Kids can sometimes shy away from seafood – unless it’s breaded and fried, that is. Ready to move beyond fish sticks? Crab meat recipes can be a good starting place for encouraging kids to try other seafood, like tilapia and salmon.
What’s great about crab is that it’s convenient to mix into recipes since most call for canned meat. For starter recipes with crab meat, try making corn and crab chowder or crab puffs. For more classic crab meat recipes, create crab cakes with a zingy sauce or even a pasta crab casserole. When you have extra time to put together your dinner, crab and ricotta cannelloni and crab enchiladas are real showstoppers. Who knew recipes with crab meat could be so kid-friendly?
Corn and Crab Chowder
How to entice kiddos to try recipes with crab meat? What about mixing it into a nice, thick soup? That’s the idea behind this corn and crab chowder from Old Bay.  Sauté diced potatoes, celery and onion in butter and oil until tender and then add in chicken broth. Stir in crab and corn pieces along with seasoning. Serve hot.
Crab Puffs
These crab puffs from Kraft  take some time to put together but there are plenty of steps your kids can help you with. Make a cream puff dough by bringing water and butter to a boil and cook until it forms a ball. Add eggs and then spoon onto a cooking sheet. After baking, fill with a mixture of crab meat, olives, green pepper, Miracle Whip and seasonings.
Crab Cakes
Create these crab cakes with spicy rémoulade from Cooking Light using simple ingredients like crab, lemon juice, panko bread crumbs, egg and seasonings. Form into patties and cook in a medium-hot skillet. Meanwhile, prepare an easy sauce with mayonnaise, shallots, capers, mustard, salt and a dash of red pepper.
Pasta Crab Casserole
You’ll need less than 30 minutes to prepare this pasta crab casserole from Taste of Home. Then you can relax and kick back while it bakes. Mix cooked pasta with sautéed onions, mushroom and green pepper. Add in crab meat, sour cream and basil. Place the combination in a casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese before baking.
Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni
For a fancier dinner using crab meat recipes, try this crab and ricotta cannelloni from the Food Network. You’ll need cannelloni pasta (or for something fun, fill pasta shells). Combine crab meat, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil leaves and an egg yolk. Add the mixture to each pasta piece, roll and then cover with a creamy Bechamel sauce before baking.
Crab Enchiladas
Crab loves spicy – and this recipe for crab enchiladas from Pillsbury proves it. Cook prepared enchilada sauce and heavy cream together. Stir together crab, onion, green chiles, cilantro and corn. Fill corn tortillas with the crab before rolling up and then placing in a casserole dish. Cover with sauce and then bake until bubbly.
