Crab Soup
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This rich and creamy crab soup seasoned with Old Bay is the essence of the Eastern shore.
Filled with fresh lump crab meat and seasoned with Old Bay, a spice blend that comes from my home state of Maryland, this soup tastes like a day on the Eastern shore. In fact, the recipe was scribbled down on a piece of paper for me by the chef from the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, when we were there celebrating my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. It is unapologetically rich and indulgent. Please don’t be tempted to substitute the half & half with milk. It won’t work unless you add more butter and flour, which would defeat the whole purpose of making it lighter. I promise, it’s 100% worth it!
What you’ll need to make Crab Soup
If possible, use fresh-off-the-boat crab meat. It comes in a clear plastic container and is usually resting on ice in the seafood department. It’s not always available depending on the season and region, so your second-best option is refrigerated crab meat, such as Phillip’s, which is readily available year round. Just avoid shelf-stable canned crab meat; it contains additives that affect the taste and texture of the meat.
Old Bay seasoning is a spice blend that you can find at most supermarkets near the seafood department. If you’d like to make your own, I recommend this recipe. I love Old Bay and use it in many recipes, such as Maryland Crab Cakes, Salmon Cakes, Shrimp Salad, Chesapeake Corn with Tomatoes and Basil, and Peel n’ Eat Shrimp.
How to make Crab Soup
To begin, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, then add the flour.
Whisk for about 1 minute, until well blended.
Whisking constantly, gradually add the half & half.
Add the mustard, Old Bay, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil, whisking frequently (be sure to scrape the edges of the pot, where the flour mixture tends to settle).
As soon as the soup starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the sherry and crabmeat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
If the soup is too thick, add water, little by little, to thin it out (it will thicken the longer it sits on the stove, even off of the heat). Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chives. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
You may also like
- French Onion Soup
- Vegetable Soup with Pesto
- Southwestern Corn Chowder
- Easy Butternut Squash Soup
- Potato Leek Soup
- Summer Corn Soup with Fresh Herbs
Crab Soup
This rich and creamy crab soup seasoned with Old Bay is the essence of the Eastern shore.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups half & half
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning, plus more for serving (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- ½ pound lump crabmeat, picked over to remove any shells
- Finely chopped chives, for garnish
- Lemon wedges, for serving (optional; see note)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for about 1 minute, until well blended.
- Whisking constantly, gradually add the half & half. Add the mustard, Old Bay seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil, whisking frequently (be sure to scrape the edges of the pot, where the flour mixture tends to settle). As soon as the soup starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir in the sherry and crabmeat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the soup is too thick, add water, little by little, to thin it out (it will thicken the longer it sits on the stove, even off of the heat). Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chives. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
- Note: Old Bay seasoning is sold in the seafood department at most supermarkets. It can also be ordered online or made from scratch.
- Note: Lemon is really only necessary if not using the sherry.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 475
- Fat: 37 g
- Saturated fat: 23 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 18 g
- Sodium: 580 mg
- Cholesterol: 167 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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My guess this was my error and not the recipe’s. But I followed the recipe here and in the book “Once Upon a Chef” and found this to be incredibly bland. I would love to know what I did wrong and would love to see a video of this being prepared.
Hi Kevin, I’m sorry you found this to be bland! Did you by any chance make any substitutions to the ingredients? Did you use the full tablespoon of old bay seasoning and the 1/4 teaspoon salt?
I made the recipe exactly as written except doubled the crab. Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE this soup! I was given a recipe very similar to this years ago called “Aunt Ellen’s Crab Soup.” (I have no idea who Aunt Ellen is) We made it for special occasions until one day the main ingredient, Imagine Creamy Sweet Corn Soup went missing from all store shelves. What a relief to find another recipe that is also delish. With ALL that being said, I added 2 cans sweet creamed corn, a 1/2 bag of frozen corn, and some 1/2 and 1/2 along with #1 crab meat. This is OUT of this WORLD yumminess ! Thanks, Jenn. You are my kitchen guru!
I had a craving for New England chowder, and living in Chicago, this was the closest I could get. This recipe was fantastic, I added two finely chopped shallots, 1 pound of crab meat, and one tablespoon of Dijon. I also added about a 1/3 cup of water to thin it out a bit. Get fresh crab meat and don’t be afraid to pay extra for it, it’s worth it!
I’m trying this recipe over the weekend
I’m a certified holistic health coach so I prefer to make things healthy and leaner when I can without changing the wonderful effect. Unsweetened almond milk (Organic Pacific brand has always been my go-to and this was just one more wonderful-tasting soup without the heaviness. I didn’t have any sherry or pepper so just omitted it, used Kirkland grass-fed butter, Old Bay, and here’s a surprise: Pamela’s almond flour to make the roux! It works like regular flour for me, which I never use even in baked items. I had bought Philip’s refrigerated lump crab and the soup was absolutely delish! Improvisation with your original recipe came out fantastic!
This recipe is delicious! I have used this recipe for 3 or 4 years now. My church always has a “Souper” bowl contest and I won this year with this recipe. I don’t always out in the sherry, I leave that for individual taste. ( But I love it with the sherry)
This soup was delicious! Thanks to helpful commenters, I made the following adjustments:
Used 1 tbsp. of mustard instead of 1 tsp.; added 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce; doubled the crab from 1/2 lb. to 1 lb. Didn’t have dry sherry, so I used Shaoxing wine that I have handy for Asian cooking.
This one is a keeper. Thanks so much as always, Jen.
I have been a Marylander my whole life (67 years). This is delicious. The only change I made was added shallots and doubled the crabmeat. Quick and super easy to make. Thank you.
Excellent recipe! Glad to hear you are from Maryland. Can you publish an authentic red Maryland crab soup that represents a true crab soup? Your recipes are fantastic and thank you!
Glad you liked it! I will add a tomato-based crab soup to my list of recipes to potentially develop. 🙂