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Our easy crab cake recipe is a slight variation on the classic Maryland-style version. Made with succulent lump crabmeat we’ve replaced the traditional cracker crumbs with panko for a lighter texture, and added some chopped scallions extra flavor. We also include instructions for making baked crab cakes or pan-fried so you can choose what works best for you.
Notes From Our Kitchen
In our house, making crab cakes used to be reserved for Sunday dinner, but we’ve simplified our original recipe and made it easy enough for any night of the week. When it comes to side dishes that go great with crab cakes homemade coleslaw, green beans with bacon, and roasted okra are our favorites. On nights when we don’t have the time for those dishes, roasted potatoes (or frozen fries) and store-bought slaw work too.
Key Ingredients
Here are the key flavors and ingredients that make this recipe special. For the full ingredient list with measurements, see the printable recipe card below.
- CRABMEAT: Found in the refrigerated section of your grocers’ seafood department, pasteurized crabmeat is fully cooked and ready to eat (see our guide to the different varieties below). Unopened pasteurized crabmeat has a shelf life of six months to a year, so be sure to look for a “use by” date stamp on the container. Once you’ve opened it, though, you’ll want to use it up within a day or two.
- PANKO CRUMBS: The coarse grain of panko crumbs produces a lighter, crispier, crab cake than standard dry breadcrumbs. We don’t recommend substituting.
- OLD BAY SEASONING: Old Bay is an iconic seasoning with a complex flavor. It’s a go-to flavoring for many seafood dishes, most notably, Maryland crab cakes. In addition to crab cakes, we us it on broiled fish, sautéed shrimp in butter sauce, and roasted salmon.
- EGGS AND MAYO: We use a combination of beaten eggs and mayo as the binder for our crab cakes because it makes them very easy to work with. Use your favorite brand of mayo, but don’t substitute “salad dressing,” as it has a sweet flavor.
Types of Crabmeat: A Shopping Guide
Most grocery stores carry several varieties of pasteurized crabmeat. Since they can all be pretty pricey, we’ve created this little shopping guide to help you choose the best type for your recipe and make the most of your purchase.
LUMP: Crabmeat labeled as “lump” generally consists of a mixture of small pieces from the jumbo lump area as well as pieces from other areas of the crab’s body. Lump crabmeat has a delicate texture that makes it the perfect choice for making crab cakes.
JUMBO LUMP: Premium crabmeat labeled as “jumbo lump” comes from the two muscles that are connected to the swimming legs of the crab. The pieces are large, with a tender, meaty texture, and sweet flavor. You can certainly use this variety to make crab cakes, but given its hefty price tag, jumbo lump crabmeat is best reserved for dishes like salads, pasta, or cold seafood cocktails.
CLAW: The meat from the claws of the crab is darker in color, stronger in flavor, and not as sweet as lump crabmeat. It’s best used in dishes like soups and dips where the crab flavor needs to hold its own against other ingredients.
How to Make Our Easy Crab Cake Recipe
This is an overview of how this recipe is prepared. Please see the printable recipe card below for detailed step-by-step instructions.
MAKE THE CRAB CAKE MIXTURE: Drain the crab in a colander and remove any bits of shell you find. Transfer to a mixing bowl and combine with the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients and seasonings in a separate bowl, then mix with the crab.
FORM THE CRAB CAKES AND CHILL: Use a 1/3 cup measure coated with nonstick spray to form the crab cakes and chill for 30 minutes before cooking.
TO BAKE THE CRAB CAKES (left): Bake for 20 minutes in a preheated 400°F oven, turning once midway through.
TO PAN FRY THE CRAB CAKES (right): Pan fry crab cakes in a small amount of vegetable oil until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Crab Cake Recipe Variations
Southwest Chipotle Crab Cakes
Replace half the mayo with pureed chipotle chile in adobo sauce, use cilantro instead of parsley and lime juice in place of lemon. Serve with smoky remoulade.
Smoky Rémoulade: Combine 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons honey, 1/2 clove of finely minced garlic, zest of 1/2 lime, and 1-1/2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce from your chipotle chiles.
Thai-Style Crab Cakes
Replace the parsley with cilantro, use lime juice instead of lemon, add the zest of 1 lime and 1-1/2 teaspoons finely chopped lemongrass (or store-bought lemongrass paste). Serve with Thai chili mayo.
Thai Chili Mayo: Combine 1/4 cup sweet Thai chili sauce with 3 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice.
Easy Crab Cakes (Baked or Fried)
Ingredients
- 1 lb lump crabmeat, pasteurized, 2 containers (8 ounces each)
- 1-1/4 cups panko crumbs, plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoons scallions, minced
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, minced
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh-squeezed
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Vegetable oil
- Lemon wedges, for serving
For the cocktail sauce
- 1/2 cup chili sauce, Heinz or Bennetts
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the remoulade
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon sweet onion, finely minced
- 1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Creole or Dijon-style mustard
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (Tabasco)
- Dash Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Drain the crab in a colander and using your fingers, pick through the meat and remove any bits of shell you find.
- Transfer the crab to a mixing bowl and combine with the panko crumbs, scallions, and parsley.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and a little freshly ground black pepper.
- Add the wet ingredients to the crab and combine thoroughly. If the mixture seems too wet to hold together, you can add an extra tablespoon of panko.
- Lightly coat the inside of a 1/3 cup measure with nonstick spray. Spoon the crab cake mixture into the cup and pack it lightly.
- Turn the formed crab cake out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and using your hands, gently form the mixture into a patty. Repeat the process with the rest of the crab mixture.
- Refrigerate formed crab cakes (you should end up with about 12) for 30 minutes before either baking or pan-frying. Note: This step helps the crab cakes hold together better.
Make the sauces:
- While the crab cakes are chilling you can make the sauces and set them aside until ready to serve.
- For the cocktail sauce: Combine the chili sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Taste and add extra horseradish if desired.
- For the rémoulade: Combine the mayonnaise, onion, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and paprika in a small bowl. Taste and season with a little salt and pepper if desired.
Baked crab cakes instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly brush the top of the crab cakes with vegetable oil. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven, turn them over carefully, and brush the other side with oil.
- Continue baking for an additional 10 minutes or until the crab cakes are golden and crisp on the outside.
Pan-fried crab cakes instructions:
- Add about 1/8 inch of vegetable oil to a large frying pan and heat over medium-high heat (about 350°F). Place half the crab cakes in the pan and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, then repeat the process with the remaining crab cakes. Crab cakes can be kept warm in a low oven (200°F) for 20 to 30 minutes.
Notes
Make Ahead and Reheating Instructions
Crab cakes can be mixed and formed in advance and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before cooking. MAKE AHEAD: Prepare the crab mixture, form the crab cakes, and place them in a single layer on a platter or baking sheet. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready, cook according to the recipe instructions. FREEZE: You can also freeze uncooked crab cakes, but it’s important to store and defrost them in a single layer (don’t stack). Defrost them overnight in the refrigerator, then cook them according to the recipe instructions. REHEAT: To reheat leftover cooked crab cakes, preheat the oven to 350°F, wrap them loosely in foil, and heat for 7 minutes. Open the foil and return to the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes to crisp.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you. I am going to try making them.
I left out the panko breadcrumbs! Delicious!
Hi Cyndi,
Glad to hear you liked the crab cakes. It’s good to know they turn out well without the panko too! Thank you for letting us know.
There was way too much panko/filler in this for my taste… being a Maryland boy, I think crab cakes should be like eating crab meat out of the crab, but with some magical invisible binder that (mostly) keeps it from totally falling apart. I’ll try it again and cut the panko in half.
Hi there,
We’re sorry you didn’t care for the texture but in creating our recipe for homemade crab cakes our goal was to come up with something that was nearly foolproof and didn’t require the use of a deep fryer. The panko has a light and crispy texture and the crab cakes hold together well when being turned so we’re happy with the ratio we’ve chosen for these cooking methods. If we were to deep fry, we would likely cut back on the amount of crumbs because they don’t need turning.
Great recipe. The crabcakes came out superb
I’m glad to hear you had success! Thank you, Carlos.
These are simple and delicious!
Thank you, Susan! So happy to hear you enjoyed them.
How much crab meat total? The ingredients say 1 lb, but then says 2 containers. So it is 2lb total then?
Hi Angela,
The containers of pasteurized crab meat sold in most markets are 8 ounces each, so two containers would give you 16 ounces (1 lb). I’ve added the container size to the recipe for clarity.
When you say 6 servings, do you mean 6 crab cakes?
Hi Laura,
The recipe should make 12 crab cakes (2 per person). I updated the recipe to note this. Thanks for pointing out the omission.
Thanks for these easy instructions. I never tried making crab cakes before but they turned out great. I’ll definitely make them again.
Hi Lexie,
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the crab cakes. Thanks for taking the time to let us know.
These turned out great! I opted to pan fry them, and chilling them really makes a difference in helping them hold together. I’ll try baking them next!
Hi Lexie,
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the crab cakes. Thanks for taking the time to let us know.