This Easy Crab Cake recipe is not only simple to follow, it makes the most amazing crab cakes. Juicy, full of meaty crab chunks and with beautiful fresh flavors.
These easy crab cakes can be served as a snack or appetizer or even as a main dish with a nice fresh Cucumber Dill Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette!
If you are looking for an easy and delicious recipe to impress your guests, look no further, this Crab Cake Recipe is always a winner.
These crab cakes are so juicy and full of fresh flavors from the lemon zest and fresh herbs (parsley or cilantro), that the are irresistible. Don’t you hate it when you go to a restaurant, order an expensive plate of crab cakes, to only realize that they probably used more bread crumbs than crab meat?! With this Crab Cakes Recipe, you can be certain that your crab cakes will be bursting with sweet crab flavor and texture.
How to Make Crab Cakes
The best part is that you will see that this is an easy crab cake recipe. First, you just have to make sure you are using high quality crab meat and fresh ingredients. After that, you add all the ingredients to a bowl, stir to combine, and shape the crab cakes, like little crab patties. If you have time, you can refrigerate them before cooking. This will help them maintain their share when cooking. When ready, sear them on each side until golden brown and serve with Tartar Sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice.
What is a Crab Cake?
A crab cake is a variety of fishcake that is very popular in the United States, made of crab meat and other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, mayonnaise, eggs, and seasonings.
What is a good sauce for crab cakes?
I love to dip crab cakes in Tartar Sauce! This easy tartar sauce recipe takes just minutes to prep and is perfect for crab cakes but also for any other fish dish you may have!
Tartar Sauce Recipe
- 1 cup full fat mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or Stone Ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To make the Tartar Sauce, mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl until fully combined. Serve with crab cakes.
What side dishes go with crab cakes?
I personally like to serve them with a simple green salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. Here are a few more suggestions:
- Mashed potatoes
- Baked potatoes
- Baked sweet potatoes
- Potato fries
- Grilled corn on the cob
- Grilled cauliflower
- Steamed green beans
Easy Crab Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 pound jumbo lump crab meat
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon Dijon or Stone Ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 4 dashes hot sauce or to taste
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs unflavored
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon white ground pepper or to taste
- ¼ cup canola oil
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage, remove and discard them.
- In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and Old Bay seasoning.
- Add the crab meat, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Gently fold mixture together with your hands until just combined. Take care not to shred the crab meat any more.
- Shape into 6-8 crab cakes, about ½ cup each and place on a plate or baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil to a large nonstick pan and heat over medium heat. Cook crab cakes until lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Add more oil if needed and gently over. Cook 3-5 minutes.
- Serve immediately with tartar sauce and lemon wedges.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Just watched your hash brown breakfast casserole video. I would love to try it, but can’t seem to find the recipe.
Can you help me?
You can find the Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole Recipe here.
Can you substitute salmon for the crab?
Hi Diana, we have a delicious salmon patties recipe that would be delicious for that. If you try salmon in this crab cakes recipe let us know how it turns out!
Trying this recipe at my sons request for crab cakes. It looks awesome after combining ingredients. Refrigerate them till morning for his dinner on Sunday. I am sure he will love them. They look to be super moist. Also very meaty
We’re going to try your recipe, but will add some finely chopped celery for some crunch. They sound wonderful!
Celery sounds like a wonderful addition Kathleen! I hope you adore the crab cakes!
it look delicious and i must say i am going to make this for my wife tonight. Thanks for the lovely idea.
I hope your wife loved them!
Where do you find crab meat thats reasonably priced?
Hi Elle, we have found it at a decent price at our local grocery store.
What brand do you recommend for those that don’t have access to fresh crab meat?
If you have a favorite I would go with that one. Otherwise, I just try to purchase high-quality crab meat for this recipe since it’s the primary flavor. Enjoy Portia!
Everything looks so delicious.
It is so tasty Peggy, enjoy!
What’s with all the recipes with canola oil? It’s the worst oil you can put in your body! I would use olive oil or butter
You can certainly use another type of oil if you’d prefer. I choose canola oil due to the high smoke point and the neutral flavor.
This is the best crab cake recipe I have ever tried! These turned out better than any I have ever gotten in a restaurant. We use a little less lemon zest, because we don’t usually use lemon on our seafood very often, and a full tablespoon made it a bit too lemon-y for us. Otherwise, it was absolutely PERFECT. I didn’t save or print the recipe, because I thought it would be just another one like the rest. I searched and searched until I found it again, because it definitely is NOT like all the rest. This is the BEST!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Kelly! You have made my day!
Holly I’m thankful for you and your recipes. The recipes are delicious and mouth watering.Thank You for your time and your work on the recipes.
Thank you for your kind comment Don, I’m so glad you’ve found some great recipes to enjoy!
Being a DC seafood snob- I make it a sport to eat crab cakes whenever on any menu. What you have shared here reminds me of a very very talented chef that left Baltimore and moved to Key West FL to share his crab cake there too- and it was a huge hit.
This recipie is right up there gurl- If not very very close!
I ate it standing up in the kitchen while I fried the rest.
I made my own version of a jalapeño mayo instead of tarter- yumms.
For a home fry/try- this IS hands down a keeper. Bravo.
As they say: rotation rotation rotaion!
Thanku-
I love the idea of a jalapeno mayo, sounds perfect! So glad you loved them and thank you for your kind words!
This recipe is easy and SO delicious! I don’t usually put much, if any, lemon on my seafood, tho, so I’ll be putting a little less lemon zest in next time. But they tasted amazing! And this is such an easy recipe, without a ton of filler. This is my new go-to recipe for crab cakes. :D
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Kelly!
You mentioned cilantro and lemon in the description, but listed basil in the ingredients and instructions…
Sorry for the confusion, I’ve used both cilantro and parsley in this recipe with great results. Either will work.
Great recipe! Love the developed flavors!
Thank you Django!
Excellent recipe!!! I am a huge fan of going out for crab cakes BUT NOW…..fo get about it! (said like my Italian Uncle) Love all the ingredients and it was easy. Thank you for your mad skills and I will be taking full credit Kidding, have already shared your site!
I am so glad you loved them Lannette, we love these crab cakes too!
Can these be baked in the oven, if so what temp and how long. Thanks
I haven’t tried baking these. I’d suggest trying at 375°F for 25-30 minutes (and flip half way through cooking). Let us know how it goes!
What a lovely recipe! Made these as my husband loves crab and have tried several blah recipes out there! I made half of the recipe crab half of it substituting canned pink salmon as some prefer salmon to crab. They were wonderful with perfect balance of seasoning to meat. Definitely a keeper, the other crab cake recipies got tossed! Thank you for a great meal, made your tarter sauce and cucumber dill salad as well! 5☆’s
I am so glad you loved them! That sounds like a great addition Janis!
Great recipe. Easy to make and moist and delicous crab cakes! I substitute yogurt for the mayo.
So glad you enjoyed them Joel!
I would probably be the only one to eat these..can the left over cakes be frozen either before cooking or after?
Yes, the crab cakes can be frozen before cooking for about 1 month. I would recommend defrosting them before cooking.
My husband loves crab cakes, and I have been looking for a recipe ~ this looks perfect! Thank you! And thanks for all of the wonderful recipes you post! :)
You’re welcome Diana! Enjoy!