Planning a Crab Feast: How Many Crabs Will You Need?
When it comes to a crab feast, there’s nothing worse than not having enough crabs to go around. To avoid that catastrophe, I’m here to tackle the question, “How many blue crabs do people eat?” So, if you’re planning on hosting a crab feast, dinner with family, or are just plain curious, let’s go over the question.
The first thing to consider is what crab you plan on serving. Three of the most popular crabs served in America are the Blue, Dungeness, and Stone crab. Blue and Dungeness crabs are served whole, while you only eat a Stone crab’s claws. I recommend you serve a crab local to your area. Blue crabs are found on the Atlantic Coast, Dungeness crabs are found on the Pacific Coast, and Stone crabs are found in and around Florida.
With that in mind, go ahead and click one or more of the crab options below. It’ll take you to each crab’s section in this article, where you’ll see how many you need for your crab feast. You aren’t limited to one of the three, just know that one may be fresher than the other.
I just published an article on how to buy every type of crab whether you’re looking for Blue, Dungeness, King, or Snow Crabs. I include helpful information such as when they’re in season, how much you’ll need to feed your family, and so much more! Click here to read it yourself.
How many Blue Crabs will you need?
The average adult will eat between 6 and 9 blue crabs in one sitting. The amount they eat depends on if there is other food being served at the meal and the size of the blue crabs. With larger (size #1) blue crabs being served at the meal, people will eat fewer crabs compared to when smaller (size #2 or #3) crabs are served.
To assure you that I’m not pulling numbers out of thin air, I’ll go over my reasoning for how many blue crabs a person will eat in one meal. All it took was some simple math.
Each person needs 500 to 700 calories of blue crab meat to be full.
A full belly is a happy belly! Let’s go over how many blue crabs it will take for someone to be full. I use a few figures in this calculation from bluecrab.info’s Blue Crab nutrition label.
According to Globalnews.ca’s article “This is what your breakfast, lunch and dinner calories actually look like“, the average person consumes between 500 and 700 calories per meal.
A conservative estimate says a decent-sized blue crab will yield around 3 ounces of crab meat (read my article Which Crab Has The Most Meat for more information). This equates to 80 or so calories per blue crab. Keep in mind these are estimates and will vary depending on the meat density of the crab and its size.
With some simple math, we can find that 6 blue crabs will give us around 500 calories worth of crab meat and 9 blue crabs will yield near 700 calories.
With this information, it’s safe to say: The average adult will eat between 6 and 9 blue crabs in one sitting. This will provide between 500 and 700 calories of crab meat, depending on the size of the crab.
How many blue crabs should you order?
When planning a crab feast, order 12 large blue crabs per person. While the average individual will eat between 6 and 9 crabs to fill their caloric needs, however, anyone who has been to a crab feast knows that people will eat way more than that. With 12 crabs per person, you will have more than enough blue crabs for your crab feast.
There’s nothing worse than falling short when it comes to blue crabs! It’s less about eating the crabs, and more about picking them apart while surrounded by friends and conversation. Fewer crabs mean less time doing that.
When planning a crab feast, you can order fewer crabs, with 6 per person instead of 12, as long as you you substitute that amount for other foods. Corn on the cob, hot dogs, and mac & cheese are a few regular side dishes I find when I go to crab feasts with my family. You’ll also hear about more alien dishes, to me at least, including cucumber-tomato salad, watermelon and feta salad, and corn fritters.
If you’re reading this article, I assume that you’re planning a large crab feast of some sort. Whether that’s between you and family or friends and neighbors in a backyard, you’re going to need to order a good bit of crabs to get this party started. Let’s go over how many.
| Number of Guests | Recommended number of Blue Crabs (Medium Size) |
| 2 | 24 |
| 4 | 48 |
| 6 | 72 |
| 8 | 1 Bushel (84 crabs) |
One bushel of blue crabs will feed between 7 and 9 people, depending on the size of the crabs and if there will be other food served at the meal. Larger blue crabs (size #1 or 6.5 inches+) will feed closer to 9 while smaller blue crabs (size #2 and below) will feed fewer people.
A Quick Crab-Buying Tip
I eat at least 4 decently-sized blue crabs at a meal, and I’m not alone! When going crabbing, it’s important to keep a goal in mind for how many crabs you want to catch. Whether you’re catching a meal for one, or a large group, I would suggest buying some steamed crabs just in case your crabbing trip goes south. There’s nothing worse than not having enough crabs for a crab feast! I struck a deal with Cameron’s Seafood, a nationwide seafood distributor based in Maryland. Click this link to Cameron’s Seafood Website and use the promo code “WELCOME” for $10 off your first purchase.
Disclaimer: Crabbinghub will receive a small commission for any purchase we referred to Cameron’s Seafood at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crabbinghub.com.
How many Dungeness Crabs will you Need?
The average adult will eat between 3 and 5 medium-sized Dungeness crabs in one sitting. Of course, this varies, depending on the individual and whether or not there will be other food served at the meal. Three Dungeness crabs paired with two or more side dishes will make for a filling crab feast.
Like I did with blue crabs, I’ll explain the math behind my reasoning.
3.5 to 5 Dungeness crabs will give you 500 to 700 calories of pure crab meat.
According to The USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), an average Dungeness crab has 127 grams of meat. This will give 140 calories of pure crab meat. With the average meal containing 500 to 700 calories of food, some simple math tells us that 3.5-5 Dungeness crabs will make for a meal.
With 3.5 Dungeness crabs, expect 16 ounces of pure crab meat. Similar to salmon, crabs aren’t as filling as a fillet of chicken or steak, but this is still a pretty large amount of meat. With side dishes, including rice, potatoes, and vegetables, you will need even fewer crabs.
One thing people leave out is that Dungeness crabs are expensive. To avoid breaking the bank, I highly recommend you serve other dishes with your crabs.
With that, I would plan on having 3 Dungeness crabs for every guest at your crab feast. If you plan on serving side dishes, 2 or fewer crabs will suffice. If we’re eating solely Dungeness crabs, you may need more than 3 per person.
How many Dungeness Crabs should you order?
When planning a Dungeness Crab feast, order 3 crabs per person. The average person will eat between 1 and 3 crabs, but that is just an estimate. With 3 crabs per person, you’ll be sure to not run out of crabs. If you plan on serving side dishes with your crabs, you can get away with 1 or 2 crabs per person.
A basic few side dishes that can go with Dungeness Crabs include french fries, salad, and corn on the cob. Also, you will absolutely need a melted butter dip for your Dungeness crabs. Be sure to add a bit of garlic powder for some zing.
To make things easier, I’ll make a quick table with the rule of 3 crabs per person. I hope this gives you an idea of how many Dungeness crabs you’ll need for your feast.
| Number of Guests | Recommended number of Dungeness Crabs (Medium Size) |
| 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 12 |
| 6 | 18 |
| 8 | 24 |
If you’re living on the West Coast, you’ll get the freshest Dungeness crabs. You have a few options, you could search for fishermen selling their catch around you for a potentially cheaper price, or you can go to a more reputable online retailer. More on that in a second.
If you’re from the East Coast like me, you’re stuck with reputable online retailers such as GlobalSeafoods.com. Let me say that is far from a bad thing. There’s no better way to get Fresh Dungeness across the country to your front doorstep with just a few clicks.
Disclaimer: Crabbighub will receive a small commission from any sale on this website at no extra cost.
