This oven baked 4-ingredient creamy crab pasta is a cozy little secret my uncle shared with me years ago, and I’ve been making it almost every single week since. It’s the kind of no-fuss, crowd-pleasing dish that feels special enough for company but simple enough for a Tuesday night. Sweet chunks of white crab meat get tucked into tender pasta shells and baked in a rich cream cheese sauce, then finished with a generous sprinkle of seafood seasoning. Everything comes together in one foil-lined baking dish, which makes cleanup a breeze—perfect for busy families who still want a warm, homemade dinner on the table.
Serve this creamy crab pasta hot right out of the oven with a simple green salad dressed in lemony vinaigrette to cut through the richness. Warm garlic bread or buttered dinner rolls are great for scooping up any extra sauce from the pan. If you like, add a side of steamed green beans or roasted broccoli for some color and crunch. For adults, a crisp white wine or sparkling water with lemon pairs nicely, while kids usually love it with cold milk or apple juice.
Oven-Baked 4-Ingredient Creamy Crab PastaServings: 6
Ingredients
12 oz small pasta shells, uncooked
16 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
1 lb lump white crab meat, drained and picked over for shells
2 tbsp seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay), plus extra for topping
1 1/2 cups reserved hot pasta cooking water (from boiling the shells)
Nonstick cooking spray or a little oil, for greasing the foil tray
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly spray or oil a disposable foil tray or a 9x13-inch baking dish, then set it on a baking sheet for easy handling.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook until just shy of al dente, 1–2 minutes less than the package directions. Before draining, carefully scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of the hot pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta well.
While the pasta cooks, add the cubed cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Pour in 1 cup of the reserved hot pasta water and sprinkle in the seafood seasoning. Whisk or stir vigorously until the cream cheese melts into a thick, smooth, creamy sauce. If it seems too thick, add a little more hot pasta water, a splash at a time, until it’s pourable but still rich.
Gently fold the drained pasta shells into the warm cream cheese sauce until every shell is well coated. Be patient here—this is where the shells soak up all that flavor.
Add the lump crab meat to the bowl and very gently fold it into the pasta, trying not to break up the bigger pieces. You want nice visible chunks of sweet crab throughout.
Transfer the creamy crab pasta mixture into the prepared foil tray, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle the top with an extra pinch or two of seafood seasoning so you get that pretty red dusting and a little extra flavor.
Cover the tray tightly with foil and bake for 15–20 minutes, until the pasta is heated through and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.
Carefully remove the foil and bake for another 5–10 minutes, just until the top looks slightly set and you can see little pockets of melted cream cheese and crab peeking through.
Let the pasta rest for 5–10 minutes before serving so the sauce can thicken slightly. Serve straight from the foil tray, adding an extra light sprinkle of seafood seasoning on each portion if you like.
Variations & Tips
For picky eaters, you can use half crab and half cooked, shredded chicken to ease them into the seafood flavor, or chop the crab more finely so it blends into the sauce. If your family is sensitive to seasoning, start with 1 tablespoon of seafood seasoning in the sauce and let everyone add more at the table. For extra creaminess, stir in an additional 4 oz of cream cheese or a splash of milk when you make the sauce. You can also swap pasta shells for elbows, rotini, or penne—just stick with small shapes that hold the sauce well. If you’d like a little crunch on top, mix some seafood seasoning with plain breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the pasta for the last 5–10 minutes of baking. To make it feel a bit lighter, use reduced-fat cream cheese and add a handful of frozen peas or chopped spinach to the pasta before baking. Leftovers reheat nicely in a low oven, covered with foil, with a spoonful of water or milk stirred in to loosen the sauce.
