Crab, Corn, Bacon Pasta Bake
This delicious dish is made with imitation crab, which is handy for those of us who don’t live on the seashore and don’t have access to fresh crab. Canned crab isn’t ideal unless you’re making crab cakes, and frozen crab is expensive. Budget-friendly imitation crab is basically pressed white fish (usually pollock) with crab flavoring and is a little addictive for snacking right out of the package.
Because it’s a ready to eat seafood, it works well in making a dish that comes together fast. It’s great for salads, tacos, and baked dishes. You’ll find it in grocery stores called imitation or fake crab, krab, or surimi (the Japanese term).
What else makes this dish work? The corn, the bacon, and the super tasty sauce that combines with the crab, the pasta, and Parmesan to make a meal you’ll want to serve over and over.
Notes: If you don’t have shrimp bouillon, you can substitute vegetable bouillon. For the Parmesan, I prefer real Parmesan, fresh grated. But we’re using fake crab here, so feel free to use the Parmesan in the green canister if you want. It’s all good.
Crab, Corn, Bacon Pasta Bake
Suzanne McMinn
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 hourIngredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 8 ounces thin spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon granulated shrimp bouillon
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 2 cups milk
- 12 ounces imitation crab, flaked or sliced in small pieces
- 15 ounces canned corn, drained
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
Special Equipment
Directions
- Using a deep skillet (10 inch), cook bacon. When done, remove from skillet. Cool, crumble, and set aside. Reserve pan drippings.
- Cook thin spaghetti according to package instructions. You can do this while the bacon is cooking. Drain cooked pasta and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet, add cornstarch, flour, bouillon, garlic, onion, pepper, and Old Bay. Over medium heat, gradually add the 2 cups milk a little at a time, whisking constantly. Cook until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat.
- Using a large spoon, add flaked crab, drained corn, cooked pasta, crumbled bacon, and grated Parmesan to the sauce in the skillet. Stir well to combine. Sprinkle top with parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Depending on taste, you may or may not want more salt. After combining all ingredients in the skillet, taste test before putting in the oven. You may want to stir in an additional 1/2 teaspoon salt before baking.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 681 caloriesCarbohydrates: 107.3 g
Fat: 18.6 g
Fiber: 10.7 g
Protein: 35.2 g
Sugar: 16.9 g
Sodium: 1278 mg
All values are Per Serving.
Alyce says:
Couldn’t find shrimp bouillon so I used the little packet from shrimp ramen. Very tasty!
On December 6, 2022 at 10:39 pm
Winston A Edgeworth says:
Very nice to share and I especially like this dish too. Perfect, you let me try this recipe myself too. Thank you so much, hope to see more of your recipes, keep it up
On December 13, 2022 at 10:53 am