Game day eats take a trip to the sea with these creamy, decadent, smoky, completely irresistible Crab Cake Jalapeno Poppers. Combining the classic flavors of a traditional crab cake with the perennial favorite barbecue appetizer, this is a mash up that will instantly transport you to the beach.
Fire up the grill and prepare to take your taste buds on vacation. These grilled jalapeno poppers are generously stuffed with chunks of sweet, luxurious lump crab meat and topped off with savory Old Bay kissed saltine crackers giving you that contrasting crunch to balance the tender bite of the chiles. Serve these up with pickled jalapeno tartar sauce and you will instantly get the party started.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Make Ahead – Not only can you prepare the filling and stuff the jalapeno peppers up to a day in advance, but they actually cook up better after they’ve refrigerated. It both allows the flavors of the filling to develop even more while also allowing it to firm up. Prep these the day before your party and then fire up the grill when everyone gets there.
- High/Low – I love a good high low recipe. Using a luxury ingredient like lump crab instantly elevates the beloved jalapeno popper while also giving people who might not gravitate towards seafood a fun way to try it.
- Balance of Flavor – Sweet crab is the predominate flavor of these grilled jalapeno poppers. Cream cheese gives just the right amount of creaminess and tang while accents like lemon, fresh green onions, and Worcestershire sauce add just the right accent of flavor without overpowering the delicate crab.
Ingredients
- Lump Crabmeat – Lump crab meat is completely the star of these crab and cream cheese jalapeno poppers. Lump crabmeat is a luxury ingredient but less expensive than colossal or jumbo lump crabmeat. In addition to being just as sweet and flavorful as these more expensive grades of crabmeat, lump crabmeat also holds up well, meaning you don’t need a ton of binders to hold together. Avoid the canned crabmeat for this recipe and instead reach for the fresh crab you can find at your seafood counter.
- Creamy Base – Cream cheese and a touch of tangy mayonnaise make up the base of these cream cheese grilled jalapeno poppers. Make sure that you pick a high-quality mayonnaise for the best flavor. Here in the south, we love Duke’s.
- Flavor Accents – Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and the crab cake classic Old Bay make up the savory accents to these crab stuffed jalapeno poppers.
- Fresh Ingredients – In addition to jalapenos you’ll also need green onion, fresh lemons for both the juice and the zest, and a little red bell pepper to enhance the natural sweetness of the crab.
- Crunchy Topping – We’re skipping the binder in the crab filling itself but giving a nod to it in the crunchy topping. Crushes saltines are combined with a drizzle of melted butter, a little lemon zest, and a shake of Old Bay.
How to Make Crab Cake Jalapeno Poppers
- Sauté the red bell pepper. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Add the diced bell pepper and allow it to sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
- Mix up the creamy base. Add the room temperature cream cheese to a bowl along with the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and zest, and Old Bay. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add the green onions and cooled red bell pepper and mix to combine.
- Fold in the crab. Add the lump crab to the base and using a spatula gently fold until its evenly coated. Allow the mixture to refrigerate while you prepare your jalapenos.
- Halve and deseed the jalapenos. Cut your jalapenos down the middle. Use a small spoon or melon baller to carefully remove all of the seeds and ribs from the peppers.
- Fill the jalapenos with the crab mixture. Use a spoon to carefully fill each jalapeno half, being careful not to break up the crab too much. It’s ok to over fill these a little.
- Make the saltine topping. Add the crushed saltine crackers, melted butter, lemon zest, and Old Bay to a bowl and mix until everything is evenly combined. Sprinkle the topping on each popper and then place the poppers on a baking sheet.
- Refrigerate the crab stuffed jalapeno poppers. Allow the crab cake jalapeno poppers to refrigerate for at least an hour so the filling can harden up. You can do this portion up to 24 hours in advance.
- Light that fire! Prepare your grill for 2-zone cooking. If using a charcoal grill bank your charcoal to one side of the grill (for a kettle style grill you can place your charcoal in the center of the grill leaving the exterior as the cooler side). For additional flavor add wood chips to your charcoal. For a gas grill heat your grill to around 375-400 degrees, not igniting all of your burners.
- Grill the crab cake jalapeno poppers. Carefully place the poppers on the indirect side of the grill, using the grates to help balance them. Allow the crab stuffed jalapeno poppers to grill indirect for 18-20 minutes undisturbed before checking on them. Let them cook until the top is golden brown and the jalapenos have cooked to your liking. Carefully remove them from the grill with a spatula.
- Garnish the poppers and enjoy! After letting the molten hot poppers cool slightly, garnish them with an additional sprinkle of Old Bay and fresh green onions. Serve them up with your favorite seafood dipper.
How to Bake Crab Cake Jalapeno Poppers
- This same recipe can be made in the oven if you don’t have a grill. Just like the grill you’ll want to refrigerate the poppers prior to baking.
- To bake the crab stuffed jalapenos, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. For the best results bake the jalapeno poppers on a wire rack fit into a baking sheet so the air can fully circulate around the poppers.
- Allow the poppers to bake for 18-20 minutes until the top is golden brown and the jalapenos are cooked to your liking. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Variations
- If you absolutely love crab but are not a fan of even mild heat you can replace the jalapeno peppers while sweet mini peppers. They cook up slightly faster than the jalapenos.
- Instead of saltines use butter crackers or even panko breadcrumbs for the crunchy topping.
- Love bacon? Add some finely chopped cooked bacon to the mix for that salty, smoky bite.
Tips From the Beach
- Try and pick jalapenos that are a fairly even size. Medium sized jalapenos work the best for stuffing and grilling.
- Don’t skip the step of allowing the stuffed jalapeno poppers to refrigerate prior to grilling. The mixture will be wet when you first stuff them, so it’ll allow it to harden back up.
- If you are worried about your jalapenos tipping over on the grill you can always cook these indirect on a small baking sheet.
Looking for more jalapeno popper recipes? Make sure to check out pizza jalapeno poppers.
Are crab cake jalapeno poppers spicy?
These poppers will vary by heat depending on the jalapenos themselves. Because the seeds and ribs are removed and these are grilled, the natural kick of the jalapeno is tamed. The sweetness of the crab also balances the mild kick. If you can’t handle spice at all you can always use mini sweet peppers instead.
Crab Cake Jalapeno Poppers
Game day eats take a trip to the sea with these creamy, decadent, smoky, completely irresistible Crab Cake Jalapeno Poppers.
- Prep Time: 70
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crab Cake Jalapeno Poppers
- 12 jalapenos, medium sized
- 8 ounces lump crab meat, carefully picked through for shells
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/8 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay or seafood seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 green onions, finely chopped, plus additional for topping
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Cracker Topping
- 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay or seafood seasoning
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and diced bell pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Let cool.
- Add the cream cheese, mayo, Dijon, Worcestershire, lemon juice and zest, and Old Bay to a bowl and mix until smooth.
- Mix in the cooled red bell peppers and green onions.
- Add the crab to the bowl and carefully fold to combine. Refrigerate while you prepare your jalapenos.
- Cut the jalapenos in half. Use a small melon baller or spoon to carefully remove the seeds and ribs from the peppers.
- Use a spoon to carefully fill each jalapeno boat with the crab mixture.
- Add the ingredients for the cracker topping to a bowl and mix to combine. Sprinkle some of the topping over each jalapeno.
- Allow the crab stuffed jalapenos to refrigerate for at least an hour. This portion can be done up to 24 hours in advance.
- Prepare your grill for 2-zone cooking. If using a charcoal grill bank your charcoal to one side. For a kettle style grill you can position your charcoal in the center leaving the outer perimeter as the cooler zone. Add wood chips for additional flavor if desired. For a gas grill preheat your grill to between 375-400 degrees, not igniting all of the burners.
- Carefully place the jalapenos on the cooler side of the grill and close the lid. Allow them to grill for 18-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the jalapenos are cooked to your liking.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of Old Bay and green onions. Let them cool for 5 minutes before serving with your favorite seafood sauce.
Notes
- The crab filling will initially be a little wet so don’t skip the step of refrigerating these prior to grilling.
- You can also bake these in the oven. After refrigerating the jalapeno poppers preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Allow them to bake for 18-20 minutes on a wire rack fit into a baking sheet.
- If you don’t like even mild heat you can use mini sweet bell peppers for this recipe. They cook up slightly quicker than jalapenos.
- If you are worried about your jalapenos tipping over on the grill you can always bake these indirect on a baking sheet.