These delicious baked crab cakes recipe has a light, crunchy, golden-brown crust without ever seeing the inside of the frying pan. I like to serve them with smooth, lemony, lightly spiced remoulade sauce, which I feel is a perfect accompaniment.

These crab cakes are a fantastic starter and can be made home with ease. The use of Panko breadcrumbs melds the crab meat and veggies together perfectly and creates a wonderful, crispy outer. The use of lump crab with a savory seasoning is a gourmet delight of an entrée.

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Secret to crispy baked crab cakes
Breadcrumbs or Panko
Grab these ingredients
Step by step instructions
What kind of sauce goes with crab cakes?
How do you keep crab cakes from falling apart?
Frequently ask questions
Related recipes
Full Recipe

Secret to crispy baked crab cakes

The incredible thing with crab cakes is undoubtedly a large amount of delicious crabmeat. That, together with the light, crunchy crust, is a gastronomic delight. Baking these little cakes results in a crispy outer that would convince anybody they have been lightly fried. How is it done? It's all about pre-toasting those wonderful Panko breadcrumbs until they are a crispy golden brown.

You find crab cakes in the starter section of many restaurants' menus. But it isn't necessary to wait until you eat out next time to eat this unique entrée. They are quite simple to make at home. All you need is some lump crab, some eggs, bell peppers, onions, chives, mayo, mustard, and a little seasoning, plus a good recipe to follow.

Optional:

You can opt to make a panade by mixing the Panko crumb with eggs to make sure that your crab cakes retain their shape when you cook them. When you serve the finished article, lightly drizzle with a squeeze of lemon juice and accompany with a side of aioli or tartar sauce.

What is Panade?

You may not have come across a panade before; it is a mixture of starch and liquid typically added to minced beef or other meats. You can use many starch sources, including bread, crackers, or, in our case, Panko breadcrumbs. The liquid can be buttermilk, cow's milk, stock, water, or yogurt.

By altering the ingredients you use and adding some aromatic spices, you can subtly change your panade's flavor to suit your palate.

Breadcrumbs or Panko

The recipe I am about to give you uses both Panko and ordinary breadcrumbs. I find that standard breadcrumbs help give you a regular, even coating due to their fine-grain texture.

The addition of Panko breadcrumbs, which have larger flakes, gives the crumb mix a little more attitude and extra crunch. Although I unreservedly recommend using Panko breadcrumbs, it is not necessary. If you don't have any available, then any old breadcrumb will do and should still give your crab cakes a nice crunchy finish.

Pre-toasting your breadcrumbs will give them a lovely gold-brown, crunchy texture and help stop the crab mixture from becoming too soggy.
It ensures your baked crab cakes will come out of the oven with a nice, even color, thanks to the pre-toasting.

Grab these ingredients

crab meat (well-drained)
Panko bread crumbs
mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
egg
red bell peppers (diced)
onions (finely minced)
chives (chopped)
salt & pepper to taste
lemon zest
cayenne pepper
smoked paprika
lemon

Breading Ingredients:

flour
eggs
Panko breadcrumbs (pre-toasted)

Step by step instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Begin by sauteing the chopped vegetables; this helps make sure that they won’t release too much moisture during the baking process.
Drain the crab meat (if using canned meat).
Now add the rest of the crab cake ingredients into a bowl. Combine crab meat, 1 cup bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, bell peppers, onions, and chives. Toss them lightly to ensure that the crabmeat doesn’t disintegrate.

Take the crab meat mixture and create 7-8 same sized patties. I prefer to make them round, but if you want to be more creative, please feel free. Each patty should be approximately 1 inch thick. If you want to create a larger quantity of smaller sized cakes, go for it. The choice is yours. Once formed, set them to one side for breading.

Bread the Crab Cakes:

Toast the breadcrumbs and stir constantly until they turned golden brown. Set aside.
Crack eggs into a bowl and give it a good mix. Place the flour and breadcrumbs each on a separate plate.
Coat the crab patty in the flour, dip it in the egg mixture. Then, you can coat it with toasted Panko breadcrumbs.

When breading, ensure that the crumb entirely covers the patties and is as even as possible. It will ensure that each mouthful is as crunchy as the last. Repeat the process for all the crab cakes.
Put them into an oven preheated to 350°F and bake for 12 to 15 minutes (depends on the sizes), by which time the crab cakes will be beautifully crispy and ready to eat.
Serve with remoulade crab cake sauce or any of your favorite dipping sauce.

Can you make crab cakes ahead of time?

If you are planning a party, the good news is that you can pre-form the crab cakes and keep them fresh in your fridge a day in advance. However, make sure not to add the breadcrumb mixture until just before you bake. It will ensure that the cakes don't become too soggy.

You can store cooked crab cakes in the fridge for up to 2 days.

When reheating them, you can do so either in the microwave or an oven preheated to a temperature of 350°F.
Once they are warmed through, broiling them for two or three minutes will make them as crispy as they were original. I wouldn't recommend microwaving them.

How to make crab cakes using canned crab

If you can't get your hands on any fresh crab meat, canned crab is a more than acceptable alternative. Using canned crab, I prefer to get hold of the pasteurized version, found in Costco's refrigerator section and most of the bigger food stores.

As an alternative, canned crab or pasteurized crab is a great alternative because it is a mixture of meat from various parts of the crab, giving you a sweet, tender textured product. It also benefits from being easier on the purse at the cost of only around $19 per pound.

Before you use these alternatives, be sure to drain off any excess liquid, then chop the meat into smallish sized pieces.
You don't want to break it up any further, or you will ruin the texture. But again, the choice is yours.

Can I use imitation crab meat?

It is possible to use imitation crab meat, similar to Sirime used to make sushi rolls. However, you'll find that the texture is a little rubbery, and the taste is somewhat saltier. For me, fresh, canned, or pasteurized crabmeat is the best if you can get it.

How do you make Maryland-style crab cakes?

When you use fresh crab meat, you are edging towards making Maryland style crab cakes recipe. This prevalent US type of crab cake uses old Bay seasoning and Worcester sauce that give a specific and distinctive taste.

It's a simple recipe that uses a sufficient amount of breadcrumbs to bind the ingredients, which in addition to the crab meat, the sauce, and the seasoning, includes mayonnaise, mustard, and a selection of fresh herbs. The crab meat is, after all, the star of the show.

What kind of sauce goes with crab cakes?

I've already mentioned a couple of nice accompaniments that go well with crab cakes, but something I love is an aioli made from homemade mayo and roasted garlic.

In Louisiana, they often served crabcakes with a French remoulade to which they add some Cajun spices to give it a little kick. It's a good place to start and something that you can customize to your taste with whatever herbs, seasonings, and spices.

How do you keep crab cakes from falling apart?

A crab mixture can all too easily fall apart, so it's essential to use that panade we talked about earlier made from breadcrumbs, egg, mayo, and mustard. It makes an ideal binding agent. The bread's starch soaks up the moisture and turns a little sticky. As the eggs cook, they seal in the ingredients.

Ensure that your crab cakes don't fall apart when cooking. It's best to form the patties nice and tightly, and when it comes to flipping them over, if you are frying them, you need to do so carefully.

The Secret of Preventing Crab Cakes from Falling Apart

As you already know, my way of stopping white crab cake patties from falling apart when I cook them is to use a panade. I find it a little strange, but if you check crab cake recipes online, you'll discover that most have no flour. The problem is that it lacks flour in the binding process that leads to them falling apart.

As the starches and the breadcrumbs start to absorb the moisture, it's going to become sticky. Also, the egg when cooked, it's going to bind and set everything together. This helps the crab cakes hold their shape while cooking.
I do not use too much starch. If you do, you will end up with tough crab cakes. A smidgen is enough, and I find it keeps the mixture together but still allows you to achieve a sweet, juicy, scrumptious crab cake.

I find that fresh lump crab meat produces the most flavorsome crab cakes. But it's not always easy to get, so using canned crab instead is a good alternative. You do need, however, to make sure to buy a good brand.

You may need to try a few different brands and taste them to discover the best. It's a bit of an effort, but you only need to do it once, and then you will know for the future. Remember that it's all about the crab meat, so ensuring you got the best tasting is essential.

You can serve crab cakes as a starter or a main dish. I like to serve them as an entrée with a little dollop of creamed potatoes. Crown this with a bit of mayo, a shrimp cocktail dressing, or tartare sauce, and you got a dish made in heaven.

Frequently ask questions

Which is better, baking or frying?

When it comes down to whether it is better to bake or crab cakes, the jury is still out. Many people think that it is necessary to fry them to get a nice crispy exterior; however, in my experience, if you use Panko breadcrumbs in your crumb mixture, you’ll get the same results by baking them.

Baking them is great for three reasons. Firstly, it does away with all of that hot oil, which carries the risk of burning you if you splash it accidentally. Secondly, when you pan fry crab cakes, they will be a little oily, and even when you pat them dry, the breadcrumb coating will still have absorbed some of that oil.

Thirdly, when you bake them, you’re avoiding all of those problems, plus the fact that it’s a much more convenient way of cooking.

For the best of both worlds, take a look at this recipe from the southernliving.com website. It calls for a combination of pan-frying and baking.

At the end of the day, we all have our own preferences, so the choice is yours to make.

how do you know when crab cakes are done?

One way of checking that your crab cakes are cooked through properly is to wait until they’ve turned golden brown, and the outer has become nice and crispy. However, to be on the safe side, check that the internal temperature has reached 165°F.

can you reheat crab cakes in an oven?

Cooked crab cakes can be safely kept in the refrigerator but should be reheated and eaten after no more than two days. The easiest way to do this is in the oven.

First, you need to preheat your oven to a temperature of 325°F. Then, take your baking sheet and cover with foil.

Place the crab cakes on top of the foil, making sure they are not touching each other, and heat for between 10 and 15 minutes.,

For best results, and to make sure they are moist when you come to eat them, smear the crabcakes’ tops with a little butter.

how long can you keep uncooked crab cakes in the fridge?

Un-cooked crab cake patties can be stored in your fridge for between 3 to 5 days. It pays not to add the breadcrumb until you are about to cook them to avoid becoming soggy. Alternatively, put them in the freezer if you need to keep them for longer.

can I make crab cakes the night before?

One of the good things about making crab cakes when you are entertaining is that you can make the patties a day in advance and store them in the fridge overnight.

As mentioned above, don’t breadcrumb them until you’re about to cook them. Cooked crabcakes can be stored in your fridge for up to 2 days.

Baked Crab Cakes Recipe