Crab-Stuffed Avocado

Sign me up for any recipe that combines two of my favorite treats: avocado and crab! This crab-stuffed avocado recipe gives fabulous luxury vibes, and no one needs to know you can whip it up in the bat of an eye. Creamy, buttery avocado contrasts beautifully with zesty crab salad, giving you a rich, savory bite and a kick of spicy heat. Add a sprinkle of pepper jack cheese and a squeeze of lemon and you’ll have a warm, flavor-packed snack or appetizer.

Finding perfectly ripe avocados isn’t always easy. They can be rock-hard at the grocery store and brown mush the next minute. Ideally, you can judge a ripe avocado by the color of the skin, its texture and looking at the stem. Is the avocado too hard? Quickly ripen avocados by storing them with a banana or an apple for a day or two. And if it’s too ripe, it’s OK; you can eat brown avocado in most cases.

Whether you’re impressing dinner guests or treating yourself, crab-stuffed avocado is an elegant and easy seafood recipe. An appetizer of stuffed avocado with crab will make any meal feel like a special occasion.

Ingredients for Crab-Stuffed Avocado

• Avocados: The ultimate avocados for filling with crab are ripe but not overly soft or bruised. When you peel and halve the avocados, choose the two not-quite-as-perfect or softest halves to make the filling. Later you’ll stuff the other eight.
• Mayonnaise: Whether you use one of the best mayonnaise brands or homemade mayo, the ingredient helps hold the crab filling together and adds a bit of tanginess and texture.
• Lemon juice and lemon wedges: With many creamy, spicy and almost sweet ingredients, adding a zesty bit of acid is always a good idea. Lemon juice is a natural pairing with the crab, of course, but it also keeps the avocado from browning as quickly. Serve crab-stuffed avocados with lemon wedges so your guests can add a squeeze (or not) as a last touch.
• Lump crabmeat: There are as many types of lump crabmeat as there are crab recipes out there! Look for super lump crabmeat for bigger, tastier pieces. It is sometimes found in plastic containers in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. Canned crab is a terrific budget-friendly option. We love using canned crab in this stuffed avocado with crab recipe because it flakes nicely and has a great texture for the salad filling. Helpful hint: Rinse your canned lump crabmeat in water or milk to remove the canning brine.
• Fresh cilantro: A bright green herb like cilantro brings out the spice of the peppers and onions, and it gives the mix a pop of color. Don’t like cilantro? Skip it and use fresh parsley instead.
• Chives: While small in size, chopped chives are a powerhouse of subtle onion flavor.
• Serrano pepper: Earthy, grassy and packed with spice, don’t underestimate the punch of these peppers. Usually considered twice as hot as jalapenos, be sure to use gloves when handling serrano peppers (and avoid touching your face!).
• Capers: What is a caper? These savory, edible flower buds are pickled in brine so they add a salty and lemony element, just as green olives might.
• Pepper: Cracked pepper from a good pepper grinder gives our filling one extra touch of spice and accentuates all the other spice elements.
• Pepper jack cheese: The mildly spicy cheese melts superbly on top of the crab-stuffed avocados.
• Paprika: Paprika has an earthy sweetness that enhances the crab filling and avocado.
  

Directions

Step 1: Make the filling

Preheat your broiler. Place two peeled avocado halves in a large bowl and mash them lightly with a fork. Add mayonnaise and lemon juice; mix until well blended. Stir in the crab, 3 tablespoons cilantro, chives, serrano pepper, capers and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the remaining eight peeled avocado halves.

Editor’s Tip: Peeling avocados can be a pain. I like to take a big spoon, get as close to the skin as possible and scoop out the half all in one go. It does take some practice, but you can use your first attempts in the filling if they aren’t exactly right.

Step 2: Broil the avocado halves

Transfer the avocado halves to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika. Broil the filled avocado halves 4 to 5 inches from the heat until the cheese melts, three to five minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve warm stuffed avocados with lemon wedges or squeeze the lemon wedges over the tops as a finishing touch.

Mark Derse for Taste Recipes

Recipe Variations

• Use fake crab: The fake crab in most California rolls is called surimi and is made by processing whitefish to seem like crab. It is sweet and tender, and you will never run into shells. It’s a great way to get that distinct crab flavor without splurging on fresh lump crabmeat.
• Make it less spicy: This recipe packs some heat! If you want to reduce the spice level, replace the serrano peppers with sweet peppers or remove them altogether.
• Reduce the mayo: Some folks like their crab salad less creamy. Feel free to find the right texture and amount to your taste by starting with 1/4 cup mayo and adding a bit at a time.
• Try shrimp: All these flavors and ingredients are also a match for shrimp. Frozen precooked shrimp is easy to find; just chop it into smaller pieces after removing the tail and then follow the recipe as is. If you want to try a different spin, make this shrimp salad recipe and serve it in avocados.
• Prep avocado toast: Turn this crab-stuffed avocado recipe into avocado toast. Smooth a layer of avocado on a slice of your favorite bread, add the crab salad and cheese, and broil for three minutes.

How to Store Crab-Stuffed Avocado

Put any leftover crab-stuffed avocados in an airtight container and refrigerate them. While freezing avocados is possible (and a great way to save those about to spoil), this is not the recipe to freeze. Thawed avocados tend toward mushy, and freezing anything with mayo gets a little dicey.

How long do crab-stuffed avocados last?

If well-sealed in an airtight container in the fridge, a stuffed avocado with crab will last three to four days.

How do you reheat crab-stuffed avocados?

Fast! To heat your avocado halves, broil them for just a couple of minutes. But be careful; the boat and the filling are much more likely to lose their shape the second time you warm them. Instead of reheating them, try your leftover crab-stuffed avocados cold and enjoy all of the same great flavors without the mush factor.

Crab-Stuffed Avocado Tips

Mark Derse for Taste Recipes

How do you make cold crab-stuffed avocados?

This recipe is one of the rare ones that tastes just as delectable cold as it does hot. One avocado tip is to always serve avocados cold to preserve their texture and flavor. The only adjustment for a cold crab-stuffed avocado is with the pepper jack cheese. Seeing as we aren’t melting it, either stir the cheese into the filling mixture or leave it out.

How do you prevent your avocados from browning?

It seems as if avocados can go brown in the time it takes to run to the fridge and back! One way to keep an avocado from turning brown is to submerge your avocados in water in the refrigerator. Then, once sliced, use citrus juice to preserve the green flesh before wrapping them. Don’t worry, though! If you missed the ripeness window and the brown is due to oxidation, it is safe to eat. Bruises can be removed, but brown from the fruit’s stem might be mold, so you will want to throw that one out.

What can you serve with crab-stuffed avocados?

This dish can be a fantastic easy lunch idea, a terrific bite to team up with a green salad, or even a snack with tortilla or pita chips. Additionally, crab-stuffed avocado could be the ideal starter to a big steak dinner, served before a big grilled ribeye, mac and cheese, and creamed spinach.