Crab Stuffed Shrimp are easy to prepare baked, butterflied shrimp with a savory and delightful crabmeat stuffing.
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
This month for #FishFridayFoodies we are each posting a holiday appetizer utilizing seafood. Those are some of my favorites for the holiday season as I start craving shellfish just before Christmas and it continues through New Year’s Eve and onward into early February, when it seems like Cajun seafood takes hold and who doesn’t love seafood for Valentine’s Day?
That will be here before you know it. Look how this year has flown by!
The recipe I am posting for crab stuffed shrimp I have adored for years, and years and *yearsandyears* (as they say) (who are THEY anyway? LOL!) Just use the biggest shrimp or prawns you can get- little ones just won’t work here. And they make an excellent appetizer, but if you want them for dinner, I might suggest serving these with wild rice, a salad and a glass of Riesling. Not that I had that. I thought about making wild rice but changed my mind as dinner approached. And I don’t keep too much white wine around as I am obsessed with dry reds. I had looked at some Rieslings recently when I was out- but I skipped it since my wine cellar is still fairly stocked.
But as we pass through the Turkey Day season and head onward to holiday parties, I wish you all the joy these kind of celebrations can bring. It’s nice to have things like that to look forward to lift the spirits by being with friends and having a happy time. Event if world events kind of keep us with our heads down. Don’t let it ruin your holidays!
Until next time- not sure if I will get up a post tomorrow or not, but Sunday I have my recipe for Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells (using leftover roast turkey) posting, so don’t miss it. And all next week is cranberry everything as I have fun with #CranberryWeek, so don’t miss that either!
~Sue
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
Serves 6-8 as an appetizer; 3-4 as a main course
Ingredients:
- 1 pound 16/20 count shrimp or larger
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup freshly minced onion
- 1/4 cup freshly minced celery
- 1/4 cup dry white wine, such as chardonnay
- 8 ounces cooked flaked crab meat, picked over
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dry parsley flakes
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs
- Drizzle: 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp minced garlic
- paprika
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Remove shells from shrimp except the last bit of tail section. Cut a tiny slit on the outside edge to pull out the sand vein, but do not cut along the length of the outside. On the inside curve, cut with a knife about halfway through and press the shrimp open to butterfly. Gently cut extra to open it fully but be careful not to cut all the way through.
- Saute the onion and celery in butter until lightly browned, then add the wine and cook until the wine dissipates and is dry except remaining butter; allow to cool.
- Place the crab in a mixing bowl (be sure to double check for bits of shell), and add the egg, garlic, Worcestershire, pepper, lemon juice and parsley, mixing well. Stir in the crushed cracker crumbs and cooled veggies.
- Place the shrimp on a foil lined baking sheet, sitting upright, with the shrimp spread open and tail pointing upwards. Place a cookie scoop of stuffing mix formed into a ball onto the shrimp and fold the tail over, pressing it lightly into the stuffing just so it stays upright.
- Bake the shrimp for 15 minutes. While the shrimp are baking, make the drizzle by melting the butter and mixing with the lemon juice and garlic, heating it until the garlic just starts to brown.
- Drizzle mixture over shrimp with a small spoon then place under the broiler for a couple minutes to brown them up.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with a little paprika.
From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com

Fish Friday Foodies
Holiday Appetizers or First Courses
Hosted by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
Be sure to check out the other Fish Friday Foodies Bloggers this month!
Click on the hop link button to be transported to the other recipes:
Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517@gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.
You might also like:
Gambas al Ajillo: Spanish Garlic Shrimp Tapas
Can’t Find a Recipe? | Help
Recipe Index A-M | Recipe Index N-Z | Home
You’ve combined two of my favorite things here, Sue! Love that crunchy golden exterior with the buttery Ritz crackers as well!
Shrimp and Crab….what more could you ask for in life! YUMMO
Just a clarification. I’m assuming the butter, onion, pepper and wine mixture also goes into the stuffing after it has cooled. I’ve re-read the instructions several times but I think you forgot to add that step. BTW can’t wait to try it!!!
Yes, that’s right!
WOW! everything I need right now is right here
Sue, those look great! P~
Those look so good. They’re making my mouth water
I think I’ve had something similar ages ago, these are making me want to have them again soon! Love the stuffing.
Well, you will have some chardonnay left over from the recipe, right? This recipe sounds soooo good!
Sue, these just look too good to be true!
These crab stuffed shrimp look so tempting and yum…
I am making this for my 42nd wedding anniversary! Just popped them in the oven. The recipe is similar to one I made years ago. It looks delicious! Can’t wait to light the candles and dazzle my wonderful hubby.
This recipe is delicious! I’ve used the same crab stuffing to make sutffed red snapper as well. I used Royal Red shrimp and we enjoyed this for dinner as a main instead of as an appetizer. Thanks for sharing. Made for Susie’s World Tour 2018.
May I fix the crabmeat stuffing ahead of time and ready the shrimp until next day , to take to bake at another’s house? Keeping in fridge?
It should be okay. I hope you enjoy!