Crab Macaroni and Cheese

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword crab-mac-and-cheese-recipe, crab-macaroni-and-cheese

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 35

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 588kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

1 16 oz box dry Cavatappi pasta
1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp seafood seasoning divided (i.e. Old Bay seasoning, Seafood Magic, your favorite)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 oz chive and onion cream cheese softened
5 cups whole milk
5 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese divided
Topping:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp seafood seasoning
1 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Macaroni: Cook the macaroni in a pot of salted water per the package directions until al dente. Drain well and set aside.
Meanwhile, pick over the crab meat removing any shells and cartilage. Set aside.
Sauce: In a medium-size heavy bottomed saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. To the melted butter add the flour, 1 1/2 tsp seafood seasoning, garlic salt, ground mustard and black pepper. Mix until the flour has been absorbed by the butter stirring constantly.
Gradually add the milk while whisking constantly to prevent clumping.
Bring the milk to a boil then immediately lower the heat to low. Simmer for 3-5 minutes gently bubbling stirring periodically to prevent sticking.
Turn off the heat leaving the saucepan on burner. Add the cream cheese to the sauce. Stir until melted then add 3 cups of shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. Remove from the heat, stirring until completely melted.
Add the cooked, drained pasta and the crab meat to a large mixing bowl. (If you use a large pot, it can double as the mixing bowl.)
Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and mix until fully coated and the crab meat is evenly distributed.
Pour 1/2 of the macaroni mixture into the baking dish. Top with 1 cup shredded cheese. Repeat with macaroni then top with the final 1 cup of shredded cheese.
Breadcrumb Topping: Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a small microwave safe bowl. Mix with the panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 tsp seafood seasoning. (Add more or less to your taste) Sprinkle on top.
Place into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top has a golden color and it's bubbly around the edges.
Garnish with fresh parsley just before serving.

Notes

- Pasta: You can use cavatappi pasta, corkscrew pasta or twisted macaroni. You could also use elbow macaroni.

- Protein: You could use dungeness crab or lobster in this dish.

- Cheese: While I developed this recipe using pre-shredded cheese, you can use any other flavor of cheese to customize the flavor to your taste. You could use freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese, Gruyere cheese, or a mild Colby jack cheese, if that's your preference. You could also use pepper jack cheese for spice.

- Salt: Each brand of seafood seasoning contains a different amount of sodium. Adjust the amount of salt in this recipe based on the brand of seafood seasoning used.

- Spice: You could add a few dashes of hot sauce to the cheese sauce for heat.

- Serving Options: You can serve this crab mac and cheese as a main dish or a side dish.

- Baking Dish Options: You can divide this macaroni and cheese and bake in single servings in ramekins for a fun presentation and portion control. When doing so, make sure you adjust the baking time, smaller ramekins wouldn't take quite as long to bake.

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