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–+ servings
Imitation crab sandwich on a plate.

Quick and Easy Crab Melt

Andrea
Quick and easy crab melt is a delicious open faced sandwich, bursting with the flavor of imitation crab, garlic, onion, and lemon. Topped with provolone cheese and all on sour dough!
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 sandwiches
Calories/serving 351 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 

  • 8 ounce flaky style imitation crab about 1 ½ cups
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon garlic minced
  • ¼ cup onion diced
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 slices sour dough
  • 4 slices provolone cheese
  • 4 slices tomatoes

Instructions

Oven Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  • In a large bowl imitation combine crab, lemon, garlic, diced onion, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise. Mix until well combined
    Imitation crab meat mixture mixed in a bowl.
  • Place 4 sour dough bread slices, open faced, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Put ¼ of the crab mix on one side of the ciabatta, repeat on all 4 rolls. Place a tomato slice and then provolone cheese slice on top of the imitation crab mixture. See process photos above for a great visual.
    Imitation crab meat mixture on sour dough bread.
  • Cook open faced sandwiches for 5 minutes or until the cheese begins to melt. Once cheese is melted, remove from the oven and enjoy!
    Baked imitation crab melt on baking sheet.

Air Fryer Method:

  • Preheat the air fryer to 375* F.
  • Follow assembly instructions above.
    Imitation crab meat mixture on sour dough bread.
  • Place open face sandwich topped with crab mixture, tomato, and cheese, at the bottom of the air fryer basket. 
    Air fryer method for imitation crab melt.
  • Cook for 3 minutes or until cheese and bread are toasted.
    Imitation crab melt on a baking sheet.

Notes

  1. Try this melt on ciabatta bread, french bread, english muffins for similarly delicious results.
  2. Do not store and reheat cooked crab mixture. It is unsafe to reheat mayonnaise.
  3. Appetizer - Make this fun open faced sandwich into a fun appetizer style meal by using small pieces of bread and smaller portions of tomatoes, cheese and crab.
    Tabasco sauce- Want a kick? Add in ½ teaspoon of tabasco sauce to the crab mixture or top the cooked melt with tabasco sauce or your favorite hot sauce.
  5. Keto - Make this keto friendly and low carb by using a large mushroom or sliced zucchini as the base instead of bread. Follow the directions as stated but place the crab mixture on top of zucchini or a large mushroom.
  6. Shrimp- Make it a seafood party by adding mini shrimp into the imitation crab mixture. Add about ¼ cup of small shrimp to the mixture.
  7. Artichoke- Slice canned artichoke hearts and place in the crab mixture. Add about ¼ cup depending on how many artichokes you want added to the mixture.
  8. Avocado- After the melt is cooked in the air fryer or oven, top the melted cheese with slices of avocado. You can also place the avocado on top of the tomatoes and under the cheese to be heated with the entire sandwich.
  9. Old bay seasoning - Add the taste of old bay seasoning by adding 1 teaspoon of the seasoning to the crab mixture. Mix well so the flavor is throughout.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.75cupCalories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 15gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 888mgPotassium: 127mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 174IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 182mgIron: 3mg
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