When it comes to vintage recipes that still hold their own, this just might be at the top of the list. The dish was first described to me by a friend and I had some serious questions. Velveeta and crab meat? Wonder bread? And top it all off with… sesame seeds? I was not sold.
The recipe came from said friend’s Nana who made them for every holiday party. As a kid, he’d camp out at the food table to sneak as many rolls as he could before being noticed. He was very insistent that they were worth a try and in the end he was absolutely right.
I first brought them to a potluck where there was no shortage of amazing food, yet all anyone could talk about was the crab rolls. People were asking what the dough was made of and if I could share the recipe. I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces when I told them that the “dough” was white bread. Priceless.
While processed cheese like velveeta can get a bad reputation, it really does work best for this recipe. It melts down so well and blends beautifully with a truly unhealthy amount of butter. This is not a healthy dish, but holiday calories don’t count, right? If you’re going to indulge, might as well go all in and enjoy every last bite!
I owe a big thank you to the Picha family for introducing me to a new guilty pleasure. I hope Nana is looking down and smiling as her great-grandkids sneak a few too many of these cheesy little treats. They’re seriously addictive and you can bet they’ll now be found at all of my holiday gatherings. Give them a try and I’m sure you’ll love them just as much!
Nana's Crab Roll-Ups
Yield(s): 40 Roll-ups
1h 30m prep time
5m cook time
1h inactive
Ingredients
- ½ pound Velveeta cheese, sliced
- 1 cup butter (two sticks), divided
- 8 oz imitation crab meat
- 1 large loaf sliced white bread (the cheap stuff!)
- ¼ cup Sesame Seeds
In a medium bowl, melt cheese and ½ cup butter. Stir until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl, melt cheese and ½ cup butter. Stir until fully combined.
- Break crab into small pieces. Add to the butter mixture and stir.
- Cut the crust off of the bread slices and roll out with a rolling pin until completely flattened.
- Spread a line of the crab mixture across the flattened bread slice and roll tightly.
- Place rolls in a prepared 9x13 baking dish and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Remove dish from fridge and cut each roll in half.
- Dip each roll in the remaining melted butter then place back in baking dish seam down. Sprinkle sesame seeds across top.
- Broil on medium high for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm if possible!