Crab Rice
Updated Sept. 24, 2025
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus rice cooking time
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes, plus rice cooking time
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 5tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, finely chopped
- 2celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1cup sliced scallions (from 5 scallions, white and light green parts)
- 1tablespoon minced garlic
- 4cups cooked Carolina Gold or jasmine rice
- 1pound fresh lump blue crab meat, carefully picked over for shells and cartilage
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (preferably Diamond Crystal)
- 1tablespoon Creole seasoning (store-bought or homemade)
- ¼cup finely chopped chives
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
640 calories; 11 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 109 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 767 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, bell pepper, scallions and garlic. Cover the pan and let the vegetables cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have softened but not browned.
- Step 2
Add the rice to the skillet, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon. Cover the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the rice is heated through, stirring once or twice.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, in another large skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the crab meat, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and Creole seasoning and stir to coat. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the crab is heated through and fragrant.
- Step 4
Fold the crab meat mixture and half the chives into the rice and serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining chives.
Private Notes
Comments
Possible to use canned crab without ruining the dish?
Be sure and watch the short video, folks. It reveals a few tips not noted in the recipe.
@Quigg As an Alaskan and now living in WA where Dungeness is readily available, I can’t imagine NOT using canned. This recipe is perfect for canned crab. Using fresh crab seems like a waste. I don’t know how much crab costs in the rest of the country but even here it’s expensive. Unless you catch it yourself. Seems like almost a crime to sully fresh crab this way. We all eat our fresh crab by dipping it in bowls of melted butter. I use canned crab for most other recipes. Melts. Salads. And crab rice.
I substituted brown jasmine rice, frozen dungeness crab, and a red bell pepper. My picky spouse liked it and suggested we could also sub shrimp next time.
this was so bad. I added all the spices and recommendations.
Absolutely delicious! I used a good quality chicken broth to cook the rice the night before. I used commenter Kristen's suggestion to fry up two slices of bacon and then use the fat and butter to cook the veggies. Most importantly, following a hunch after watching JJ's video, I used just three cups of cooked rice with one set aside just in case. That was the key for me as the dish was very well balanced in my view. The taste of lemon and creole seasoning was phenomenal. Thanks JJ & NYT crew!