This air fryer keto soft shell crab recipe will impress any crowd. Soft shell crabs are breaded in a healthy batter and air fried to perfection. You can serve this easy crab recipe as an appetizer or main course.
Ingredients For Air Fryer Soft Shell Crabs
- Soft Shell Crabs
- Almond Flour
- Ground Pork Rinds
- Egg
- Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
How To Make Soft Shell Crabs In The Air Fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 375degrees.
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the eggs. In another medium-size bowl, mix together the almond flour, ground pork rinds, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
- Take a crab and dip it in the egg, then dip it in the almond flour mixture, then place it in the air fryer basket. Repeat this process with the remaining 3 crabs. Do not overlap. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your soft shell crabs and air fryer.
- Spray the tops of the crabs lightly with cooking spray. Cook at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
- Repeat until all the soft shell crabs are cooked.
What Are Soft Shell Crabs
Soft shell crabs are crabs molted their exoskeleton and as a result, the shell remains soft. In order for for this to happen, soft shells crabs are removed from the water just before they molt so their shell does not harden. The shells are so soft that after cleaning the entire crab can be ingested. This is unlike other crab which has to be shelled. A common way to cook soft shell crab is to deep fry it. This cleaned up version ditched the fryer and unhealthy oil in favor of an air fryer.
Healthy Breading
This air fryer soft shells crab recipe is low-carb, paleo, and keto friendly because it uses almond flour and ground pork rinds. The pork rinds are the key ingredient! I use a brand called Pork Panko but there are other brands available. Or you can make your own. Look at the ingredient list when choosing a brand. What I like about Pork Panko is that their product has 0 carbs and is keto and paleo friendly. Pork panko is currently not Whole30 compatible, it’s considered food freedom. For this to be Whole30, or if you don’t have ground pork rinds use an additional 1/3 cup of almond flour instead.
How To Eat Soft Shell Crabs
You do not remove the shells from soft shell crabs before eating them. First time eating soft shell crab, this might seem odd but trust me it works. Sky is the limit when it comes to serving soft shell crabs. Some people like to serve them sandwich style on a bun. Personally I eat them as-is with tarter or cocktail sauce.
FAQs & Tips
- Store leftover crabs in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I do not recommend freezing leftovers.
- Double or triple this recipe to feed a larger crowd. You may have to cook your crabs in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- I used a 5.8-quart air fryer for this recipe.
Air Fryer Seafood Recipes
PrintAir Fryer Soft Shell Crabs
This air fryer soft shell crab recipe will impress any crowd. Soft shell crabs are breaded in a healthy batter and air fried to perfection. You can serve this easy crab recipe as an appetizer or main course.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 4 soft shell crabs
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup ground pork rinds (or more almond flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees.
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the eggs. In another medium-size bowl, mix together the almond flour, ground pork rinds, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
- Take a crab and dip it in the egg, then dip it in the almond flour mixture, then place it in the air fryer basket. Repeat this process with the remaining 3 crabs. Do not overlap. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your soft shell crabs and air fryer.
- Spray the tops of the crabs lightly with cooking spray. Cook at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
- Repeat until all the soft shell crabs are cooked.
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