Buttery Garlic Crab Bruschetta Recipe

By
Doug DuCap
Doug DuCap
Cookbook author and freelance food writer with award-winning recipes. He has an expertise in fish and seafood.
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Updated on 10/18/21
Buttery Garlic Crab Bruschetta Recipe

The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 4 to 8 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
207 Calories
14g Fat
11g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 207
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 18%
Saturated Fat 8g 42%
Cholesterol 63mg 21%
Sodium 426mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 11g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 2mg 12%
Calcium 101mg 8%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 118mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Bruschetta is a classic Italian snack of grilled bread drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with garlic (and sometimes a cut ripe tomato.) It's a simple, magical delight from which many variations have sprung, including this recipe which features lots of garlic, butter, and flavorful crabmeat. It may not be exactly orthodox, but it is wildly delicious!

These buttery delights can be served as appetizers, snacks, or a luncheon dish (with a mitigating green salad).

You don't need super expensive lump crabmeat here (although it's fine if you want to) since the mixture is going to be spread out a bit. Less expensive grades will work just as well as long as they're light in color.

On the other hand, it is important to use real butter and top-quality Parmesan cheese in this recipe. This is meant to be a rich, special occasion appetizer, so don't stint on flavor in order to save a few calories or fat grams. Savor the real thing instead.

Serve with a crisp prosecco or another dry, aromatic white wine.

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces (1/4 cup) salted butter

  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

  • 8 ounces crabmeat, special or backfin grade

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

  • 8 slices good-quality Italian bread, sliced thickly

  • 1/2 cup grated or finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Buttery Garlic Crab Bruschetta ingredients

    The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

  2. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the finely chopped garlic and saute for about 1 to 2 minutes.

    butter and garlic in a pan

    The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

  3. When the garlic just begins to color remove the pan from the heat.

    butter and garlic in a pan

    The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

  4. Gently fold in the crabmeat, pepper, and parsley. Set aside.

    crabmeat, pepper, and parsley added to the butter and garlic in the pan

    The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

  5. Grill the bread on one side or lightly toast it on both sides under the broiler.

    grilled bread on a cutting board

    The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

  6. Spread the crab mixture on the bread slices (on the grilled side, if grilling). Sprinkle each with about 1 tablespoon of freshly grated or shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

    crab mixture and cheese on toast

    The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

  7. Place the bread slices under the broiler or on the grill briefly, just until the cheese melts.

    Buttery Garlic Crab Bruschetta on toast, on a cutting board

    The Spruce / Karen Hibbard

Glass Bakeware Warning

Do not use glass bakeware when broiling or when a recipe calls to add liquid to a hot pan, as glass may explode. Even if it states oven-safe or heat resistant, tempered glass products can, and do, break occasionally.

Recipe Tips

  • VERY IMPORTANT: If the garlic overcooks (i.e., turns brown), DON'T add the crabmeat! Discard the garlic butter, clean the pan and start over. This sounds wasteful, but the burnt garlic will ruin the flavor of the crabmeat, which is much more expensive than butter
  • This recipe can be made with any grade of crabmeat except claw meat, which is too dark. You can also use the meat from snow crab clusters, which is excellent for this. (For reference, four 7 oz clusters will produce about 1/2 lb of meat.)