Cajun Crab tarts

Cajun Crab tarts are a savoury little mouthful loaded with sweet crab, lemon zest, chives, spicy seasoning and baked till golden in a crispy wonton shell, with a crunchy, cheesy, panko crumb topping.

They come together very quickly and the shopping can be done well ahead of making them. You simply cut out some wonton wrappers to fit the mini muffin pan. Everything for the filling gets mixed together in a bowl in a couple of minutes.

Then you make some buttered, cheese panko crumbs to top the cajun crab tarts with, for a golden crunch on top.

Spray the muffin tin, place the cut out wonton wrappers in the tin, spoon the mixture in and top with a sprinkling of buttery, cheesy panko crumbs and bake away. Too easy!

Crab

Obviously the best crab to use for these little crab tarts would be fresh crab meat. However, in reality most of us can’t readily put our hands on fresh so the next best thing to use is probably going to be pasteurised crab.

Tubs of crab meat are generally readily available in supermarkets, or look for canned crab meat if this is not available.

Old Bay Seasoning

Old bay seasoning is widely available in the US, but not so much elsewhere. In Australia we used Herbies ‘bay seasoning’ which is based on the popular McCormick ‘old bay seasoning’.

Failing finding McCormick’s, or Herbie’s, you can use a cajun seasoning which will also work well.

wonton wrappers

Square wonton wrappers are thinner than the round gow gee wrappers which are more suited for making dumplings. The wrappers bake up crisp and golden, and make the perfect vehicle for holding the filling.

You could substitute ready made phylo (filo) pastry shells for these little morsels.

handy hint

When molding pastry into a pie tin, muffin tin or any other tin you can think of, use a lump of the discarded pastry to force out any air pockets and press the pastry to the tin. Using the pastry saves any holes from fingernails and creates an even pressure over the pastry. Can you spot the 4 pastries that haven’t been pressed

making ahead

Cajun Crab Tarts can be prepared ahead in so far as cutting the wrappers, mixing the filling and preparing the panko crumb topping.

They will need to be assembled just prior to baking otherwise the wonton wrappers risks becoming ‘soggy’.

Watch how to make these Cajun Crab Tarts

Scroll down below for the Cajun Crab Tarts recipe

check out some more winning finger food bites

click on the link for the recipe ….. Cheese Spinach and Bacon Puffs

click on the link for the recipe ….. Easy Cheese Puff Tarts

We would love to hear from you in the comments below when you make these Cajun Crab Tarts

Continue to Content

Yield: 30

Cajun Crab Tarts

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Cajun crab tarts are super easy to prepare. A crispy wonton pastry shell holding a moist crab filling and topped with a  golden, buttery and cheesy panko crumb topping.

Print

Ingredients

Filling

• 175g (6 ounces) crabmeat, drained if required
• 175g (6 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon worstershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon old bay seasoning or cajun spice mix
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely sliced
• 1 packet fresh wonton wrappers - about 30 wrappers

Panko Topping

• 1/4 cup Japanese panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated

Instructions

• preheat oven to 180c (355f)
• lightly spray oil a mini muffin tin
• cut wonton wrappers using a circular 6cm (2 1/3 inch) cutter and place rounds in the mini muffin tin
• make a small ball of pastry using some leftovers and gently dab each wonton case to remove any air pockets

filling

• place cream cheese into a medium sized bowl and use a fork to lightly whisk
• add mayonnaise, mustard, egg yolk and Worstershire and give it a good mix
• add parmesan, lemon rind and old bay, or cajun seasoning and mix together
• use a rubber spatula to gently fold through the crab and chives till blended together

panko topping

• in a small bowl add panko crumbs, parmesan and butter and mix till combined

assembly

• use a small scoop or teaspoon to fill the wonton cases
• sprinkle filling with panko mixture and bake for 15 minutes on the middle shelf or until wonton cases are browned and panko crumbs are golden
• serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

• not suitable to freeze

Nutrition Information

Yield

30

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 40Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 18mgSodium 208mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 1g