RECIPE: Maryland Crab Soup … Just in Time for Cold Weather
Winter is here to stay, and this Maryland crab soup is the perfect thing to warm you up! It can even feed a crowd.
Growing up in Northern Virginia, Maryland culture was always close at hand. I ate a lot of fresh crab and fell in love with Maryland Crab Soup. Fast forward a few decades, and I find myself in Maryland throughout the year as my daughter attends school in Annapolis. This tomato-based soup is chock full of vegetables, lump crab meat, and, of course, Old Bay seasoning. If you are lucky enough to have a crab boil, the leftover liquid is the best base for this soup. Most of us don’t have crab boils regularly — but this soup still needs to be made, and you can do it.
Y’all. Making this soup from scratch is so darn easy — it just needs a LOT of chopping. If you’re up for that, this soup awaits (and you can buy most of the things needed pre-chopped at Kroger). It feeds a crowd, and with soup weather at hand, I highly recommend trying this one.
As I love to sneak in a historical fact, Maryland crab soup is “… said to have evolved amongst Native American tribes that made their homes along the Maryland estuary. Throwing together communal Crock Pot type dishes comprised of the catch of the day, leftover hunt, and plenty of veggies, Maryland crab soup got its start as a free-for-all stew.” – Costas Inn.
If you like green peas and bell peppers, they are often found in this type of soup, so add them even though they aren’t in the recipe below. You can add cooked bacon or sausage as well.
And if you are lucky enough to live near Kroger, their Boost Membership is my favorite grocery delivery service. You get 2x fuel points, and coupons are automatically flagged for you to add. Kroger sponsors our recipes, and not only is their selection great, but their house brands are delicious, especially the Simple Truth Organic selections!
Maryland Crab Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onions
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped okra
- 1 cup chopped green cabbage
- 1 cup frozen baby lima beans
- 1 cup fresh corn cut off the cob frozen is fine if you can't find fresh
- 2 cups chopped Yukon gold potatoes
- 2 cups chopped green beans
- 4 cups beef broth I use the Simple Truth Organic Brand at Kroger
- 2 cups beef bone broth I use the Simple Truth Organic Brand at Kroger
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes I like the Cento brand. And, for strained crushed tomatoes, the Cento Passata is really good and what I used here. It comes in a glass container and I used about 2/3 for this recipe.
- 3 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup diced green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1 pound lump crab meat Use the fresh, not canned. It's usually found in the butcher/fresh seafood section. Go through it to make sure there are no shells.
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil over medium heat and add onion, celery, carrots, cabbage, corn, okra, and lima beans. If you are in a hurry, buy your vegetables pre-chopped. Kroger has lots of pre-chopped vegetables which I lean heavily on during busy weeks! Cook for seven minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add three tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning, the chopped garlic, and mix.
- Add beef broth and beef bone broth and bring back to a boil.
- Add crushed tomatoes, potatoes, bay leaves, and green beans and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add two cups of water.
- Add 1/2 cup green onions and 1/2 cup loosely packed Italian flat-leaf parsley.
- Add crab meat (use fresh crab, not canned, if at all possible. I prefer the jumbo lump crab, which is expensive, but worth it).
- Serve with crusty sourdough bread.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
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Liza Graves
As CEO of StyleBlueprint, Liza also regularly writes for SB. Most of her writing is now found in the recipe archives as cooking is her stress relief!