Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cream cheese to a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Stir in mayo, sour cream, garlic, green onion, Old Bay seasoning, salt, Worcestershire, and lemon juice.
Add ¾ cup cheddar cheese and hot sauce and mix until smooth. Stir in crab meat.
Spread into a 9″ pie dish or similar size baking pan and sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese on top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.
Serve warm, with slices of sourdough bread, crackers, tortilla chips or chopped cold veggies.
Leftover crab dip will keep, stored covered in the fridge, for up to 5 days. Rewarm in the microwave.
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Notes
Crab: Fresh lump crab meat is best for this recipe since it's broken pieces of jumbo lump crab meat. You can find it at the grocery store in a container on ice, in the fresh/refrigerated seafood section. Costco has the best price I've found. Since the crab is the star of the show here, I only recommend using fresh jumbo lump crab meat. You can use canned crab meat if absolutely necessary.Salt: Taste a little of the crab. If it tastes salty, you can omit the added salt.Make Ahead Instructions: Crab dip can be prepared 1- days ahead of time, stored covered in the fridge, then baked according to instructions.Variations:
Cold Crab Dip: prepare dip as instructed, but don't bake (serve it cold).
Crockpot Crab Dip: Add dip to the slow cooker and cook on low for 1-2 hours, until heated through.
Crab Dip in a Bread Bowl: For an extra fun appetizer, bake the crab dip right inside a bread bowl (homemade or a large round store-bought loaf). Hollow out the bread, leaving about an inch around the inside edges. Fill with crab dip and bake as directed in recipe. Save the removed bread pieces for dipping.