Close up of crabmeat sprinkled on top of crab dip and surrounded by crackers

This cream cheese crab dip with a bit of chili spice is a quick and easy mid century appetizer. Your guests will love its impressive taste!

My parents loved to entertain. When my mom was preparing foods for company, she spent the bulk of her time on dinner and chose appetizers that were quick and easy to prepare. Dips and spreads served with crackers were an appetizer mainstay of the mid-century era. This one was one of her favorites. Cream cheese crab dip screams "Turn on Sinatra and mix up a Manhattan!"

1950's ad campaign popularizes appetizer dips

Chips and crackers with dips became very popular in the 1950's, in part due to an advertising campaign by Lipton Soups urging people to mix their dry onion soup mix with sour cream or cream cheese to serve for entertaining. During this time special trays were invented for holding and serving this new type of appetizer. Though it doesn't contain onion soup mix, this recipe was born during the midcentury dip craze, as was the chipped beef cheeseball.

Just 7 Ingredients is all it takes

Here's all you need to make this retro three layer dip:

Cream Cheese
Mayonnaise
Worcestershire sauce
Minced onion
Lemon Juice
Chili sauce
Canned crab meat
Parsley for garnish
Crackers for serving

So fast and easy to prepare

You begin by making the flavorful cream cheese portion of the dip, then adding the chili sauce layer and finally the flaked crabmeat:

First, make sure the cream cheese has reached room temperature. Then make the flavorful bottom layer of the dip by combining the first four ingredients with an electric mixer.
Second, spread the cream cheese mixture on a platter and cover it with a bottle of chili sauce.
Third, sprinkle the canned crabmeat over the top, garnish, and either refrigerate until guests arrive, or serve immediately with crackers!

Cream Cheese Crab Dip

Author: Nancy Blackstone
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: none
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: appetizers
Cuisine: american

Print Recipe

Description

This recipe is quick to whip up and not overly filling before dinner. The red sauce with a green parsley garnish makes it perfect to serve during the holidays

Ingredients

Scale

8 oz tub cream cheese

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon minced onion

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 cup chili sauce

1 - 4.25 oz can crab meat, drained

Parsley for garnish

Crackers for serving

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, minced onion and lemon juice with an electric mixer until smooth.

2. Using a flat spatula, spread the cream cheese mixture on a platter, then cover it with chili sauce.

3. Sprinkle crab meat over the top and garnish with parsley. Serve with crackers

Notes

You can use substitute a can of small shrimp for the crab meat if you prefer

Keywords: appetizer, crab, seafood, dip, holiday, Christmas