Name: Instant Pot Crab Legs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: 1 pound Snow Crab Clusters (**3 clusters. Thawed.); 1 cup chicken stock (**we used better than bouillon instant cubes chicken flavor. You can also use Better Than Bouillon Paste. ); 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter; 1 tsp old bay seasoning (**or use shrimp or crab boil.); 1 tsp Lemon Pepper; 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper; 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter; 2 tbsp Lemon Juice

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Instant Pot Crab Legs will teach you how to do crab legs in pressure cooker in just 2 minutes! Don't miss the tips & make Instant Pot Snow Crab Legs from frozen or thawed snow crabs for a fantastic classy dinner at home. Butter sauce recipe is included too! Stove top & oven method is also included.

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instant pot crab legs served with butter sauce, lemon wedges on a light blue plate — Instant Pot Crab Legs

Instant Pot Snow Crab Legs

Once you try this instant pot wild caught snow crab legs technique you'll never be steaming crab legs in any other way ever! Juicy crab meat guaranteed and in just 2-3 mins tops!

Seasoning the broth is the key technique that totally elevates this recipe of snow crab legs in electric pressure cooker. And that lemony butter sauce is super addictive as well.

steamed snow crab legs in instant pot — Best Instant Pot Snow Crab Legs

Tips & Tricks

Season the stock: This is a key to infuse amazing good flavor to the crab clusters. And the above mentioned combo works so well. You'll totally love it!
Avoid over cooking: 3 minutes is recommended for thawed snow crab legs & 7 minutes for frozen snow crab legs. You must also quick release the pressure.

Ingredients - Instant Pot Crab Claws

Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.

recipe ingredients on a black board — Ingredients

Crab Legs: We used wild caught snow crab clusters.
Chicken Stock: Better than Bouillon works amazing when diluted in warm or hot water. We have been using this crazing good stuff and quit using the regular packaged stock!
Butter: Find the Butter sauce recipe at the bottom of the post.
Seasonings: Old Bay, Lemon Pepper, ground black pepper. Lemon pepper infuses the snow crab legs with a huge depth of flavor & subtle sweet fragrance. If you can find shrimp boil in the store use it. It's good stuff! We don't get it in our area.

How do you steam snow crab legs in instant pot?

Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.

steaming snow crab legs in instant pot — Steam Snow Crab Legs in Instant Pot

Prep the stock: Add stock & add the seasonings along with butter.
Stack thawed snow crab legs: Place the metal trivet & stack the thawed snow crab clusters. Do not over fill the pot. We used 3 snow crab clusters. You may easily fit more 2 such crab clusters. If using frozen crab legs cook them for 7 minutes on high pressure.
Pressure Cook: Close the lid, seal the valve & pressure cook on HIGH for just 2 mins followed by quick pressure release (release pressure manually by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position.
Serve with butter sauce: Prep the butter sauce and enjoy instant pot snow crab clusters.

How to serve steamed snow crab legs?

The best way to serve steamed snow crab legs is with a fantastic Butter Sauce and lemon wedges. Instant Pot Snow crab clusters makes a classy entrée or a great side.

How to make Butter Sauce: Simply melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Stir in lemon juice, add salt if using unsalted butter. Voila crazy good butter sauce is ready.
Fancy Butter Sauce: Now you can jazz up that simple recipe by adding a few spoonful of finely grated parmesan cheese, a few dashes cayenne if you prefer spicy sauce, or add a few spoonful of that left over stock from the pot.

dipping steamed snow crab legs in butter sauce — Steamed Snow Crab Legs with butter sauce

How to store steamed instant pot snow crab legs?

Room temperature: The steamed crab clusters would last for 2 hours at room temperature. After 2 hours bacteria starts to grow quite fast. If you intend to eat them later it's best to store them in the fridge.
Fridge: They will last for 4 days in the fridge. place the steamed snow crab legs on a tray and lightly the tray with aluminum foil and than store it in the fridge.
Freezer: You can certainly freeze the pressure cooked snow crab legs up to 3 months. You can take apart the legs from the cluster and than freeze them on a tray first. Store the frozen crab legs tightly wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and than pop them in a heavy duty freezer safe bag. You can preserve the great taste of the crab meat by storing them well.

Re-heating tips

This is how you can re-heat steamed snow crab legs in the instant pot itself:

Set Instant Pot: Pour 1 cup of water in the steel insert of the instant pot & place the metal trivet.
Re-heat: Stack the fridge cold or frozen thawed steamed crab legs on the metal trivet. Close lid, seal valve & Pressure cook on HIGH for just 0 minute! By the time the instant pot comes to pressure the crab legs would be nicely reheated. Enjoy with butter sauce!

steamed snow crab clusters in a light blue oval plate with butter sauce & lemon wedges — Instant Pot steamed Snow Crab clusters

How do you steam snow crab legs in the oven?

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Arrange the thawed snow crab legs in an even layer on the tray. Brush them with melted butter, sprinkle with lemon juice, old bay seasoning, a few pinches lemon pepper.
Bake for 5-6 minutes. Serve immediately with butter sauce and lemon wedges.

How do you cook frozen crab legs without a steamer on the stove top?

The right pot: Choose a deep bottomed pot in which a steel colander will fit easily.
Boil water: Pour water in the pot and bring it to a rolling boil. Place the colander.
Steam snow crab legs: Now arrange the frozen crab legs in the colander. Cover the pot with a lid and steam the crab legs over medium high heat for 6-7 mins. If using thawed crab legs cook them for 4 mins. Serve right away with butter sauce & lemon wedges.

Left over Crab shell stock

Crab legs are expensive! Hence, we make sure that we get the best bang for buck 😀 We utilize the leftover crab shells to make a delicious crab stock in the instant pot. We than use the crab stock to cook seafood recipes like this New England Clam Chowder, Alaskan Salmon chowder.

Place the leftover crab shells in the instant pot. Pour enough water so that the shells are below the water level. You may flavor up the stock by adding a few cloves garlic, a few chunky slices of yellow onion, a pinch or two of paprika.
Pressure Cook on HIGH for 45 mins followed by natural release.
Strain the stock and store it in the fridge in mason jars. Use it up within 3 days!

pressure cooked snow crab clusters in a blue plate with butter sauce & lemon wedges

Instant Pot Crab Legs

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 2

Total Time: 7

Servings: 3 people

Calories: 239kcal

Author: Meghna

Watch Recipe Video

Instant Pot Crab Legs results in extremely juicy & flavorful snow crab meat. Now you can cook high end restaurant quality snow crab legs in Instant Pot in just 2 min!

Ingredients

▢ 1 pound Snow Crab Clusters (**3 clusters. Thawed.)
▢ 1 cup chicken stock (**we used better than bouillon instant cubes chicken flavor. You can also use Better Than Bouillon Paste. )
▢ 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
▢ 1 tsp old bay seasoning (**or use shrimp or crab boil.)
▢ 1 tsp Lemon Pepper
▢ ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

For the Butter Sauce

▢ 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
▢ 2 tbsp Lemon Juice

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Equipment Used

Instant Pot DUO 6 quart

Instructions

Season stock: Pour chicken stock in the steel insert of the instant pot. Add butter, ground black pepper, lemon pepper & old bay seasoning.
Arrange snow crab legs: Now, place the metal trivet inside the instant pot. Stack the snow crab legs. Make sure not to over fill the pot. 6 thawed snow crab clusters should easily fit in a 6 quart instant pot leaving enough room for steam to circulate. We used 3 crab clusters.
Pressure Cook: Secure the lid. Seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on high for 2 mins (thawed crab legs) and 7 mins (frozen crab legs). Once the cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep. Perform a quick pressure release by manually moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. Open the lid carefully.
Serve with butter sauce: Serve the perfectly steamed wild caught snow crab legs with an amazing butter sauce and lots of lemon wedges. Find the Butter sauce recipe below. And also find how to steam crab legs in the oven and on the stove top in the post above. Enjoy!

How to make Butter Sauce

Butter Sauce: Melt 4 tbsp butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Add 2 tbsp lemon juicy (tangy sauce), mix well. Butter sauce is ready! Also, if using unsalted butter season the sauce with a pinch or two of salt. It really helps open up the great flavor! Enjoy!

Notes

Can I use crab boil? Yes, you can add crab boil. We could not source it and hence we added old bay seasoning. If you use crab boil than skip adding the Old Bay seasoning.
What can I use instead of Old Bay seasoning? You can use crab boil.
Seasoned Butter Sauce: You add 1-2 teaspoons of the left over stock into the butter sauce for a twist. You can also add some grated parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes for a different cheese flavored butter sauce. We prefer an old school butter sauce with just a few squeezes lemon juice!

Calorific details are provided by a third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only!

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Crab Legs

Amount Per Serving

Calories 239 Calories from Fat 216

% Daily Value*

Fat 24g37%

Saturated Fat 15g94%

Cholesterol 63mg21%

Sodium 118mg5%

Potassium 84mg2%

Carbohydrates 4g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 710IU14%

Vitamin C 4mg5%

Calcium 10mg1%

Iron 1mg6%

* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.