Snow crab legs are a sweet, tender seafood favorite that’s easy to cook at home- whether you’re making them for a special dinner or a casual seafood feast. You can choose steaming, boiling, baking or grilling for juicy, flavorful results every time.
Snow Crab vs King Crab
Snow crab vs king crab comes down to size, season, habitat, flavor, and how easy the meat is to get out.
- Ease of eating: Snow crab is usually easy to crack by hand and the meat releases cleanly. King crab has a thicker shell, so you’ll often want a crab cracker or kitchen shears to get to the meat.
- Size & shape: King crab is larger overall with thicker, meatier legs (often shorter but bulkier). Snow crab is smaller with longer, slimmer legs.
- Where they’re caught & season: King crab is primarily harvested in the Bering Sea with a short, tightly limited season in the colder months. Snow crab is found across the North Atlantic and North Pacific and is typically harvested from late fall through spring (sometimes into early summer).
- Flavor & texture: Snow crab tastes mildly sweet with a light briny bite and has firm, shreddable meat. King crab is sweet and delicate with a more succulent, tender texture.
Chef’s Tip
For the easiest weeknight crack-and-eat, snow crab wins. For bigger “wow” bites and richer texture, go king crab.
Gather This
There aren’t a lot of ingredients necessary to make these snow crab legs. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Snow crab legs: You can use either thawed or frozen crab legs, just adjust the cooking time as needed. Unless you are buying live snow crabs, your legs will likely already be fully cooked and/or frozen. You can bake, boil, steam, or even grill snow crab. All methods work equally as well to get the cooked meat hot again, but I prefer to steam or bake them.
- Coarse kosher salt
- Oil
- Fresh lemon
- Seafood seasoning
Crab Boil Seasonings
While salted water is really all you need to make these legs shine, you can add other flavors in the form of aromatics, spices, and herbs. Here are a few of our favorites.
- Bay leaves
- Lemon wedges
- Fresh parsley
- Coriander
- Whole peppercorns
- Fennel seeds
- Seafood seasoning (like Old Bay)
- Blackened seasoning
How to Cook Snow Crab
How to Boil Snow Crab Legs
- Find a very large stock pot or use a Dutch oven and work in batches. A standard Dutch oven will accommodate approximately 1/2 pound at a time, while a large stock pot should be able to cook them all at the same time.
- Fill halfway with cold water and add 1 tablespoon of coarse kosher salt. Bring to a boil.
- Carefully add the crab legs to the boiling water. If thawed, boil for 3 minutes, if frozen, boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove to a paper towel lined rimmed baking sheet and allow the water stuck in the shells to drain before cracking and eating.
How to Steam Snow Crab Legs
- Find a very large stock pot or use a Dutch oven and work in batches. A standard Dutch oven will accommodate approximately 1/2 pound at a time, while a large stock pot should be able to cook them all at the same time.
- Place the steamer basket in the bottom and add cold water until just at the rim of the steamer basket. Add 1-2 teaspoons of coarse kosher salt. Bring to a simmer.
- Carefully add the crab legs to the steamer basket and then cover. If thawed, steam for 5 minutes, if frozen, steam for 7 minutes. Remove to a rimmed baking sheet or serving platter.
How to Make Snow Crab Legs in the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the crab legs on a large rimmed baking sheet or high-sided casserole dish. They do not need to be in a single layer.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil. This will use the liquid in the legs to steam them. Bake for 10-12 minutes for thawed crab legs.
- Remove from the oven and remove the aluminum foil and serve.
How to Grill Snow Crab Legs
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Spray or oil the grates to prevent sticking.
- Place the crab legs directly onto the grates, closing the grill and cooking for 3-4 minutes to heat through.
How to Crack Snow Crab Legs
Fortunately, the snow crab legs’ shell breaks open fairly easily so cracking it open is a fairly easy task. Snow crab is generally pretty easy to pick, but specialty tools can make it even easier for those tough pieces.
- The first step is the break the cooked crab legs open at the joint.
- Then, gently wiggle the half of a leg back and forth, until it cracks. Pull those halves apart and the meat should slide right out.
- Next, peel away the skin of the knuckle and use a lobster fork to retrieve the meat.
- Finally, for the claw, gently break off the pincer. If the shell is thick, use a crab cracker to gently break the shell before pulling out the meat or a rolling pin to gently roll it out.
Perfect Pairings
Serve a sauce on the side of your snow crabs for dipping, like clarified butter or a garlic butter sauce, vinegar, or cocktail sauce. You can also offer seasonings like Old Bay to shake on top. And of course, CRAB BUTTER!
There are so many sides you can serve with snow crab legs- they are one of our most versatile dinner recipes. We love cheesy garlic bread or garlic knots, as well as hush puppies.
For veggies and starches, try roasted potatoes, corn on the cob (or Mexican street corn), or salads like coleslaw or potato salad.
Common Questions About Snow Crab Legs
You’ll get about 3 snow crab leg clusters in 1 pound. This recipe calls for 2 pounds, so you’ll have approximately 6 snow crab clusters.
You can expect to feed 7-8 people with 10 lbs of snow crab legs.
Snow crabs pack a punch of healthy nutrients including iron, vitamin C, and B vitamins.
More Crab-Based Dishes
If you love seafood as much as our family does, you will love these other crab based dishes.
Snow Crab Legs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds snow crab legs , thawed or frozen
- coarse kosher salt , for boiling for steaming
- oil , for grilling
- fresh lemon wedges , optional
- seafood seasoning , optional
Instructions
How to Boil Snow Crab Legs
- Find a very large stock pot or use a Dutch oven and work in batches. A standard Dutch oven will accommodate approximately 1/2 pound at a time, while a large stock pot should be able to cook them all at the same time.
- Fill halfway with cold water and add 1 tablespoon of coarse kosher salt. Bring to a boil.
- Carefully add the crab legs to the boiling water. If thawed, boil for 3 minutes, if frozen, boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove to a paper towel lined rimmed baking sheet and allow the water stuck in the shells to drain before cracking and eating.
How to Steam Snow Crab Legs
- Find a very large stock pot or use a Dutch oven and work in batches. A standard Dutch oven will accommodate approximately 1/2 pound at a time, while a large stock pot should be able to cook them all at the same time.
- Place the steamer basket in the bottom and add cold water until just at the rim of the steamer basket. Add 1-2 teaspoons of coarse kosher salt. Bring to a simmer.
- Carefully add the crab legs to the steamer basket and then cover. If thawed, steam for 5 minutes, if frozen, steam for 7 minutes. Remove to a rimmed baking sheet or serving platter.
How to Bake Snow Crab Legs
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the crab legs on a large rimmed baking sheet or high-sided casserole dish. They do not need to be in a single layer.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil. This will use the liquid in the legs to steam them. Bake for 10-12 minutes for thawed crab legs.
- Remove from the oven and remove the aluminum foil and serve.
How to Grill Snow Crab Legs
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Spray or oil the grates to prevent sticking.
- Place the crab legs directly onto the grates, closing the grill and cooking for 3-4 minutes to heat through.
- If you've tried one of our methods, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Delicious and easy!
Easy baked and came out great!
This post is phenomenal! I love that you’ve included so many cooking methods, I think I’d like to try out steaming and grilling them. All of the serving suggestions are also fantastic. Thanks for all the info!
This was everything a gourmet meal should be, and then some! Easily, a new favorite; excited to showcase this for my next party! Will be an instant hit!
I really appreciate all the information in this post about snow crab legs and how to cook them. I’m going to try baking them as it seems to be easiest to clean up from.
I have never eaten snow crab legs but this recipe looks delicious.