This Changes Everything: 4-Ingredient, Party-Starting Crab Dip

Photo credit: Charlotte Tolhurst / StockFood

Down with lions. Up with parties!

If the longer days have you feeling the entertaining itch, too, here’s a knockout, take-no-prisoners crab dip requiring four ingredients and 10 minutes of your valuable time. Bonus: Once your guests have had a taste of it, it’s a guaranteed way of getting everyone out of your kitchen and into the living room. (They will follow you as you carry it, murmuring praise en route.)

The secret to this dip is its ability to marry the toothsome qualities of lobster and crab meat with the silky texture cream cheese acquires after spending some time under the broiler. Add the punch of horseradish, the pretty, colorful pop of paprika, and a hit of liveliness (or crunch) from parsley (or slivered almonds), and you’ll wonder why you haven’t been serving this at every party in the history of forever.

Make way more than you think you’ll need. Trust us.

Easy Crab Dip
Serves 4 as an appetizer

One 16 oz container of lump crabmeat (fresh, if possible, best-quality if not)
1 lb (16 oz) of cream cheese, room temperature
Horseradish, to taste
Cream or milk (Optional)
Salt
Paprika
Parsley, minced (Optional)
Slivered almonds (Optional)

1. Pick through crabmeat to ensure there are no hard bits of cartilage.

2. Mix crabmeat with cream cheese. Stir thoroughly to combine. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of horseradish, tasting as you go for heat. Add cream, if desired, to thin mixture. Add salt, to taste.

3. Preheat broiler. Pour mixture into ovenproof baking dish. Use knife to level top. Sprinkle with paprika, just enough to color it nicely. Garnish with slivered almonds or parsley, as desired. Set under broiler, keeping close eye on mixture. When it looks rosy-golden, remove from oven. Let cool slightly. Serve.