Cucumber Crab Bites

Published July 30, 2020

Being creative is one of the best parts of cooking. I’m always excited to try meals that are pulled together from leftovers or ingredients that I had on-hand.

That’s why for this week’s blog, I’m sharing an easy cucumber and crab bite appetizer.

This recipe came to me spontaneously. Since — like most people — I’m working remotely, I can make myself a mid-morning snack before lunch. Usually this involves whole foods that don’t require cooking, and that can be eaten quickly before my next meeting.

Thus — when I looked in my fridge, I saw that I had a container of crab spread. Since I was out of the normal pitas I serve the crab with, I wondered what I could serve it on. That’s when I noticed the cucumbers my neighbor shared with me from his garden. Viola! This recipe was created. It’s so tasty that I decided to immortalize it here, on the blog, so you can refer to it.

Ingredients for Cucumber Crab Bites

Since this recipe uses whole or premade ingredients, it takes no effort to make it. If you really wanted to be fancy, you could make your own homemade crab spread. The goal for me is to have an easy (yet tasty) snack without any effort, so I used premade.

As noted with the above asterisk, I had a 15 ounce container of crab spread. Depending on how many people you’re serving, these cucumber and crab bites won’t use more than 1/4 of that container. Any leftover crab spread that I had, I used to make crab rangoons.

How to Make Cucumber Crab Bites

Tools for this Dish

• Knife and cutting board

• Brush (to scrub the cucumber peel)

• Platter or plate for serving

• Teaspoon for dolloping the crab spread on the cucumber

Cooking Notes

Cucumber Disks

I thought of my Home Ec teacher when I went to peel the cucumbers for this recipe. Mrs. Z always said to leave the peels on your ingredients since they have additional nutrients. I’m not always a fan of doing that, but in this case, for some additional color and because I knew they were locally grown, I scrubbed the outside of any dirt and then cut the cucumber into disks.

Use your judgement when cutting your cucumber. Your disks should not be so paper thin that it’s difficult to pick up. I personally don’t like too thick of a cucumber slice, so I did something in-between. It should be sturdy enough to hold your crab spread.

Fresh Spices

I personally enjoy lemon with seafood, as I think it brightens the dish. I had leftover dill (yes, from my pan-fried cod with herb sauce). You don’t have to use dill if you don’t want to, but I think it adds an extra layer of flavor to the crab spread.

As always, salt and pepper the cucumber crab bites before serving to enhance the flavor.

The Final Product

These cucumber crab bites were light and refreshing. The snap of acidity from the lemon, the subtle dill, and creamy crab spread with the crunch from the cucumber was a satisfying (and easy) snack.

Recipe Score

I would give my cucumber crab bites a 10/10 for the following:

• Recipe Level

  • Easy: Since this recipe uses premade and whole ingredients, you don’t have to stress about any steps. Cut your cucumber and add a spoonful of crab spread. Top with dill, lemon, and seasoning to boost the flavor.

• Ingredients

  • You can’t get any fresher than homegrown cucumbers (courtesy of my generous neighbor). You can also use any medium-sized cucumber from the store and any brand of crab spread. Costco’s crab spread is a good option. This Chesapeake Bay brand is from ShopRite. This was my first time buying it and I was satisfied with the amount of lump crab meat throughout.

• Prep

  • No prep involved!

• Flavor

  • 10/10: The textures in these cucumber crab bites are the best part. Creamy crab, crunchy cucumber, the bite from the black pepper, and brightness from the drop of lemon juice — yum!

K. Martinelli Makes Cucumber Crab Bites

Thanks for Watching

Looking for another crab recipe? Try my fried crab Rangoon with pineapple dipping sauce.