Easy Crab Stuffed Salmon Recipe with Lemon Butter

Name: Easy Crab Stuffed Salmon Recipe with Lemon Butter
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 lb Salmon ((wider filet works best)); 2 tsp Lemon zest; 2 tbsp Butter ((melted)); Sea salt; Black pepper; Toothpicks; 8 oz Lump crab meat; 1/2 large Onion ((chopped)); 2 tbsp Mayonnaise; 2 tbsp Fresh parsley ((chopped)); 2 cloves Garlic ((minced)); 1 tbsp Lemon juice; 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

This crab stuffed salmon recipe looks fancy and tastes delicious, but is quick and easy to make with common ingredients. You'll love this simple take on lemon butter salmon and crab stuffed fish. Naturally low carb, gluten-free and paleo, but you'd never guess!

By Maya on May 7, 2016

34 Comments

The full ingredients and instructions are on the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll or jump to the recipe card, don't miss the HELPFUL RECIPE TIPS in the post itself!

This crab stuffed salmon recipe with lemon butter is the perfect paleo, low carb entree – fancy looking & delicious, yet easy to make. Only 10 ingredients!

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Crab stuffed salmon with lemon butter is a decadent dinner that is surprisingly easy to make, very healthy, and utterly delicious.

You may have had crab stuffed fish in a restaurant before and relegated it to a special “restaurant only” dinner, but this stuffed salmon recipe is simple and delicious made right in your kitchen. With less than a dozen healthy ingredients and only 20 minutes of cooking time, this stuffed salmon with crab meat is going to become one of your favorite meals.

It’s not only a fantastic choice for a low carb seafood recipe, it’s an easy way to enjoy crab stuffed fish. This is a meal that can be prepped ahead of time and just baked when you’re ready to eat it. You can even “wow” your company with it; no one would ever guess how easy it is to make lemon butter salmon.

Inspiration for a Crab Stuffed Salmon Recipe

Do you remember your first date with your husband? You can probably remember all the details: what you wore, where he took you, what you enjoyed for dinner…

For us, it was more than a decade ago and I can remember it like it was yesterday. Even though it wasn’t our actual first date, it was the first one after we decided we would “officially” be a couple.

We went to a restaurant called Vic’s, which sat nestled along the river in Minneapolis. The name of the restaurant was quite fitting, because it was my cousin, Vic, who first introduced us.

Oleg and I sat across one another over plates of walleye with crab stuffing and began our love story. We sat by the window looking out onto the glistening lights of the Minneapolis skyline, enjoying a wonderful bottle of wine and talking up a storm. We both ordered the same crab stuffed fish plate, which was the inspiration for this stuffed salmon recipe.

It would later become a regular choice for us at every visit to this amazing restaurant for years to come. It should come as no surprise that this sparkling memory brought on the urge for me to recreate a healthier version of the dish that accompanied it.

If you’ve ever enjoyed lemon butter salmon, you know why. Mmm.

This romantic memory inspired the creation of this lemon butter salmon recipe; after all, a dinner so delicious should be able to be enjoyed whenever the mood strikes (and not just when you happen to be in Minneapolis).

Now you can enjoy crab stuffed salmon from the comfort of your own kitchen any time you want (but you’ll have to find your own handsome date!).

Ingredients for Lemon Butter Stuffed Salmon with Crab Meat

Crab stuffed fish is a pretty popular meal. My husband and I enjoyed walleye on our first date and other restaurants may use their house specialty. This recipe calls for salmon because it’s easy to find, affordable, and is a good option for any low carb fish meal.

You could, of course, use walleye (Vic’s does!) or any fish you choose. Another tweak to the original inspiration is the lemon butter drizzled on top. Don’t skip this step! It’s the perfect addition to crab stuffed fish.

If you’ve never tried lemon butter salmon (or lemon butter on any fish), you’ll know what a tantalizing difference it makes as soon as you take your first bite.

Unlike typical crab stuffing, this one has no fillers (not even almond or coconut flour!). They are completely unnecessary and without them, the crab meat flavor really shines. The great part about this is that it allows your crab stuffed fish to stay keto, paleo, whole30, and low carb. And, you can find the ingredients easily in grocery stores without buying any special flours.

The flavors of this crab stuffed salmon are enhanced only by an array of spices, a little mayonnaise, a splash of lemon juice, and lightly sweet, almost caramelized onion.

Seriously, stuffed salmon with crab meat is already perfect without adding fillers! That means that this recipe is not only paleo and low carb, it’s also gluten-free. It contains no nuts, coconut, or any other flour substitutes. Sometimes simple is truly the best way to go!

So what’s in this stuffed salmon recipe? Salmon, crab, mayonnaise, butter, and a few spices to add an irresistible flavor. Here’s the list:

Salmon fillet (wider is better)
Lemon zest
Butter
Sea salt
Pepper
Lump crabmeat
Onion
Mayonnaise
Fresh parsley
Garlic
Lemon juice
Old Bay seasoning

If you’re looking for a keto seafood recipe for a busy weeknight, you’ve found a winner in this easy stuffed salmon recipe. And it’s one that everyone will love with it’s light, buttery flavor and savory stuffing.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get dinner cooking! You’re going to love this stuffed salmon with crab meat.

How To Cook Stuffed Salmon with Crab Meat

If you don’t already know how to cook crab stuffed salmon, you’re in for a delightful surprise; it’s quite easy.

The first step is to sauté the onion; it’s up to you how sweet you want your onion here. While it’s beginning to brown, mix up your crab filling.

And, don’t feel intimidated by the “stuffed” aspect of this recipe; cooking stuffed salmon with crab meat is much easier than you’d think.

Simply mix together the filling, arrange it down the center of the salmon filet, then fold it over. After you do that, just brush melted lemon butter on top, sprinkle with some salt and pepper, and you’re all set to bake it in the oven.

Really, the only trick is to get the stuffed salmon filet to stay folded. This is why a wider filet works best, which makes the process easier. If it really won’t stay, you can use toothpicks to hold it shut, but I’ve never found it necessary.

Who knew making crab stuffed salmon could be so easy?

Make Ahead Crab Stuffed Fish

One awesome thing about this stuffed salmon recipe is that it can be prepped in advance. Gotta love an easy, make-ahead weeknight dinner idea! I do this all the time.

It’s very simple. All you’ll do is make the crab stuffing up ahead of time, fold it into the salmon, and then cover with foil until you’re ready to bake it.

At dinner time, pull out the stuffed salmon with crab meat and put it in the oven. Within 20 minutes you’ll be taking your first mouth-watering bite of lemon butter salmon!

Food prep is the key to eating healthy even when life gets busy. This simple crab stuffed fish recipe is the perfect addition to your keto recipe rotation for busy evenings. And, your family – or company – will never know that you didn’t spend hours making it!

Tools To Make Low Carb Stuffed Salmon with Crab:

Click the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.

Saucepan – These nonstick saucepans are my go-to cook ware items to cook on my stove top. Either size would work for sauteing the onion for this recipe.
Whisk – A whisk is a must have tool to have in your recipe. This classic version is the size you need for making this keto fish recipe.
Utensils for stirring – These utensils won’t scratch your nonstick cookware and has a variety of different tools included so that you have the perfect size for this low carb salmon recipe.

Crab Stuffed Salmon with Lemon Butter (Paleo, Low Carb):
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