Juicy Instant Pot Crab Legs: Quick Pressure-Cooker Recipe

The Instant Pot makes cooking crab legs simple and fast — perfectly cooked in minutes. Paired with a buttery Old Bay sauce, this low-carb, keto-friendly dish is ideal for celebrations or quick weeknight dinners.

Angled view of a bowl of Instant Pot snow crab legs with a butter sauce.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

Using the Instant Pot delivers perfectly cooked crab legs in minutes. Add the flavorful Old Bay butter sauce and you have an impressive seafood meal with minimal effort.

Chef’s Tips

This method works for both fresh and frozen crab legs — no need to thaw frozen clusters; place them straight into the Instant Pot.
You can cook any type of crab legs in the Instant Pot. Snow crab cooks fastest and is more budget-friendly. For King Crab legs, increase the pressure time to 5 minutes instead of 2.
A crab cracker or kitchen shears make extracting meat much easier. A knife can work, but a cracker simplifies the task.
If you want to avoid lingering seafood smells, remove shells and trash promptly after eating. You can also position the Instant Pot near a window, in a garage, or outside while pressure releases to minimize steam in the kitchen.
For extra flavor, use seafood stock instead of plain water in the Instant Pot and consider adding Old Bay or crab boil seasoning to the liquid. The steam will carry seasoning into the crab meat without overpowering it.

Instant Pot crab legs dipped in a garlic butter sauce.

More Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love

Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes
Instant Pot Paella
Beer-Infused Instant Pot Brats
Instant Pot Clam Chowder
Instant Pot Chicken Breast

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5 from 1 vote

Instant Pot Crab Legs

Prep: 15

Cook: 5

Total: 20

Ready in under 15 minutes, these Instant Pot crab legs with Old Bay butter sauce are a fast, impressive dinner.

Cheryl Malik

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4 servings

Ingredients

For the Crab Legs

4 snow crab leg clusters see Notes
1 cup water

For the Butter Sauce

⅓ cup unsalted butter
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
½-1 tablespoon lemon juice to taste

Equipment

Instant Pot
trivet for Instant Pot
small saucepan
whisk

Instructions

For the Crab Legs

Pour 1 cup water into the Instant Pot, fit the trivet in place, and arrange the crab leg clusters on the trivet.
Secure the lid and set the vent to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure (Manual) for 2 minutes.
When the timer ends, carefully Quick Release the pressure, remove the lid, and serve the crab legs immediately with the butter sauce or melted butter.

For the Butter Sauce

Heat a small saucepan over medium-low. Melt the butter and, once it begins to simmer, remove from heat. Whisk in minced garlic, Old Bay seasoning, and lemon juice to taste.

Notes

For King Crab legs, set Manual High Pressure to 5 minutes.
Make it Dairy Free: Substitute a dairy-free butter for the sauce.

Nutrition Information

Servings are approximate and depend on portion sizes. Nutrition values are guidelines for one serving using the listed ingredients and do not include optional add-ins. Actual values may vary by brand and ingredient selection.