This no-fuss crab cake recipe has lots of flavor (and lots of crab) in every bite. Crab patties are pan-fried until crispy on the outside and tender inside.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
You’ll LOVE These Crab Cakes Because…
- They’re easy to make with lump crabmeat or canned crab.
- Each bite is meaty and flavorful with bright herbs and a zesty citrus twist.
- These have a perfect golden brown finish with a quick pan-fry.
- These crab cakes are great as appetizers, side dishes, or the main course.
Choosing Crab for Crab Cakes
For the best flavor, use fresh crab meat or lump crab meat (often sold in a jar near the seafood counter). Lump crab has bigger pieces, but canned crab works too.
No matter which you use, pick through the meat first and remove any shell bits or cartilage.
Other Ingredients
- Seasoning: Dijon mustard, a hint of Worcestershire, and Old Bay seasoning. Fresh herbs add great flavor.
- Breadcrumbs: I use very little filler, just enough to bind it together. Panko with a little bit of mayo is my favorite choice for the best texture. You can replace the breadcrumbs with crushed saltine cracker crumbs.
Crab Cake Variations
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper or green onions.
- Add a pinch of cayenne or Cajun seasoning for gentle heat.
- Try mini crab cakes for appetizers and shorten the cook time.
How to Make Crab Cakes
- In a large bowl, whisk mayonnaise, egg, mustard, and Old Bay seasoning.
- Add the remaining ingredients (recipe below). Toss very gently so you don’t break up the crab too much. Form into patties.
- Chill crab cakes and cook them in a large skillet until lightly browned.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and your favorite dipping sauce. Try homemade tartar sauce, remoulade sauce, or garlic aioli.
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating
- Fridge: Store cooked crab cakes in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Reheat: To make them crispy again, reheat them in a dry saute pan on medium heat or in the air fryer.
- Freeze: Freeze cooled crab cakes for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Thaw overnight in the fridge for the most even results, then pan-fry or air fry to reheat.
Leftover crab cakes can be chopped and added to a crab salad, or mixed into a cheesy crab dip.
What to Serve with Crab Cakes
Did you make these easy Crab Cakes? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lump crab meat
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs unflavored
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- ¼ cup canola oil
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Check the crab meat for any hard and sharp cartilage, remove, and discard.
- In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, beaten egg, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Old Bay seasoning.
- Add crab meat, bread crumbs, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Gently fold to combine, being careful not to break up the crab.
- Gently press to shape into 6-8 crab cakes using ⅓ cup each, then place on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick over medium heat. Cook the crab cakes 3-5 minutes per side or until golden brown.
- 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 Appetizer, Main Course, Seafood
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.
What are some good sauces for your crab cake recipes?
We love to serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and homemade tartar sauce, remoulade sauce, or garlic aioli.
That you Holly for the recipe. Since I have never mad crab cakes, I was skeptical. I followed the recipe exactly – We all loved them, they were delicious. So good that I am making them again tonight. BIG HIT
Yay! That is wonderful, Nancy! Thank you for trusting our recipe. ❤️
Excellent! I used lemon juice instead of the zest and regular mustard instead of Dijon since I didn’t have any. I used the AIR FRYER and they turned out amazing. 12-15 minutes at 350, flipping at about 8-9 minutes to get the whole crabcake golden brown. Great Recipe!
I’m from Baltimore, home of the original Maryland crabcake, and finally, a crab cake recipe that is accurate. I use saltine crackers soaked in milk instead of breadcrumbs. Just tastier. No need for lemon either. But otherwise a good recipe. Do not shred crab meat when you mix. Enjoy!
I’m from Salisbury and when I first got this recipe a year ago in my daily Holly email I was happy to see that Holly “gets” what a crab cake is supposed to be. Simple with the crabmeat the star. Some recipes I’ve seen for Maryland crab cakes are really off the mark. I posted our recipe which is so similar to Holly’s except for the secret ingredient celery seeds. I don’t use lemon either (like you) and I use dry Coleman’s mustard. I certainly would try a bit of Dijon if I didn’t have dry. There’s no crab meat like our blue crab. Some how MD’s crabs are the best and so are Holly’s recipes!
Our neighbor gave us a freshly cooked crab last night. We quickly found your recipe for crab cakes, took a few deep breaths and began our first go at cracking a crab! Let’s just say it’s not for the squeamish Boy what an interesting creature! Anyway it only produced about a 1/2 lb of meat so adjusted the recipe to that… 1 egg is 4 TBSP so used 2 TBSPs and went halves on everything else. Didn’t have celery seed which some other reviews said was the key to making authentic crabcakes so just grated a small stalk of celery, squeezed out the excess liquid and mixed all ingredients together except the crab, parsley and panko. Gently folded those in, pressed into 4 patties and popped them in the refrigerator for an hour. Air fried at 350 for 7 minutes each side and they came out absolutely perfect TY for your delicious recipe!
Perfect way to use up extra crab! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for sharing your delicious alterations.
Delicious! Easy to make and lots of flavor!
This was my first time making crab cakes, and I was really nervous that mine turned out too “wet,” but after an hour in the fridge, they firmed up and fried perfectly and were delicious! I will never buy premade crab cakes again with this recipe in my arsenal and knowing how easy they are to make.
I commented on this in February and listed our Eastern Shore of MD recipe. Did you ever get to try it? The celery seed may sound bizarre, but that really is the secret ingredient. Please give them a try so I can see what you think. Family has been using this recipe for 75 years. I gave yours 5 stars because everything you post is outstanding. We’re just real purists when it comes to crab cakes! I’m afraid on this one, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!
Thanks for sharing your recipe, Susan! I completely understand, there are some recipes I grew up that I just don’t change lol
Can these crab cakes be baked in the air fryer?
We haven’t air fried these yet so I am not sure on the exact cook times but they should work well in the air fryer!
Love EVERYTHING you post!!
Thanks, Kerry!
I’m from Maryland and ware very possessive of our crab cakes. This is the first one that is the closest to what we do. You really don’t need the hot sauce or lemon. Be very careful when mixing in crab as to not shred it
Thanks for the tip Gigi!
We’re from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We have a recipe from a local seafood restaurant that is the ultimate keeper. So simple. Crabmeat (1 lb), grated fresh breadcrumbs (about a slice….just eyeball it), eggs (2), mayo (1 TBS), dry mustard (1/2 tsp), salt (1 tsp or less), black pepper (1/2 tsp) and celery seed (1 tsp). Yes, celery seed is the secret ingredient! Trust me on this one. No extra crab seasoning (we prefer J.O. Spice No. 2 when we use it). Try your next batch with those ingredients. If you love the taste of crabmeat unadulterated, I think you’ll love these! i will not divulge how the recipe was obtained….I will take that secret to my grave!
Was wondering if you can use canned crab meat? If so, how much would you suggest? This is my first go to site for recipes. Thank you for many great meals.
I’ve only made the recipe as written, but I’m sure that would work just fine Cathy! The recipe calls for 1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, so I would use an equivalent amount. Let us know if you try it!
Love Easy Crab Cakes
Delicious
Do you have a recipe for salt cod fishcakes?
I’m sorry Howard, I don’t. But you may enjoy these other recipes:
Can imitation crab be used?
I’ve only made the recipe as written, but I’m sure that would work just fine Darlene! Let us know if you try it!
Can you use a can of salmon instead of crab and use the same ingredients? Thanks a bunch, we love salmon patties, but if you have a recipe I would love to have it. Thanks again.
I am sure that would work Betty, but we also have this salmon croquette recipe or this salmon patties recipe that may work better for you.
Ugh, I used the whole tsp of salt. Noe I wasted expensive crab meat. Way too salty. I guess I should have used better judgement but no one really mentioned the salt amount.
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that Steve. Did you use Kosher salt? We enjoyed this recipe as written, but you can definitely adjust the amount of salt if you prefer it less salty.
Can this recipe be substituted with any other fish like the northern pike?
Of course, Brenda! Enjoy :)
I see salt and pepper on the ingredient list, but not in the instructions. Do you add for your taste preference, or…?
Hi Natasha, you can add them to taste or in the quantities listed. I would add these in step 3 of the recipe.
Can’t wait to see what I can try that’s new to my family!