My Crab Meat Stuffed Flounder Recipe is the ultimate restaurant-quality dish that you can make in your own kitchen.
Sweet crab meat blended with an easy-to-make imperial sauce stuffed between fillets of ocean-fresh flounder couldn’t be easier to make. Whether it’s for your next dinner party or date night be prepared to impress your guests with this delicious seafood dish.
One of the most popular dishes on my restaurant menu at the Jersey shore was flounder stuffed with crab imperial.
If you were a seafood lover my stuffed flounder was at the top of the list of choices.
The secret is in the imperial sauce, which takes 3-5 minutes to make. And that same sauce mixed with crab meat can be used to make Crab Cakes, Crab Imperial, Stuffed Lobster, and so much more!
What do I need to make Stuffed Flounder?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Stuffed Flounder. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the up cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
*My choice of crabmeat is always from blue crabs, and while I do love fresh flounder fillets, frozen is definitely acceptable.
WHAT TYPE OF CRAB MEAT CAN I USE?
The source of the crab meat can be from any part of the world that has crabs and includes varieties such as Blue Swimming, Dungeness, Snow, King and of course my favorite Blue Claw.
- Jumbo lump crab meat
- Lump crab meat
- Backfin crab meat
- Claw crab meat
- Imitation crab meat
What other types of fish can I stuff with Crab Imperial?
If you want the same type of presentation, fish fillets that are thin work best.
- Tilapia
- Sea Bass
- Sole
- Turbot
But any fish can be topped with crab imperial. The stuffing doesn’t have to go between the fillets, it can simply go on top of the fish before baking.
How do I make Imperial Sauce?
The first step is making the imperial sauce for the crab meat. In a small bowl mix all the ingredients for the imperial sauce together until well blended.
Gently blend the sauce into the crab meat, don’t add it all in, in case you don’t need quite that much sauce.
How do I make Stuffed Flounder?
- Place a small piece of flounder on the sheet pan. This will be the placeholder for the crab meat.
- Add four ounces (or more) of the crab imperial mixture on top of each fillet.
- Place a piece of flounder on each side of the stuffing, leaving the top visible. It will look great as it browns, and you want your guests to see all of that lovely crab meat!
- Place a little water in the pan with a squeeze of lemon juice. This will help keep the stuffed flounder moist, and if you’re feeling really decadent, brush the stuffed flounder with a little melted butter (that’s how we would have done it in the restaurant). It’s definitely worth the extra effort!
*You can also make the stuffed flounder in individual au gratin style baking dishes.
Bake the Flounder stuffed with crab meat at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until you reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
*If you want the top to be extra brown make the last minutes under the broiler.
The nice thing about this dish is that it can be prepped ahead of time, so the only work you really have to do is pop it in the oven when your guests arrive.
Recipe FAQ’s
Crab Imperial is a classic American dish made with crabmeat that has been combined with an imperial sauce made with mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice and old bay seasoning. It is used as a stuffing for various seafood and can be baked in small shallow baking dishes or decorative shells. No bread is used in crab imperial!
The flounder itself can be cooked to 140 degrees, but the imperial crab meat stuffing needs to reach 165 degrees to be safe because it contains raw egg.
Flounder as known as winter flounder faces right with its mouth up. Fluke is also known as summer flounder faces left with its mouth up. The flavor of both fish is mild and very similar. Some say the texture of fluke is better.
More Crab Meat Recipes You’ll Love!
Crab Meat Stuffed Flounder
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 8 ounces crab meat lump or jumbo lump
- 12 ounces flounder fillets
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
Imperial Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg lightly whipped
- 1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix all the ingredients for the imperial sauce together until well blended.
- Gently blend the sauce into the crab meat, don’t add it all in, in case you don’t need quite that much sauce.
- Place a small piece of flounder in the bottom of your baking dish, and place half of your crab imperial mixture on top of each fillet.
- Place a piece of flounder on each side of the stuffing, leaving the top visible. It will look great as it browns, and you want your guests to see all of that lovely crab meat!
- Place a little water in the pan with your stuffed flounder to help keep them moist, and if you’re feeling really decadent, top the stuffed flounder with a little melted butter (that’s how we would have done it in the restaurant). It’s definitely worth the extra effort!
- Place the baking dish in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. It’s important not to let the flounder dry out, but you do want your crab imperial to be hot enough (if you have a food thermometer check its internal temperature to make sure its at least 165 degrees).
- Serve with your favorite side dish and sit back and enjoy!
Bernice
Wow, I can see why this dish was so popular. The fish baked up so tender and moist but that crab filling was the star of the show! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Kathy
Thanks, Chef Dennis! Hubby loved this recipe! Looks great and tastes great! Felt proud serving such a good looking dish! Will certainly make this again.
Robert
Trying it out today chef but using crawfish tails instead of crab meat. Let ya know how it turns out.1
Peggy Scott
Delicious, I loved it!