Maryland Crab Soup
Easy and hearty, Maryland Crab Soup is quick to prepare and has all the spicy flavor of Maryland Blue Crabs. This broth-y vegetable filled soup is loaded with fresh crab meat and a zesty Old Bay punch. The perfect weeknight dinner.
Maryland Crab Soup
Living so close to the Chesapeake Bay area, we eat our fair share of Maryland Blue Crabs. In fact, one of our favorite things to do when we’re at the beach in the summer is go catch crabs.
It’s an all day event and sometimes we only get a few crabs but it’s always worth it because crab meat is sweet, tender and buttery. Even if you only get a couple bites. (Plus, there’s a crab house down the street we can hit for all you can eat crabs later in the day.)
But when we do have a great day and come home with a big bushel of crabs, we LOVE to make this easy Maryland Crab Soup with the leftovers. It’s hearty and filling with a spicy flavor that all due to the Old Bay seasoning. It’s a staple in Maryland and the entire tri-state coastal area, we put it on all the things!
What is Maryland Crab Soup?
If you’re a fan of vegetable soup….and crabmeat, you will LOVE this easy Crab Soup. It’s so easy to make with a savory, rich flavor that is totally reminiscent of a summer at the beach. Bonus points, it’s healthy and fiber filled, too!
You can use any vegetables you want because, you know, families can be picky. Painfully picky. So, throw in whatever they’re going to like and call it a day so you know they’re actually going to eat dinner without much of a fuss.
This eastern shore Crab Soup totally reminds me of our summer’s in St. Michael’s, MD, where every single restaurant serves up crab 75,000 different ways. Well, maybe not quite that many but you get the idea. It’s like one giant crab fest down there.
How To Make Maryland Crab Soup
The base of this easy crab soup recipe is very similar to my vegetable soup recipe except you’re adding some very beachy flavors like Old Bay Seasoning and clam juice. I also like to use seafood stock instead of chicken stock but if you have a hard time finding seafood stock or don’t want to make it from scratch, you can use chicken stock with great results.
- Simply saute the vegetables in a large pot until softened and then add the tomatoes, seasonings and stock.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then add the crab.
- Simmer the soup for 10-15 minutes and then serve!
It’s really so simple it’s silly!
If you don’t have leftover blue crabs just lying around or are too lazy to pick your own crabs, you can use canned crabmeat for this soup. I like to use a combo of lump crab meat and backfin. Save the expensive Jumbo Lump Crab for this amazing crab salad or this stuffed avocado.
Make It Spicy
If you want to add a bit of spicy to Maryland Crab Soup, you can add a 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or a few splashes of hot sauce to your stock mixture while it’s coming to a boil. We LOVE it spicy and even add some crushed red pepper to amp up the flavor just a bit.
How To Freeze It
If you’re planning ahead and want to make a batch of crab soup to freeze, simply transfer your soup to freezer safe containers, airtight containers.
You can freeze your soup for up to 3 months. Do reheat, allow to thaw to room temperature and heat over low heat in a large saucepan. Alternatively, you can transfer the frozen crab soup to a microwave safe container and reheat at half power for 5 minutes until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
Since this is such a hearty soup all on it’s own, we like to serve it alongside a salad or just a big bowl of oyster crackers.
If you want to round it out a little more for a casual dinner party, and believe me when I say it’s worthy of a dinner party, we love it with some Brioche Rolls or a heartier salad with fruit since the sweetness goes well with the crab.
Don’t miss ALL our EASY FAMILY RECIPES over on Instagram and Facebook! Be sure to follow for special events and features, too!
More Easy Crab Recipes
Want even more easy Crab Recipes, we LOVE this Hot Crab Dip.…it’s a total hit at every party and one of the most popular recipes on Pinterest! Or this Cold Crab Dip is simple and amazing.
You will ALSO LOVE this easy Maryland Crab Cake, it’s the real deal with no fillers! And these Crab Stuffed Mushrooms are TO DIE FOR.
This Cream of Crab Soup is the ultimate first course for holidays or just a cozy Sunday dinner.
Get the Recipe: Maryland Crab Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chopped carrot
- 1 cup diced sweet onion
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 cup peeled diced Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 cups fish stock
- 1 8 oz bottle clam juice
- 3 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 pound fresh green beans, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 cup frozen lima beans
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1 lb back fin or super lump crab meat
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Equipment
- stockpot
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Add the carrot, onion and celery to the pot cooking until softened, approximately 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Add the potatoes to the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the stock, clam juice, old bay and fish sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the tomatoes, green beans, corn, lima beans and peas.
- Simmer the soup for 10 minutes. Stir in the crab meat and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately with oyster crackers or crushed red pepper flakes.
4 Comments on “Maryland Crab Soup”
Very easy recipe! Followed it almost to a T but had to substitute for the canned tomatoes (fresh + tomato chicken bouillon), green beans and Lima beans (jarred three bean salad), and dashi stock for the fish stock, but came out still delectable. Used canned crab but will never do that again – it was all tiny shreds and not satisfying! Served with cheesy crackers, this was a great meal to add to my repertoire. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much for trying out recipe. I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
This recipe is sooo good! I’ve made it 3 times now, and most recently I doubled the recipe for a large group but didn’t want to break the bank so instead of doubling the crab I added a pound of shrimp in the end to cook in the hot soup. Still turned out amazing!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it and it is great with shrimp, too. Great suggestion!