Do Spiders Taste Like Crab? Here’s What Happened When I Tried Both

Since getting back from Thailand, I’ve been asked one question more times than I ever expected: Do spiders taste like crab?
It sounds absurd, but once the idea gets planted, it’s hard to shake. And because I’m not great at letting questions sit unanswered, I decided to test it properly. I ate crab. I ate spider. Both in Thailand. Here’s exactly how it went.

Why People Even Compare Spiders to Crab

The comparison usually starts with biology. Spiders and crabs are both arthropods. They both have exoskeletons. They both look like something that shouldn’t be on a dinner plate, depending on your comfort level.

That similarity alone has led to endless claims online that spiders taste “just like crab.” Thailand, with its street markets full of edible insects, was the perfect place to find out if that comparison holds up in real life.

Eating Crab in Thailand

Let’s start with the baseline. The crab I had in Thailand was fresh, steamed, and lightly seasoned. No heavy sauces hiding the flavor.

Crab meat is sweet, slightly briny, and soft in a way that feels almost buttery when it’s fresh. The texture flakes apart easily, and the flavor lingers in a clean, oceanic way. It’s familiar, comforting, and unmistakably seafood.

If you’ve eaten crab before, you already know the profile. This was a textbook example of why people love it.

Eating a Spider in Thailand

Now for the part everyone actually wants to know about.

Fried tarantulas are sold openly at markets in Thailand, skewered and crisped in oil. Visually, there’s no easing into it. It looks like a spider because it is a spider.

The legs are thin and crunchy, almost like brittle twigs or over-fried chips. The body is denser and slightly pasty inside, which is where most people hesitate. Flavor-wise, it’s mild. There’s an earthy, nut-like note, and a faint umami edge that makes people think of seafood. But that’s where the similarity ends.

So… Do Spiders Actually Taste Like Crab?

No, they don’t. There’s a distant overlap in umami, but crab is sweet and delicate. Spider is neutral, crunchy, and heavily defined by texture rather than flavor. If you were blindfolded, you wouldn’t mistake one for the other. Crab feels indulgent. Spider feels experimental.

Would I Eat Spider Again?

Probably not. Not because it was awful, but because it didn’t offer anything I’d crave. Crab, on the other hand, is something I’d order again without hesitation.

That said, trying spider once answered the question permanently. If someone tells you spiders taste just like crab, they’re exaggerating or repeating something they’ve never tested themselves.

Now I don’t have to wonder. And yes, it does make a great story when someone asks, “Is it true?”