Lump Crab Quesadillas
Longtime Scramble member and recipe tester extraordinaire Nancy Bolen shared her family’s favorite recipe for these yummy quesadillas. The crab filling is so versatile - you can use it as a sandwich filling, or serve it as a salad over lettuce, or even as a dip with crackers or toast.
Ingredients
- 1 tomato seeded and diced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper seeded and diced
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 lb. lump crab meat or use two 6 oz. cans of crab meat
- 2 cups Monterey Jack or use pepper jack cheese, shredded
- 1 lime juice only, about 2 Tbsp.
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 8 whole wheat tortillas use wheat/gluten-free, if needed
- 1 cup salsa for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine all of the ingredients, except the tortillas and salsa. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to meld the flavors, and then transfer the ingredients to a colander to drain out any remaining liquid, pressing gently, if necessary. (Although most of the lime juice will drain out, much of the lime flavor will be retained, and this will prevent the quesadillas from getting soggy). (The filling can be prepared up to 12 hours in advance, and then drained just before using.)
- Spray 2 skillets with nonstick cooking spray, or use nonstick skillets. Heat the skillets over medium heat.
- Heat the tortillas over medium heat until they are just bubbly on each side.
- Spread a scoop of the mixture (about 1/8 of it) on half of each tortilla. Fold the tortillas and repeat with a second tortilla in each skillet, so that their curved edges point to the outside of the pan. (With two skillets, you can cook four quesadillas at once!)
- Once the bottoms of the tortillas are lightly browned, after 3 – 5 minutes, flip the quesadillas and lightly brown the second sides for another 3 – 5 minutes.
- When both sides are browned, remove the tortillas to a plate and repeat with remaining tortillas and crab salad mixture (you can keep the cooked quesadillas warm on a baking tray in the oven until they are all cooked).
- Slice the quesadillas in halves or quarters (a pizza cutter works well for this) and serve them immediately, with salsa, if desired.
Notes
Do Ahead or Delegate: Seed and dice the tomato, cut the bell pepper and scallions, shred the cheese if necessary and refrigerate, juice the lime, prepare and refrigerate the quesadilla filling.
Scramble Flavor Booster: Add ½ - 1 seeded and diced jalapeño pepper or 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper to the crab mixture.
Tip: Jumbo lump crab meat is prized for the size of the crab pieces but is definitely more costly than the other grades of crab. Keep in mind if you decide to go with a lower priced option, that all of the grades are white meat and taste the same, with the exception of claw meat which is darker and has a more intense flavor.
Like this recipe? Check out The Scramble's family-friendly meal plans to see just how simple getting dinner on the table can be!
Nutrition
Calories: 304kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 22gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 1204mgPotassium: 291mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 564IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 335mgIron: 2mg
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