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

Instant Pot Crab Legs

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!
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Appetizer, Entree
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crab legs in instant pot, Instant Pot Crab Legs, Instant Pot Snow Crab Clusters, Instant Pot Snow Crab Legs, Pressure Cooker crab legs
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 239kcal
Author: Meghna
Cost: $15

Ingredients

For the Butter Sauce

Instructions

  • Season stock: Pour chicken stock in the steel insert of the instant pot. Add butter, ground black pepper, lemon pepper & old bay seasoning.
    seasoning stock in instant pot
  • 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.
    snow crab legs inside instant pot on the metal trivet
  • 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.
    pressure cooked snow crab clusters inside instant pot
  • 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!
    dipping one steamed snow crab leg in butter sauce

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!
    butter sauce in a clear small bowl on a light blue plate with steamed snow crab clusters

Video

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. What can I use instead of Old Bay seasoning? You can use crab boil. 
  3. 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.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 710IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg