Red Lobster Style Crab Pita Pizza
This ultra savory Red Lobster style crab pita pizza can be on your menu at home anytime when you remember to add some shellfish to your grocery list.
This pita pizza is so good, and you can make it with crab or with lobster and langostino (as it is commonly served at Red Lobster).
Either way, any shellfish you choose will lead to a super satisfying appetizer for four, or a main course for two.
Ah, we still remember those Red Lobster days well. The soup, salad, cheddar biscuits and of course, the lobster pizza appetizer.
Truthfully, pizza isn’t really our first choice at a seafood restaurant. But we can never resist this one. It’s just that good.
So time and again, as it’s time to make our selection from the menu, with all of the other appetizers on the list, this is the first one we choose.
And as much as we’d like to try some other appetizers instead, we just can’t. say. no. to this lobster pizza.
In our homemade version, based off of the classic, we use crab meat that we had removed from crab legs. You can certainly use lobster meat instead as that would make it more traditional.
Either way, this copycat Red Lobster lobster pizza recipe (with crab and lobster) is fantastic. All of the flavors are there and you will absolutely love it.
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Ingredients in Red Lobster Style Crab Pita Pizza
- Pita Bread — Lebanese style pita bread is our preference for pita pizzas. Although, it is usually made on an even thinner tortilla style crust. The pita bread provides a really nice thin crust also.
- Crab Meat — Remove the meat from crab legs and use lobster meat from cooked lobsters and lobster tails. Shellfish tools to break down the shells are useful in this process.
- Tomatoes — freshly diced tomatoes, or you can use canned as long as you drain them very well.
- Mozzarella — shredded mozzarella cheese. You can substitute other cheese if you like, Italian three cheese blend and some others would work well.
- Parmesan — grated parmigiano reggiano from a block of parmesan cheese.
- Basil — fresh julienned basil.
- Butter — melt some butter to brush on the pitas before baking.
- Garlic — grate some fresh garlic over top of the butter. It can be omitted if you are not a fan of garlic. If you’d rather, you can use a small amount of garlic powder (quarter teaspoon) sprinkled evenly over the pita instead of fresh.
How To Make Red Lobster Style Crab Pita Pizza
This is a simple pita pizza to make. Begin by brushing some melted butter on pita bread. Grate some fresh garlic over the butter – if you’re a fan of garlic, that is.
Sprinkle on some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano to cover the pitas. Then, add fresh julienned basil and diced tomatoes evenly among the pitas.
Add your shellfish (crab or lobster meat, or a combination of both!) along with grated mozzarella cheese.
Bake in your preheated oven until cheese is well melted.
What to Serve With Red Lobster Style Crab Pita Pizza
Red Lobster style pita pizzas serves two as a main course or four as an appetizer. If you are serving it as part of a larger meal, lobster, shrimp and baked salmon are great choices to go with.
Our favorite seafood restaurant inspired options are baked lobster tails, shrimp scampi, garlic lemon butter salmon and maple salmon.
These are all super delicious entrees, and not to mention, are very easy to make!
You can include Red Lobster inspired side dishes like Instant Pot Brussel sprouts, Instant Pot wild rice pilaf, Instant Pot mash potatoes, garlic green beans, steamed broccoli or masala asparagus.
An Italian style house salad and soup or chowder are two excellent side dishes.
As always, our Swedish style traditional pizza salad (pizzasallad) is perfect with pita pizza recipes.
More Copycat Red Lobster Appetizers
- Baked Parmesan Dip with Crabmeat
- Escargot Stuffed Mushrooms
- Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
- Lobster Artichoke Dip
Preparation and Storage Tips
You can remove the meat from the shellfish ahead of making this pita pizza, to save time. That way, the preparation will be easier, and you can quickly assemble your pizzas. Use shellfish tools to make this process easier.
Similarly, you can grate your cheeses in advance. Chop your basil and tomatoes and store in covered bowls in your refrigerator.
Then, pizza assembly will be a snap!
You will be surprised at how good these are, for relatively few ingredients, they score big on flavor.
Once cooked, you can store your leftovers in the fridge for a day or two, to ensure freshest flavor.
More Pita Pizzas
These pita pizzas are easy to make, customizable and a healthier alternative to takeout. Each recipe serves two people as a main dish, or four people as an appetizer.
- Kebab — tantalizing Instant Pot doner kebab meat, fresh lettuce, kebab peppers and kebab sauce combine for a restaurant flavor combo to have anytime!
- Murgh Makhani — (aka Butter Chicken) creamy, flavorful curry sauce is perfect with sliced bell peppers, red onions and a fresh sprinkle of cilantro.
- Tuna Melt — easy to make with a can of tuna, and common ingredients. Perfect quick meal option at the last minute.
- Turkey Tikka Masala — when you have leftover turkey or chicken, tantalize your taste buds with this flavor sensation with homemade Indian style tikka masala sauce.
- Date, Bacon and Arugula — savory and sweet, this date and arugula pizza has goat cheese and a drizzle of a blend of sweet pomegranate molasses and balsamic vinegar reduction.
- Margherita — simplicity at it’s finest, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and marinara sauce, with garlic, parmesan and cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.
- Fresh Mozzarella and Artichoke — similar to Margherita, but with canned artichoke hearts that can be cut in half for the ultimate artichoke lover, or in smaller pieces.
- Clam Sauce — savory to the nines, a hearty pizza sauce made by sauteing a can of baby clams with tomato, garlic and kale. Top with goat cheese or your favorite melted cheese.
- Mackerel and Tomato — quick and nutritious, a tin of mackerel in tomato sauce becomes the basis for a satisfying last minute meal with a ton of flavor!
- Kebab Chicken — Instant Pot kebab sauce chicken breasts make tender, flavorful strips for chicken kebab pizza, with fresh lettuce, kebab peppers and more kebab sauce!
- Crab Melt Pita Pizza — A can of crabmeat, or lump crab meat, with easy white sauce, chives and hot pepper flakes and your favorite shredded cheese! You’ll love crab dip inspired flavors!
- Clam White Sauce — a can of baby clams and some basic ingredients make for an easy and hearty clam dip inspired pizza.
- Sardine and Goat Cheese — a can of sardines in tomato sauce is combined into a savory pizza sauce and topped with goat cheese or sub your favorite shredded cheese.
Most of these pita pizzas are made with common ingredients you are likely to have on hand.
For the less common ingredients, you can stock shelf stable cans (clams, crab, mackerel, sardines, artichokes) and some freezer items (gyro meat, bacon, etc.) that you can reach for when you need them!
That way, you can avoid takeout with delicious, last minute meals that are easy as well as nutritious.
You’ll Also Love
Lobster salad sandwich and lobster rolls can be made with this versatile lobster mix. It’s another perfect way to satisfy your craving for lobster without taking too much time in the kitchen.
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Red Lobster Style Crab Pita Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 Pita Bread, Lebanese style
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 Garlic, grated
- 2 Tomatoes, diced
- ¼ Cup Basil, julienned
- 1 Cup Crab Meat, or Lobster Meat
- 1.5 Cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- ¼ Cup Parmesan, grated, from block of parmigiano reggiano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Melt butter. You can put a tablespoon of butter in a mug and microwave for 20 seconds or so until melted.
- Place two pita breads on a parchment lined oven safe baking sheet. Brush both pitas with melted butter over entire surfaces, using a silicone cooking brush.
- Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese evenly over the surfaces of pitas.
- Add diced tomatoes and julienned basil.
- Place the crab or lobster meat evenly over the pitas.
- Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
Nutrition
Note
The above nutritional values are estimates and should only be used as a guide. If you are following a specific diet or have dietary restrictions, please use your preferred nutritional calculator. If you have a food allergy please ensure that none of the listed ingredients are part of your restrictions. As well, always use a food thermometer to ensure safe cooking temperature of the food items.
