Whether you have leftovers or want to meal prep, learn how to heat up crab legs five different ways, you’ll get tender, juicy meat every single time.
Crab legs are one of those delicacies that you want to enjoy over and over again. Whether you go out to eat and bring home leftovers or cook a batch of them at home, if you have leftover crab, you want to reheat it correctly.
Unfortunately, crab legs have a tendency to dry out when you heat them back up. If you warm them up without using steam, the meat will become dry or chewy, not at all the signature flaky deliciousness you adore.
Thankfully, there are five easy methods that I’ll show you for how to heat up crab legs without drying them out. These tips are perfect for both cold crab legs and pre-cooked crab legs.
How to heat up crab legs
There’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to heat up crab legs – and it doesn’t matter which tool you use. You can even have soft, juicy crab legs out of the microwave.
Once you learn how to heat up crab legs, you’ll be able to order them guilt-free whenever you go out.
Enjoy these easy tips that will show you how to warm up crab legs in the oven, microwave, stove, and air fryer. If you have a steamer, that definitely helps. But if not, these tips will give you even more ideas.
How to heat up crab legs in the oven
The oven is an easy, no-fail way to reheat leftover king or snow crab legs. You’ll need some butter, a baking sheet, and a pastry brush.
You will want to reheat the crab legs at medium heat – 350F is the most popular temperature.
- Place the crab legs on your baking sheet in a single layer.
- Use a pastry brush to add melted butter on top of every inch of the leftover crab legs.
- Then, reheat the crab legs in the oven for about 8 minutes.
How to reheat crab legs in the microwave
In order to prevent your crab legs from becoming too chewy, use a damp paper towel to reheat crab legs in the microwave.
- Wrap your bundle of crab legs in a damp paper towel.
- Then, wrap the paper towels in cling wrap – this will keep the steam within the paper towels.
- Heat the crab legs up for 2 minutes.
How to heat up crab legs on a stove
Using a steamer basket is the best way to heat up crab legs on the stove.
- Fill up a large pot with a shallow layer of water that doesn’t touch the bottom of the steamer basket.
- Then, put the steamer basket over the pot and let the water boil.
- Once it’s boiling, add the crab legs and cover them with a lid.
- Allow them to steam – the crab legs will be done in 8 minutes.
How to heat up crab legs in an air fryer
This is a really quick and easy way to reheat crab legs!
- Brush the crab legs with melted butter.
- Then, cook them in the air fryer at 380F for about 5 minutes.
That’s it! They will be ready to eat.
How to heat up crab legs without a steamer
You can still reheat the crab legs on the stove if you don’t have a steamer.
- Fill a large pot with enough water to completely cover the crab legs.
- Add the crab legs once the water comes to a boil – do not cover the pot.
- Let the crab legs cook in the boiling pot for about five minutes.
More helpful kitchen tips
Now that you know how to reheat crab legs five different ways, here are some more kitchen tips that will have you cooking like a pro!
