Crab-Stuffed Flounder

Why This Recipe is a Keeper!

This Crab-Stuffed Flounder recipe was a personal chef client favorite and a reader favorite when I wrote for our local daily newspaper. It’s easy to assemble ahead of time and perfect for a special occasion or a cozy night in.

This elegant yet surprisingly simple seafood recipe combines the delicate, flaky texture of flounder with the rich, sweet flavor of crab meat. It’s a match made in oceanic heaven!

Flounder is a mild, wild-caught white fish with a tender, flaky texture that practically melts in your mouth. Its subtle flavor makes it an ideal canvas for bolder ingredients—like crab.

This stuffed flounder with crabmeat recipe is:

• Easy! No fancy cooking skills are needed. Simply soften shallot and red bell pepper in butter, then combine with pantry spices, a few other pantry ingredients and luscious crab. Roll the crab cake-like filling inside flounder fillets, mix the ingredients for the sauce and bake!
• Make Ahead! This recipe for stuffed flounder with crabmeat can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated.
• Indulgent! The luxurious wine, cream, and butter sauce envelops the Crab-Stuffed Flounder, adding a velvety richness that elevates this dish to restaurant-quality.

How to Make Crab-Stuffed Flounder:

Recipe Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this stuffed flounder with crabmeat recipe. The recipe card below has the exact quantities.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:

• Flounder Fillets: Flounder is a flat fish species rather than a specific type of fish. It’s a delicate, mild-tasting, flaky fish generally sold in fillets. Because it’s thin, it’s perfect for rolling around a filling such as this crab filling. The most commonly sold type is Summer Flounder, or “Fluke.” It’s highly sought after, so overfishing is always a concern. Because it’s thin and easy to roll, there’s not a good substitute for it unless you can find sole. See the Quick Answers section for suggestions for alternate fish.
• Shallot: Shallots, a member of the onion family, are widely used in French cuisine. They grow in clusters or bulbs, resembling a head of garlic but with fewer cloves. Their flavor is often described as a mild blend of onion and garlic, offering a delicate yet distinct taste perfect for pairing with a mild white fish such as flounder.
• Old Bay Seasoning: Old Bay has been around since 1939, and you probably already have in your spice cabinet. (And it may be time to replace it.) Old Bay blends salt, paprika, celery seed, black pepper, mustard, red pepper, and ground bay leaves. A good substitute for Old Bay is Cajun seasoning.
• Lump Crab: Although all the crab sold worldwide is wild-caught, stick with crab from U. S. waters at the very least.  Avoid imported crab. In some parts of the world, crab is caught in ways that are illegal, not environmentally friendly, or use unfair labor practices.
• Dry White Wine: Always use a wine you enjoy drinking. NON-ALCOHOLIC SUBSTITUTE: Use chicken or fish stock with a tablespoon of lemon juice added.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

• Gather and prep all the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spray a baking dish large enough to hold the rolled fish fillets, such as an 11 x 7-inch, with cooking spray.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet or saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the shallot and red bell pepper.
• Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until very soft, being careful not to brown the vegetables.
• Transfer the vegetables along with all the butter to a bowl.

• Add 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, cayenne pepper, crushed crackers, and crab.
• Stir well and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

• Flip the fish fillets so what was the skin side is facing up.
• Place equal amounts of the filling in the center of each fillet.
• Roll up and secure with a toothpick if necessary.
• Place in the prepared baking dish.

• Whisk together the white wine, cream, all-purpose flour and 1/8 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning.

• Pour the sauce around the fish fillets.
• Dot the rolled fillets with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.

• Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the filling registers 155 degrees.

• Transfer the fillets to a platter or individual plates.
• Stir the sauce to incorporate the butter and pour over the fish.
• Garnish with remaining chopped fresh parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Storage:

• Refrigerate any leftovers.
• Reheat leftovers covered in a 350-degree until heated through.
• I don’t recommend freezing because of the cream sauce.

Serve with:

• Twice-Baked Mashed Potatoes
• Spinach Parmesan Ranch Twice Baked Potatoes
• Garlic Herb Muffin Pan Potato Galette Recipe
• Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes

More great fish recipes you’ll love!

• Baked Veracruz Fish (Pescado A La Veracruzana)
• Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Herb Caper Butter
• Baked Tilapia with Spinach Pecan Pesto
• Pistachio Crusted Fish with Lemon Dill Aioli

Get all my fish and seafood recipes at Fish and Seafood Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen.