How to Make Crab Legs in the Ninja Foodi

Learn how to make crab legs in the Ninja Foodi in minutes!

It’s no secret at our house, my husband LOVES crab legs. He let me know that right when we started dating years ago. Now, each year, I make him a couple of pounds of crab legs for his birthday.

It’s become his birthday tradition. I used to take him out to eat and he’d get his crab legs, but has anyone noticed just how much they cost? They are CRAZY expensive if you go eat them out a restaurant and you can pick up the exact same ones at the store.

Check out the Ninja Foodi Recipe Archives for MORE recipes!

They are so easy to make, we’ve started to eat them at home each year instead. Now, maybe when the kids are grown and we are back to just the two of us, we’ll go out to eat more, but for the most part…we eat at home a lot.

If you are looking for the traditional recipe, be sure to check out these Snow Crab Legs.

This recipe will be made using the Ninja Foodi or the Instant Pot, it’s your choice!

Do you need to thaw the crab legs first?

These do not need to be thawed before, but you can if you prefer. Most crab legs will always be pre-cooked so basically you are warming them up either on the stove or in the Ninja Foodi.

The best way to thaw these immediately before cooking is to run cold water over them for several minutes. I like to put them in a strainer and just let cold water run over them for about 2-3 minutes.

Once that’s done, it’s time to put them in the pot of the Ninja Foodi.

How do you make crab legs in the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot?

This method will work to make crab legs in the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot, it’s going to work the same for either one.

The first thing that you will need to do is add 1 1/2 cups of water to the pot of the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot. Once that is done, use the wire rack at the lowest setting and place the crab legs right on top of it.

To give it more flavor, add a good 1/2 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp of Old Bay Seasoning in the pot too.

Now it’s time to put the pressure cooker lid on, secure it and set the nozzle to ‘seal’. This will need to be cooked on high pressure for 5 minutes.

Once they are done cooking, quick release the pressure by moving the nozzle to ‘vent’, carefully remove the lid and serve with garlic butter.

Should you steam or boil crab legs?

Either of these works well, if you steam them such as what you will be doing in the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot, it holds the flavor more.

In our case it also made the smell of the crab legs linger in the air. I’m not as big of a fan of that, but they do taste good!

If you enjoy this recipe, you will love this Cajun Shrimp Boil in the Air Fryer. Be sure to add this recipe to your list of Ninja Foodi Recipes.