Seafood lovers, rejoice! If you’ve just gotten yourself some frozen or chilled crab legs from the supermarket, you’re about to find out exactly how to reheat crab legs so you can enjoy tender, juicy crab meat just like at a seafood restaurant!
Reheating crab legs isn’t quite as simple as warming up other foods. You want to retain its soft and supple quality without drying it out. That’s why most reheating methods require using water or dill sprigs.
Ready to enjoy those soft and supple crab legs? Keep on reading!
How to Reheat Crab Legs in the Oven
The oven is usually the best way to reheat any dish. But for crab legs, you’re going to need to follow a few extra steps to retain the meat’s texture.
Think of this method as creating a steam room for the crab meat. By gently reheating them this way, you avoid overcooking and making the meat tough and rubbery.
You can use this method for frozen or thawed crab legs. Here’s how to do it.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Take a deep glass dish or casserole and fill with ½ inch of water. Place your crab legs in the dish. They should be partially submerged.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and poke a few holes to allow steam to escape.
- Bake for 15 minutes if thawed or 25 minutes if frozen.
- Take out of the oven and serve.
How to Reheat Crab Legs in the Microwave
Here’s a quicker way to get those crab legs warmed up and ready to be enjoyed with your favorite dip or seasonings… using the microwave!
You can use this method only with thawed crab legs. If you have frozen crab legs, make sure to leave them in the refrigerator overnight to give them time to thaw.
For this reheating method, you will need dill sprigs or tarragon, damp paper towels, and plastic wrap.
- If the crab legs are too long to fit in the microwave, cut them at the joints with scissors.
- Wrap a group of 2 to 3 legs in a damp paper towel along with some dill sprigs or tarragon. These herbs help the crab meat retain moisture.
- Wrap the crab legs in plastic wrap.
- Microwave each group separately for about 2 minutes on medium setting.
- Carefully remove them from the microwave and unwrap.
- Serve with melted butter and enjoy!
How to Reheat Crab Legs on the Stove Top
Here’s a great way to reheat those crab legs while also adding a little bit of flavor. This is my go-to for reheating leftover crabs!
You’ll be needing some beer and water. This method takes only about 10 minutes.
- Take a large pot and fill with equal parts water and beer.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and add in the crab legs.
- Boil for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Take crab legs out of the pot and drain thoroughly.
- Serve and enjoy!
To bring back some freshness into the crab meat, you can also add in a squeeze of lemon or some salt to your boiling water before adding in the legs.
How to Reheat Crab Legs by Steaming
You can also use your stovetop to reheat those frozen or thawed crab legs… with steam! This is similar to reheating with an oven, but with less heat.
All you need is a pot and a colander and you’re good to go!
This whole process takes less than 10 minutes and is great for thawed crab legs. Just like boiling, you’ll also be using some water and beer to steam.
- Take a large pot and fill with equal parts water and beer.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Place your crab legs on a colander. Place the colander over the pot of boiling water and cover.
- Reduce heat to medium and allow crab legs to warm up for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Remove crab legs and serve.
How to Reheat Crab Legs on the Grill
If you’re having a barbecue with some friends and family, this is a great way to add some seafood to the menu!
Reheat your crab legs on a grill and they’re sure to be a hit with the guests.
You won’t have to worry about thawing either. Frozen crab legs will get nice and warm on a grill!
There are two different ways you can use a grill to reheat those tasty crab legs.
- Wrap each crab leg individually in a few layers of aluminum foil.
- Place over heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove crab legs from heat and unwrap.
- Place the crab legs back over the heat for another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Serve with some melted butter and enjoy!
Don’t want to use foil? Don’t worry! You can still reheat those crab legs on a grill.
Place them over indirect heat (especially thinner strips!) for 5 to 8 minutes. Be sure to flip them over halfway through grilling!
How to Reheat Crab Legs (5 Easy Ways)
How to reheat crab legs so they stay juicy and irresistibly tender. So you can enjoy juicy crab meat that’s just as good or better than your local seafood restaurant!
Ingredients
Oven
Casserole Dish
Aluminum Foil
Thawed or Frozen Crab Legs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Take a deep glass dish or casserole and fill with 1/2 inch of water. Place your crab legs in the dish. They should be partially submerged.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and poke a few holes to allow steam to escape.
- Bake for 15 minutes if thawed or 25 minutes if frozen.
- Serve with melted butter and enjoy!
thank you 🙂 this helped a bunch!
Just followed your directions on heating thawed King crab legs in the oven. Worked perfect!
Hi Doug, I’m so glad to hear that! Works like a charm. 🙂