This Fresh Crab Tacos recipe is made with a cheesy tortillas, fresh Dungeness crab, a simple fresh corn salad, then topped with a spectacular cilantro lime dressing all in a taco. There will be a party in your mouth! This meal comes together in 20 minutes and it is an easy kid-friendly dinner idea if your family loves seafood as much as mine!
If you’re working with live crab, you’ll need our favorite method on How to cook crab, and of course follow it up with How to crack crab!
There’s a lot more Crab recipes to choose from if you end up with leftovers! Like this Crab Omelet, that made the news in my town!
Or this absolutely phenomenal Easy Cajun Crab Boil recipe.
And, a crowd favorite Crab Rangoons, that are so crunchy and so creamy!
If you’re in a spaghetti mood, you have to try this light and fresh Crab Pasta with Lemon Garlic Sauce!
INGREDIENTS NOTES
Let’s take a look at what’s inside these seafood tacos!
You get a satisfying crunch from the corn salsa, some garlic, cilantro, tomatoes, and cheese to take it up a notch (and because we love cheese), and allow this succulent crustacean to shine as much as possible on this one!
The garlic cilantro dressing is packed with flavor, and you can put as much or as little as you’d like.
Fresh Dungeness is so incredibly delicious on its own (I just had it for dinner and I want more!) so I’m always cautious about the amount of other flavors I add to crab recipes to make sure not to overpower it.
HOW TO MAKE IT
Making this crab taco recipe is as simple as can be. So let’s dig in.
First, I typically make the cilantro lime crema and place in the fridge to meld.
Then whip up the corn salsa. Next warm the tortillas on a skillet, add cheese, add the crab, and transfer to a plate to top with the fresh corn salsa and the sauce. It’s that easy.
TIPS and TRICKS
Make it easy!
Use frozen, canned, or cooked corn instead of fresh corn on the cob.
If you prefer to make this corn salsa recipe with cooked corn that’s totally fine!
WHAT TYPE OF CRAB TO USE IN THIS RECIPE
We are so fortunate to have the Pacific coast as our homestead, which means fresh Dungeness crab! But any will be perfect for this taco recipe. There are so many varieties to choose from, so take your pick!
All of them are different, in terms of how much meat they have so be mindful of that in this recipe. Two Dungeness will average 2 or so cups, but that will vary significantly between rock crab, blue, green, king, and so on (yes there are more species!).
RELATED RECIPES
Fresh Crab Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 cups Fresh crab meat about 2 whole dungeness
- pinch of salt for the crab
- 8 corn tortillas
- 2 cups your favorite shredded cheese White cheddar, mozzerela, or medium cheddar work great!
- 3 tbsp butter as needed
Corn Salsa Ingredients
- 2 corn on the cob or 15 oz can
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 6 stalks green onion diced
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- 3 tbsp jalapeno finely diced, or to taste
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lime zest and juice
- ½ tsp salt
Garlic Cilantro Seafood Taco Sauce (optional)
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayo
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 lime zest & juice
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
To Make The Corn Salsa
- Shuck and cut corn off the cob and place in a bowl.
- To the bowl, add cut tomatoes, diced green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, lime zest and juice, olive oil and salt. Then stir and set aside, or set in fridge covered.
Garlic Cilantro Seafood Taco Sauce (optional)
- In a blender or food processor, add the garlic, cilantro, mayo, salt and lime juice. Blend until mixed thoroughly.
- Add the sour cream and stir to combine. Place in fridge to get cold and harden a bit if you have time, otherwise serve as is.
To Assemble the Tacos
- In a skillet on medium-high heat, add in about 1/2 tbsp of butter, and let melt. Add corn tortillas to crisp on one side, then flip.
- Immediately add a handful of cheese and crab to top of each tortilla. Once the cheese has melted and the crab is warmed, remove the tacos and place on a serving plate, covered. Repeat these steps with all the tortillas.
- Top each taco with corn salad and cilantro lime sauce to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
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Be sure to check out our other seafood recipes!
