefer.
- Dijon Mustard: I’m a big mustard fan, so there is a good punch of it in this crab filling. If you’re not as big of a fan, feel free to cut down the amount.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This adds a little extra flavor, but you can leave it out if you don’t have it on hand.
- Old Bay Seasoning: This seafood flavoring is a favorite, especially for my other crab recipes like these Maryland Crab Cakes, this Baked Crab Dip, and this Cold Crab Dip.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: The flaky texture of panko crumbs is really nice with the crab, but you can replace with regular breadcrumbs if you don’t have panko.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit.
Rinse 1 pound of jumbo shrimp, then peel and devein them, leaving tails on. Rinse ½ pound lump crabmeat in a colander, then use your fingers to gently squeeze handfuls of crab to remove the water. Discard any small pieces of shell that you may feel in the crab meat as you go along.
Butterfly shrimp by cutting through the back of the shrimp where you have deveined them without cutting all the way through. Lay the shrimp flat on a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Whisk together 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and a couple of turns of freshly ground black pepper in a medium bowl. Gently stir in ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs and the crabmeat.
Top each butterflied shrimp with a small scoop of the crab stuffing mixture. When you are done, drizzle shrimp with the another tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with two tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs.
Bake at 425° Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, until shrimp is pink and cooked through, and crab meat is golden brown on top.
Serve with lemon wedges, and enjoy!
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Crab Stuffed Shrimp
Keep any leftover stuffed shrimp in an airtight container in the fridge, and they will last for about 2 days.
A crabmeat mixture is a classic filling for stuffed shrimp, but you could also stuff them with a mixture of bread crumbs, herbs, and garlic if you don’t have crabmeat. Adding some parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and a little hot sauce can be tasty too.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Butterflying shrimp is the trickiest part of this recipe, but easier to do with large shrimp. Be very careful when slitting the shrimp down the back so that you don’t pierce all the way through. The closer you get to the edge of the shrimp, the flatter the shrimp will be on the pan. So it’s a tricky balance to get it right. If your shrimp aren’t sitting flat enough, you haven’t cut through them enough to butterfly them.
You can use shrimp larger than jumbo for this recipe, but don't use shrimp that are much smaller. They are hard to butterfly and will overcook in the time it takes to cook the crab filling.
If your shrimp don’t fit in a single layer in a 9x13 shallow baking dish, you can use a large baking sheet instead. You may want to line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy cleanup after baking.
To prep this dish ahead of time, clean, devein, and butterfly your shrimp, then refrigerate. Make the crab filling, and refrigerate that as well. Then, when it’s time to assemble, it is only a matter of melting some butter and adding the crab filling on top of the shrimp. A small cookie scoop can be an easy way to fill your shrimp.
Now that you have your baked stuffed shrimp, what will you serve with them? They are delicious over a simple white rice, or baguette garlic bread, so you can soak up some of the butter. Next, add a colorful vegetable like Sautéed Zucchini and Mushrooms, Roasted Mini Peppers, or some Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts.
Other Shrimp Recipes
If you are a seafood lover like I am, you might want to check out some of my other favorite recipes that feature shrimp:
If you try this Crab Stuffed Shrimp recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
Decadent Stuffed Shrimp features perfectly-cooked shrimp topped with a savory crab meat filling.
Ingredients
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp (21-25 per pound)
- ½ pound lump crab meat
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted and divided
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs, divided
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit.
- Rinse shrimp, then peel and devein them, leaving tails on.
- Rinse crabmeat in a colander, then use your fingers to gently squeeze handfuls of crab to remove the water. Discard any small pieces of shell that you may feel in the crab meat as you go along.
- Butterfly the shrimp by cutting through the back of the shrimp where you have deveined them without cutting all the way through.
- Lay the shrimp flat on a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Whisk together mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, chopped parsley, Old Bay Seasoning, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and a couple of turns of freshly ground black pepper in a medium bowl.
- Gently stir in ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs and the crabmeat.
- Top each butterflied shrimp with a small scoop of the crab mixture.
- When you are done, drizzle shrimp with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs.
- Bake at 425° Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, until shrimp is pink and cooked through, and crab meat is lightly browned on top.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Storage Tips
Keep any leftover stuffed shrimp in an airtight container in the fridge, and they will last for about 2 days.
Expert Tips
You can use larger shrimp for this recipe, but don't use shrimp that are much smaller. They are hard to butterfly and will overcook in the time it takes to cook the crab filling.
If your shrimp don’t fit in a single layer in a 9x13 shallow baking dish, you can use a large baking sheet instead. You may want to line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy cleanup after baking.
To prep this dish ahead of time, clean, devein, and butterfly your shrimp, then refrigerate. Make the crab filling, and refrigerate that as well. Then, when it’s time to assemble, it is only a matter of melting some butter and adding the crab filling on top of the shrimp. A small cookie scoop can be an easy way to fill your shrimp.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 360Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 320mgSodium: 1935mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 38g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Baked Stuffed Shrimp recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
DebCat says
I made this last night. The stuffed shrimp turned out very flavorful and tasty. Be sure to use jumbo shrimp. Next time, I may cut back on the mayo and bread crumbs by a third just because I want less filler and more crab, but it is very good as the recipe is written. Everyone loved it. I will definitely make this again.
Molly Pisula says
So glad to hear that! Thanks so much for commenting.
sherry says
how delicious! I love prawns!
cheers
sherry https://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/
Molly Pisula says
Me too! And the crab filling with these is super tasty.