Dungeness Crab Recipe: Eggs Benedict

Love Crab?  This Dungeness Crab Recipe is a healthy Eggs Benedict made crab legs, poached eggs, and a creamy yogurt sauce.  

Dungeness Crab Recipe: Eggs Benedict

Who loves crab!?  (I do, I do!)  Who wishes they could eat crab all the time?  (Me, me, meeee!)  If you, like me, find yourself with a craving for these crustaceous (and creepy-looking!) sea-creatures, you aren’t alone!

After you decide that you MUST EAT CRAB, and proceed to douse piece after piece in decadent, rich butter, you may decide that you… still want more crab!!! (In fact, I’m nearly positive that’s what will happen.)

Somewhere in the back of your brain, though, you may start to wonder if there’s a healthier way to eat crab.  A Dungeness crab recipe that’s crab-tastic and crab-licious, but also that’s butter-free!  (Warning– I make no promises to stop the corny crab jokes.)

This Healthy Crab Eggs Benedict is light and flavorful Dungeness crab recipe, and highlights the flavor of the freshly steamed and delicious crab.

Dungeness Crab Legs

Buying Dungeness Crab Legs

A Dungeness crab is the crab that you probably see in your mind when you think of “a crab.”  (In other words, it looks like the little crab emoji on your cell phone.)  

Most Dungeness crab is harvested off the Alaskan shoreline, and like its crabby cousin the King Crab, is considered a sustainably-sourced seafood.

Steaming Dungeness Crab Legs

Most crab legs, Orca Bay’s included, come precooked.  That means that you simply need to heat them up, not cook them all the way through.

For this Healthy Eggs Benedict recipe, we’re steaming the crab legs.  You’ll need a large lidded pot and a metal vegetable steamer basket.  Bring about an inch of water to a boil in the bottom of the pot, set the steamer basket inside the pot, add your crab legs, and cover the pot.

Steam them for 6 minutes if you thawed the legs, and 12 minutes if they’re still frozen.  Then, plunge them into a bowl of cold water to stop them from overcooking.  Next, you’re ready to crack open the shells.

Cracking Open Dungeness Crab Legs (Without a Crab Cracker)

First of all, know that there are a lot of tools made specifically for cracking open crabs.  If you already own a crab cracker, or have worked out a crab-shelling technique after years of practice– keep at it!

For those of us who don’t own crab crackers, or for those of you who DO own them, but can never remember where you stored your handy crab tools, this tutorial is for you!  All you need is a large cutting board and kitchen shears.

1. Break off any shoulder meat from the legs by bending the joint back and forth until it snaps.
2. Next, break the crab legs at their joints by bending the legs in the opposite direction of their natural bend.  Bend back and forth until they snap.
3. Next, take kitchen shears and cut along the bottom, lighter-colored side of the legs.  (Alternatively, set the crab leg on a hard surface so that it’s resting on the long, narrow edge of the leg.  Using the back of your palm, push down and crack the leg.)
4. Using your fingers, pry the shells off, and reserve the meat. Peel the shell off of the shoulder meat. Watch out for transparent shell pieces hidden within the shoulder meat.  Discard the shells, collect the meat.

Dungeness Crab Recipe: Making Eggs Benedict

Once you’ve prepared the crab (which can be done ahead of time), and poached the eggs, all that’s left is to make the yogurt sauce, toast the bread, and slice the avocado.

I do all of this while the eggs are poaching.  Then, assemble your Healthy Crab Eggs benedict, serve them with the yogurt sauce, and dig in to your crab-tastic breakfast!

Need help poaching eggs?  Check out this Perfectly Poached Eggs tutorial.

Eat More: Were you hoping to see a traditional, buttery Hollandaise sauce?  If so, I admire your buttery-optimism.  Simply swap out my yogurt sauce for Hollandaise.  (This Easy Hollandaise from Pinch Me I’m Eating is a little “lemon-forward,” and should work well with the crab.)

Dungeness Crab Recipe: Eggs Benedict

Want more CRAB recipes?  Try these:

• Crab Fries
• Crab Louie Salad with King Crab
• King Crab Recipe: Crab Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Want more BRUNCH ideas?  Try these:

• Masala Omelette
• Coconut French Toast
• Breakfast Crème Brûlée

Dungeness Crab Recipe: Eggs Benedict

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 351kcal

Author: Champagne Tastes

Love Crab?  This Dungeness Crab Recipe is a healthy Eggs Benedict made crab legs, poached eggs, and a creamy yogurt sauce.  

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Crab Eggs Benedict:

• 6 oz Dungeness crab legs (~3 crab legs)
• 2 eggs
• 1 English muffin, toasted
• 1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
• 1 green onion, diced (for garnish, optional)

Creamy Yogurt Sauce:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 TB Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• pinch salt, to taste

Instructions

Steaming the Crab Legs:* (See Recipe Notes)

• In a large pot, bring 1" water to a boil.  Set a metal vegetable steamer inside the pot.  Add crab legs (they should not be touching the water), and cover pot.  Steam 6 minutes for thawed legs, or 12 minutes for frozen legs.
• After crab legs are done steaming, set them in a bowl of icy water to stop them from cooking further.

Removing Crab Meat:

• Break off any shoulder meat from the legs by bending the joint back and forth until it snaps.
• Next, break the crab legs at their joints by bending the legs in the opposite direction of their natural bend.  Bend back and forth until they snap.
• Next, take kitchen shears and cut along the bottom, lighter-colored side of the legs.  (Alternatively, set the crab leg on a hard surface so that it's resting on the long, narrow edge of the leg.  Using the back of your palm, push down and crack the leg.)
• Using your fingers, pry the shells off, and reserve the meat. Peel the shell off of the shoulder meat.  Watch out for transparent shell pieces hidden within the shoulder meat.  Discard the shells, collect the meat.

Poaching the Eggs:

• Bring about 3" water to boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to a simmer.
• Set a mesh sieve in sink or over a bowl, and crack 1 egg into sieve. Allow egg to drain for a few seconds, and then carefully pour egg into the water. Repeat for each egg. Simmer eggs 3-5 minutes, depending on desired doneness. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon. Set eggs on a paper towel to get rid of excess water.

Making the Creamy Yogurt Sauce:

• Add all ingredients for the sauce into a bowl and mix.  Salt to taste.

Assembling the Crab Eggs Benedict:

• Assemble your Eggs Benedict by layering one slice of the English muffin, half the avocado, half the crab meat, and then repeat with the rest of the bread, avocado, and crab meat.
• Add a small spoonful of the yogurt sauce on top of the crab meat to help hold it together.  Top each stack with a poached egg, and more sauce on top.  
• Garnish with green onion if desired. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

*Note: Crab legs can be steamed and shelled 1-2 days in advance to speed the recipe time.  Refrigerate crab in an airtight container until you're ready to use it.

*Dungeness Crab legs are typically sold pre-cooked, and simply need to be heated up.  The cook time for this recipe assumes your crab legs are pre-cooked, so if you're using fresh, uncooked crab legs, the cook time will be longer.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 236mg | Sodium: 717mg | Potassium: 457mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 8.6% | Vitamin C: 16.6% | Calcium: 18.8% | Iron: 10.5%

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