The Best Easy Crab Cakes
My crab cakes are inspired by the Maryland style because they are all about the crab! It’s all about the fresh lump crab meat that has a pronounced taste, some sweetness, and juicy, soft texture. When you bite into it, the most important thing is the crab while everything else is just there to enhance the experience.
The key to the best crab cakes possible will always be choosing the best crab meat and a lot of it. Second most important thing is to use as little filler as possible as to not overshadow the texture and taste of crab. The rest can totally be optional, so if you don’t like parsley, don’t add it! They’re your crab cakes, so you can make them just how you like them.
The Best Crab Meat To Use
- If possible, use jumbo lump crab meat that is refrigerated or fresh. This will give you truly a superior taste because it’s taken out of the largest muscle and kept in tact. This meat is white in color, looks like lumps of meat (hence the name), and has the best flavor. It is also the most expensive option.
- Another option is backfin crab meat. Backfin meat is a combination of jumbo lump meat and special grade meat. It is also white in color but it comes more broken up and flaked apart. This crab meat can also be labeled a “lump” crab meat. It’s good to use in crab cakes, crab dip, crab puffs, and many other crab recipes.
- There is also claw meat. While it’s much cheaper, it does not make superior crab cakes. It’s the meat that comes from the claws, it’s darker than the other types of crab meat. It is not as sweet but it dose have a strong flavor. Save it for soups, dips, sauces, and stews.
- AVOID: Crab meat to avoid is canned and not refrigerated. This meat will be better used in soups rather than crab cakes. If canned is the only option, use the one that has to be refrigerated. You can find it in the refrigerated section or seafood counter of your grocery store.
Lyuba’s Tips To Make Crab Cakes
- Sift Through The Crab Meat! Make sure to check every lump of crab meat by carefully feeling around for any leftover shell fragments. You don’t need to break it apart, just check around the lumps.
- I like to break up some of the crab lumps and leave others in whole lumps. This gives a great texture to the crab cakes.
- I like to use an ice cream scoop to get out equal amounts, to make sure that they all cook evenly. An average ice cream scoop will give you good size cakes about 3 inches in diameter and about 3/4 inch in thickness.
- When shaping the patties, don’t press them too tight, just enough to form the shape of a patty.
- Do not move, adjust, or mess around with the crab cakes after you place them in the pan until ready to flip.
Recipe FAQ’s
I’ve tried so many filler options from crackers, to bread, to bread crumbs, and I find Panko to be the best. It’s very light but great at binding. The flavor does not overpower the crab meat either.
Sure! The reason why I don’t add Old Bay Seasoning is because it is quite overpowering and it masks the natural, beautiful flavor of the crab. After you’ve spend a good amount of money on a lump crab meat, you want that flavor to shine, not be overpowered. If you do want to add some of that seasoning, you can do so!
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Crab Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb lump crab meat
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs use gluten free if needed
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- 1/2 lemon zest
- 1 small lemon – juice only
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2-3 tbsp canola oil for cooking
Remoulade sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp spicy mustard
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp pickle juice preferably from sweet pickles
- 1 tsp horseradish
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
Instructions
- Check every lump of meat by carefully feeling around for any leftover shell fragments. You don’t need to break it apart, just check around the lumps.
- Mix all ingredients for crab cakes except for the crab meat in a bowl and whisk well.
- Add crab meat and mix it well. Break up some of the lumps and leave others in chunks.
- Use an ice cream scoop to spoon out equal amounts of crab mixture. Shape the patties but don’t press them tight, just enough to form the shape of a patty.
- Preheat the pan first over medium to medium-high heat and add the oil.
- Let oil heat up until hot and add crab cakes. Do not move them after you place them in the pan until ready to flip. Cook crab cakes for 4-5 minutes per side.
- Mix all the ingredients for Remoulade sauce and serve it on the side of crab cakes.
Video
Notes
- Best Crab Meat: If possible, use jumbo lump crab meat that is refrigerated or fresh. This will give you truly a superior taste because it’s taken out of the largest muscle and kept in tact. This meat is white in color, looks like lumps of meat (hence the name), and has the best flavor. It is also the most expensive option.
- Gluten Free: Gluten-free bread crumbs are a perfect substitution for Panko because it also tends to be light and airy in texture.
- Storing: Make sure to store cooked crab cakes in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, they should last 3-4 days.
- Reheating: it’s best to reheat them in a cooking pan, on stove-top, over medium to medium-low heat. Preheat the pan fist and add a little oil if needed. Reheat crab cakes for a couple of minutes on each side, just until heated through.
- Freezing: it’s best to freeze crab cakes before cooking. Mix and shape the patties as instructed in the recipe. Place them on a parchment paper covered cutting board and freeze for 2 hours (set a timer so you don’t forget!) Wrap individual frozen crab cakes in plastic wrap and then, place them into a freezer zip-top bag or a freezer storage container that is air-tight. Label and date the container and freeze for 2-3 months.
Nutrition
Try More Recipes Using Crab
- Crab Fried Rice
- She Crab Soup
- Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
- Crab Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Crab and Artichoke Dip
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2020.
Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Appetizer Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Mother's Day Recipe Ideas, Seafood Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Very good recipe except can’t really call them “Maryland” without adding Old Bay seasoning.
Thank you for your feedback! I totally get where you’re coming from—Old Bay is classic in Maryland crab cakes. For this recipe, I went with a different flavor profile to make it my own, but it’s definitely a great addition if you want to give it that traditional touch!
This recipe seems very easy to follow and I’m excited to try these tonight! I know it will make more than I need, so I plan to follow your instructions for freezing the extras. Can you please provide some guidance for cooking them after freezing?
I just wanted to pop back in to say these were a huge hit!
Awesome! I am so glad to hear that, Amy!
Hi Amy, if you scroll up to the section of storing and reheating I go over how to freeze and reheat them. Hope you enjoy them!
Christmas Eve 2023 dinner. My daughter was gifted 3 crabs by a co worker we debated making crab cakes or crab enchiladas… crab cakes for the win!. Didn’t change a thing.. except we forgot to get parsley… and used dried instead. I froze them for an hour or so ahead of time , as I have had crab cakes fall apart during the frying. Great recipe and very tasty!🦀🦀🦀💕💕💕🦀🦀🦀
So glad you guys enjoyed them! 🙂
Easy to make and so delicious! My family loved them!
I am so pleased to hear that, Elaine!
This is so good and simple. Love it!
So glad you like it, Martha!
This was a terrific recipe- easy to make, great flavor. Everyone loved them and will make again. Thank you.
You are so welcome, I am so glad you liked it!