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These easy crab nachos are made with tortilla chips, cheese, Dungeness (or canned) crab, and a quick garlic yogurt sauce. Perfect for a quick dinner or game day!
I’ve been on a nachos kick lately.
Can we make Nacho Night a weekly thing? Sort of (exactly) like Taco Tuesday?
We’ve been digging into campfire nachos and black bean nachos. And now, I present “the nachos” you’ve been waiting for.
You didn’t know you were waiting. But trust me, you were.
Crab nachos.
These crab nachos are inspired by my beloved crab fries, but are even easier and faster to make. Because you don’t have to cook the fries!
Want more crab recipes? Try a crab omelette, King crab Louie salad, grilled King crab salad, Dungeness crab eggs Benedict and mini crab cakes.
What Kind of Crab Should I Use?
I love using Dungeness crab for these nachos.
Can’t find Dungeness crab? It’s okay: just use the crab you have on hand.
It’s delicious and totally worth the effort to prepare. If you need help prepping the crab, click over to read how to steam and crack crab legs.
Once you crack the crab, make sure to keep the shells and make homemade seafood stock!
Can I Use Canned Crab?
You sure can!
Try to avoid any extra-cheap $1 cans of crab. Look for cans that label the type of crab inside or labeled lump crab meat.
Want more help picking out canned seafood? Check out this ultimate guide to canned fish.
How to Make Crab Nachos
Start by lining a sheet pan or an oven-safe pan with tortilla chips. I used this Lodge 12″ carbon steel skillet.
Next, top the chips with cheese. I recommend using a mix of queso fresco and and fresh mozzarella.
Top the cheese with pickled jalapeños and diced avocado.
Add the crab and chives.
Slide the nachos into the oven.
While the nachos cook, whisk together the garlic yogurt sauce.
As soon as the cheese melts, pull the crab nachos out of the oven.
Drizzle the yogurt sauce over the nachos, along with some salsa and hot sauce. I like to use homemade hot sauce and fire-roasted salsa.
Dig into these cheesy crab nachos right away, and then start planning your next nacho night!
Want more Tex-Mex recipe ideas? Try making rockfish tacos, halibut tacos, potato tacos, pineapple shrimp tacos, Instant Pot refried beans and Instant Pot cilantro lime brown rice.
Crab Nachos
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Ingredients
Nachos:
- 8 ounces tortilla chips (Half of a 16oz bag)
- 5 ounces queso fresco, crumbled ~Half a wheel
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces ~Half a ball
- 1 avocado, diced
- ⅛ cup pickled jalapeños
- 6 ounces Dungeness crab legs (~3 crab legs), steamed and removed from shell Or swap canned crab
- 2 tablespoons diced chives
Garlic Sauce (Optional):
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Extra Toppings (Optional):
- hot sauce
- salsa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.Add chips to a large oven-safe pan or sheet pan.Top with the cheese.
- Add the avocado, jalapeños, crab and chives.
- Slide the pan into the oven and cook nachos for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese melts.While the nachos cook, stir together all the garlic yogurt sauce ingredients.When the cheese is melted, remove nachos from the oven. Add the garlic sauce, salsa and hot sauce (if using), and serve immediately.
Easy and yummy! This recipe sounded so good to me that I just had to try it. It was a quick supper to put together, and we also made some rice to turn it into a VERY filling dinner for three. Love that it uses both queso fresco and mozzarella. And the garlic yogurt sauce was delicious!
Yay!! So happy to hear that you loved it 🙂