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★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
Your Favorite Maryland Restaurant Appetizer
If you’ve had a crab pretzel in Maryland, you know how unforgettable it is. This recipe brings that same cheesy, creamy crab dip goodness baked onto soft pretzels—no travel required!
Easy to Make at Home
The good news? You can totally recreate this restaurant favorite at home. These crab dip pretzels are surprisingly easy to make and perfect for entertaining or game day snacking.
From a Marylander Who Knows Crabs
Marylanders, you know the drill: picnic tables covered in newspaper, wooden mallets, melted butter, and heaps of Old Bay. I grew up in that world, and even though I don’t live there now, I still crave the taste of fresh Maryland blue crab. Trust me—nothing else compares to real Maryland lump crab meat.
Make it a Coastal-Inspired Meal
Want to go all in on that Chesapeake flavor? Serve these crab dip pretzels with an Old Bay Bloody Mary, a side of Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Grits, and a bowl of Cajun Sausage and Seafood Gumbo.. It’s the ultimate coastal comfort food combo—right from your kitchen.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Here's a look at everything you'll need to make Maryland crab dip pretzels.
- Crab meat. Maryland jumbo lump crab meat. This is best found fresh.
- Cream cheese. Block.
- Sour cream.
- Mayonnaise.
- Lemon juice. Fresh squeezed is best.
- Worcestershire sauce.
- Mustard powder.
- Milk. Any % will work.
- Cheddar cheese. Shredded.
- Garlic salt.
- Old Bay seasoning. Adjust to taste.
- Jumbo soft pretzels. Fresh or frozen.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
Here's a look at how these baked crab pretzels come together.
- Combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, milk, shredded cheddar cheese, garlic salt, and Old Bay seasoning.
- Fold in crab meat.
- Stir until combined.
- Lay soft pretzels on a baking sheet.
- Top with crab mixture the sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.
- Bake then serve.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
See, blue crabs are something every Marylander knows about and loves to be picky about.
For example, we see "Maryland Blue Crab Cakes" on menus outside of the state of Maryland and we chuckle. We know a Maryland crab cake. And unless you're actually IN Maryland, sorry to tell you this, but it probably ain't the real deal. A true Maryland crab cake is a golden patty of fresh chucks of white crab meat—no breadcrumbs. No neon orange-red outer skin. This recipe is not for crab cakes but you can get my favorite crab cake recipe here.
Possibly the most important part of enjoying a Maryland blue crab is appreciating where crabs come from. If you are eating blue crabs, that means someone likely woke up before the sun rose, and caught those crabs fresh.
I have many fond memories of my dad and I waking up while it was still dark, grabbing a pack of powdered donuts for breakfast, and hitting the neighborhood dock with our gear—some chicken necks, twine, a bushel, and a metal net.
We'd tie on about 6-8 strings of chicken, toss them in the Bay and over the course of a few hours, we had about a half a bushel of crabs. We'd take those home and if dad was lucky, he'd sneak a nap in before we steamed and ate them for dinner later that day. Catching the crabs yourself sure makes them taste extra good. 🙂
So let's talk about what to do when you don't live in Maryland.
Don't worry, you can actually buy canned lump crab meat in the seafood section of the grocery store. It will be refrigerated. If it's not refrigerated and/or it's next to the other fish, it's not what you want.
You can also tell by the price. A 16oz can of lump crab meat up here in Pennsylvania costs about $20. Sometimes it goes on sale for half price though. That's when I stock up! So keep an eye out for the sales.
If you're lucky enough to live in Maryland, you can get fresh lump crab meat from the deli. Score!
Old Bay: Crab's Best Friend. No crab recipe is complete without Old Bay. We keep a big container of Old Bay on hand for sprinkling on corn on the cob also. Need some? Shop Old Bay in bulk on Amazon
There are two ways to serve this appetizer. You can top soft jumbo pretzels with the crab dip so guests can break off or cut away pieces.
Or you can serve the dip in a bowl and offer soft pretzel bites for dipping. Your choice. The taste is the same, just a different presentation.
You can find soft pretzel in the bread aisle of my grocery store. You may be able to get some fresh from your bakery if you're lucky. I've seen soft pretzels in the frozen aisle as well.
★ More Seafood Recipes ★
If you love crab, check out my recipe for real Maryland crab cakes (without breadcrumbs), Hot Maryland Crab Dip and Maryland crab soup.
Want more appetizer ideas? Browse all my easy appetizer recipes
This crab dip pretzel recipe was featured on South Your Mouth!
Maryland Crab Dip Pretzel
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz lump crab meat
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese
- 1 pinch garlic salt
- Old Bay seasoning to taste
- 2 jumbo soft pretzels
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Place jumbo soft pretzels on a baking sheet. (I prefer not to salt the pretzel but feel free to apply it per the directions if desired)
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, and garlic salt until smooth then add milk, cheddar cheese and Old Bay.
- Fold in crab meat then spoon dip onto pretzels. Sprinkle with a little extra cheddar cheese if you want then bake at 350˚ for 15-20 minutes or until crab dip is hot all the way through.
- Serve hot with a serrated knife or let people break off pieces by hand.
Video
Notes
- Fresh soft pretzels can be found in the bread aisle.
- If using frozen pretzels, no need to thaw first.
Kayla says
I made this 4 years ago after having an insane craving for crab dip from Waterman's in Ocean City. It did not disappoint!! I'll be making this again very soon, It's soo good!
Steven E Spikes says
JUST HAD ONE OF THESE, CRAB DIP SOFT PRETZELS, AT SOUTH BEACH WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL, JIMMYS FAMOUS SEAFOOD. WAS AWESOME. GREAT RECIPE.