Maryland Crab Cake Recipe

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If you’re looking for an authentic Maryland crab cake recipe, this is the one to make. Crisp and golden on the outside and packed with sweet lump crabmeat inside, these crab cakes taste just like the ones you’d get on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)

What You’ll Need To Make Maryland Crab Cakes

• Eggs: Help bind the crab cakes so they hold together when cooked.
• Mayonnaise: Adds moisture and richness to the crab cakes. Use a good-quality brand like Hellmann’s or Duke’s for the best flavor.
• Flavorings: These classic Maryland seasonings enhance the sweet crab without overpowering it.
• Celery (optional): Adds a bit of crunch to the crab mixture—nontraditional but a nice touch. Skip it if you’re a purist.
• Fresh Lump Crab Meat: Look for it fresh in the seafood department, not canned—see “Buying Crabmeat” below for what to look for.
• Panko breadcrumbs: Just enough to help bind the mixture while keeping the crab cakes light. Unlike traditional breadcrumbs, panko creates a delicate texture without weighing the crab cakes down.
• Vegetable oil: For pan-frying the crab cakes until crisp and golden brown.
• Quick Tartar Sauce: A quick mix of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, red onion, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements

Buying Crabmeat

The quality of the crabmeat makes all the difference in this recipe. Look for fresh, refrigerated crabmeat sold in plastic containers in the seafood department, or ask at the seafood counter. If fresh isn’t available, pasteurized refrigerated crabmeat, such as Phillips, is a good alternative. Avoid shelf-stable canned crabmeat.

Choose lump crabmeat rather than jumbo lump. Jumbo lump is more expensive and best saved for dishes where the large pieces can shine on their own. In crab cakes, those oversized chunks can actually make the mixture harder to hold together. Backfin crabmeat is a good substitute, but avoid claw meat, which has a stronger flavor and finer texture that won’t give you the same classic Maryland-style crab cake.

Before mixing, gently pick through the crabmeat to remove any bits of shell or cartilage, taking care not to break up the lumps.

How To Make Maryland Crab Cakes

Make the binder: Whisk together the eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl. Make sure everything is evenly mixed; once the crab goes in, you’ll want to handle it as gently as possible to keep the lumps intact.

Fold in the crab and panko: Add the crab meat and the panko. Gently fold the mixture together until just combined. Be careful not to overmix—the goal is to keep the crab in generous pieces rather than shredding it into small flakes.

Shape and chill: Form the mixture into six cakes, then place them on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour to help them firm up. Don’t skip this step—it makes a big difference in helping the crab cakes hold their shape when cooking.

Cook the crab cakes: Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat with a thin layer of oil. Once hot, add the crab cakes and cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping carefully with a thin spatula. They’ll pop and sizzle, so watch for splatters.

Make the tartar sauce and serve: While the crab cakes cook, whisk together the quick tartar sauce and chill until ready to serve. Plate the crab cakes with the sauce on the side and enjoy!

Make-Ahead, Storage & Freezing

Make-Ahead: You can shape the crab cakes up to 24 hours in advance. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to cook. The tartar sauce can also be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Storage: Leftover cooked crab cakes will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Freezing: Freeze the uncooked crab cakes for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking as directed.

Reheating: To help preserve their crisp exterior, reheat cooked crab cakes in a 350°F oven until warmed through.

What to Serve with Crab cakes

I love serving these crab cakes with homemade tartar sauce and a few lemon wedges, but cocktail sauce is delicious too. For a classic seafood spread, add peel-and-eat shrimp, hush puppies, coleslaw, or cornbread. If you’re keeping things simple, a green salad or some roasted vegetables make lovely sides.

Print

Crab Cake Recipe (Maryland Style)

4.84 (596 reviews)

By Jennifer Segal

A classic Maryland crab cake recipe with fresh lump crab meat, minimal filler, and the perfect balance of seasonings.

Servings: 6 large crab cakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes, plus at least 1 hour to let the crab cakes set

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

For the Crab Cakes

• 2 large eggs
• 2½ tablespoons mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s
• 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup finely diced celery, from one stalk
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 lb lump crab meat (see note below)
• ½ cup panko
• Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking

For the Quick Tartar Sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s
• 1½ tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon minced red onion
• 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste, from 1 lemon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

For the Crab Cakes

• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
• Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well.
• Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat.
• Shape into 6 cakes (each about ½ cup) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This helps them set.
• Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and coat with oil. When the oil is hot, place the crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Be careful as oil may splatter. Serve the crab cakes warm with the tartar sauce.

For the Quick Tartar Sauce

• In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, onion, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Notes

• If you can only find jumbo lump crab meat, you may need to break the pieces up a bit. If the clumps are too large, the crab cakes won’t hold together well.
• The nutritional information does not include the tartar sauce.

Pair with

• 

  French Green Beans
• 

  Cornbread Muffins

Nutrition Information

Per serving (3 servings) Calories: 299kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 32gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 275mgSodium: 1141mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1g

Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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