Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside crab cakes fried to a golden brown in 20 minutes on the stovetop.
Why this recipe works
Crab cakes are handheld seafood patties much like fish cakes that are packed with tender crab meat, seasonings, and more often than not, breadcrumbs to help bind it all together. They make awesome appetizers and even main courses served with a leafy salad and tartar sauce to dip with.
Our crab cake recipe is loaded with flavor between the Worcestershire sauce, horseradish sauce, hot sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and sauteed veggies. Just enough to tickle your palate without overshadowing the flavor of the crab. It’s all about the ingredients complementing each other, not overruling each other here.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
FILLER – Mayo, eggs, and breadcrumbs work as a binding agent for crab cakes while the horseradish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, parsley, Old Bay seasoning, garlic, bell pepper, and shallots add tons of flavor and texture.
CRAB – If you prefer chunkier crab cakes, we suggest using a combination of half lump meat and half small pieces. Imitation crab will work, but I don’t recommend it over fresh crab meat. You won’t get the same flavor in a dish that is centered around crab by using imitation.
How to Make Crab Cakes
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté red bell pepper, shallots, and garlic until soft. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, horseradish sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Combine the mayonnaise mixture, sautéed vegetables, and crab meat, egg, hot sauce, parsley, and breadcrumbs.
- Use gloved hands to form 6 patties. If you feel that your patties are not solid enough, you can sparingly add a little more breadcrumbs to get them where you want them to be.
- Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook patties on both sides until browned, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Drain patties on paper towels.
- Serve with tartar sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Yes, place the uncooked crab cake patties on a baking sheet in the freezer for an hour or until they’re firm to touch. Once partially frozen, wrap the individual crab cakes in plastic wrap and place them inside a Ziplock bag or air-tight container. Store in the freezer for 1 month.
Yes, you can make them in the air fryer, I would suggest following our air fryer crab cake recipe for doing so.
I would suggest making crab cakes no longer than the morning of your event if you do not plan on freezing them. Prep the patties and place them on a baking sheet tightly covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator until you are ready to fry them.
Serving Suggestions
Serve crab cakes with a squeeze of lemon and tartar sauce for dipping. If you are serving them as a main course, they pair well with dinner salads, corn on the cob, or coleslaw. As an appetizer, try offering your guests a few different dipping sauce like Yum Yum sauce, tartar sauce, or remoulade. Enjoy warm.
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Crab Cakes
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 ½ Tablespoons red bell pepper diced
- 2 ½ Tablespoons shallots diced
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon horseradish sauce
- ½ Tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 8 ounces crab meat small pieces of white meat
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce we used Franks
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil for frying
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- If you prefer chunkier crab cakes, we suggest using a combination of half lump meat and half small pieces.
- The patties do not need to be fried very long, just enough to cook the egg and get the outsides brown.
Instructions
- Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Sauté red bell pepper, shallots, and garlic until soft. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, horseradish sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Combine the mayonnaise mixture, sautéed vegetables, crab meat, egg, hot sauce, parsley, and breadcrumbs.
- Use gloved hands to form 6 patties. If you feel that your patties are not solid enough, you can sparingly add a little more breadcrumbs to get them where you want them to be.
- Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook patties on both sides until browned, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Drain patties on paper towels. Serve with tartar sauce.
Nutrition
Chef Antoine Davis
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Denise says
Ingredients used in recipe look good and would like to sub canned salmon for crab as not a fan of crab. How much salmon would you use 8oz or 15oz? Love your recipes by the way…
Amanda Formaro says
We suggest Chef Antoine’s Fish Cakes instead then, they use salmon :) https://amandascookin.com/fish-cakes/
Bruce Davis says
The red (any color bell pepper) gives me terrible indigestion. Thus, forget the red bell peppers ..
Amanda Formaro says
You can certainly leave them out.