Maryland Crab Cakes
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Made with minimal filler and maximum crab, this Maryland crab cake recipe is all about keeping things simple—and seriously delicious. Perfect for dinner parties, casual summer meals, or anytime you’re craving a little coastal flavor.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
When you live in Maryland, eating Chesapeake blue crabs and crab cakes is practically a religion—and, in my family, we are all loyal devotees. Every summer, we hit all of our favorite crab shacks, from local joints all the way to the Eastern shore, where you can look out over the bay and put your feet in the sand. I’d never attempt making steamed blue crabs at home. Live crabs, giant steamers—yikes! But I do often make this crab cake recipe, which is just as delicious and much easier to prepare (not to mention eat).
I love crab cakes with homemade tartar sauce, but you can also serve them simply with lemon wedges or even cocktail sauce. Don’t forget the peel-and-eat shrimp, hush puppies, and cornbread on the side.
“This is the best crab cake recipe I’ve ever tried! Absolutely delicious and loaded with all crab, hardly any fillers.”
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 and serves as the creamy base of the tartar sauce. Use a good-quality brand like Hellmann’s or Duke’s for the best flavor.
- Flavorings: A mix of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and fresh parsley gives the crab cakes classic Maryland flavor with a touch of tang, savoriness, and freshness. (The mustard also adds a little zip to the tartar sauce.)
- Celery (optional): Adds a bit of crunch to the crab mixture—nontraditional but a nice touch. Skip it if you’re a purist.
- Lump Crab Meat: The star of the recipe. Fresh, high-quality lump crab meat is best—look for it in the seafood section in clear plastic containers resting on ice. If that’s not available, go for refrigerated crab meat like Phillips. Avoid canned shelf-stable varieties.
- Panko: Light, flaky Japanese breadcrumbs that help the crab cakes hold together without weighing them down.
- Vegetable Oil: Used for pan-frying the crab cakes until golden and crisp.
- Tartar Sauce Add-ins: Sweet pickle relish, red onion, lemon juice, and black pepper give the sauce classic flavor with the right balance of sweetness, acidity, and bite. Adjust to taste.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the base. To start, whisk together the eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl until well combined.
Step 2: Mix in the crab and panko. Add the crab meat (double-checking for any bits of shell or cartilage) and the panko. Gently fold the mixture together until just combined. Be careful not to break up the delicate crab meat too much—the lumps are the best part!
Step 3: Shape and chill. Form the mixture into 6 cakes, using about ½ cup for each. Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet, cover, 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.
Step 4: Cook the crab cakes. Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add a thin layer of oil. Once hot, add the crab cakes and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on the first side, until golden brown.
Carefully flip the crab cakes and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until both sides are golden and the centers are hot. Watch out for oil splatter!
Step 5: Make the tartar sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, sweet relish, onion, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Whisk until smooth, then cover and chill until ready to serve.
Step 6: Serve. Serve the crab cakes on a platter with the tartar sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Crab cake Recipe Video Tutorital
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Maryland Crab Cakes
Ingredients
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.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The crab cakes can be formed, covered, and refrigerated a day ahead of time before cooking. The tartar sauce can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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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Let me start this review with cooking is my passion. Other than my children and traveling nothing makes me happier than to cook a great meal for family and friends. I’m known for my cooking and usually don’t fail at it…except… I have never had good luck with crab cakes. They either fall apart, are too salty, fishy or too much filling. I just never could get it right and it would upset me because they are not inexpensive to make. Well thanks to this recipe I now have had success. I made these for company accompanied with shrimp scampi, medallions of beef tenderloin with a cab reduction, scorched green beans and a caprese salad. My company was thrilled and I was extremely pleased with how it all came out. I didn’t change a thing. I made the cakes early in the day and cooking was a breeze. I used Chicken of the Sea lump crab meat. I have to say I was a bit nervous about using canned crabmeat but at $18 a 1lb can the fish market told me it would be fine so I chanced it. Glad I did. Six meaty, flavorful, solid cakes. Thank you so much for this great and very easy recipe. It will now be passed down through the generations in my family.
A friend came by my apartment with 2 zip lock baggies full of Alaskan King crab. Here brother, this is for you. There were crab legs the size of a hammer handle in there, full of crab meat! I am really not a big crab eater and was wondering what to do with it. Jenn’s crab cakes looked like a great solution, and it was! Never made these before so I followed the recipe very closely, even chilled them in the fridge for an hour before frying. I haven’t eaten much crab in my life, but this is the best way I have ever eaten it. I tried the tartar sauce but much prefered them with just fresh lemon juice squeeze on top. Really good!
Delicious! I have never eaten crab cakes in Maryland, so I have no opinion about “authentic”. All I know is that these are wonderful. I also made the green beans with shallots (divine) and the cornbread muffins (outstanding). Another wonderful meal from the best food blog ever.
Hi Jenn, Can’t wait to try these – am sure they are delicious like all your other recipes! One question – what brand of relish for the tartar sauce do you suggest? I find it so helpful when you add these suggestions as it really makes a huge difference. Am sure they are not all the same. Thanks for the great eats!!
Hi Janet, when it comes to relish, are they are essentially the same so you really can’t go wrong. I think I’ve just used the store-brand relish for the tartar sauce. Hope that helps!
i was craving Devon’s crab cakes and this recipe was very awesome..
These were prenominal! First recipe ever that kept the cakes together – despite not having time to chill them. Thank you so much!!
Hi
Can I use the less expensive backfin crabmeat for this recipe.
Jackie, you can but they definitely won’t be as good! (I know the lump crabmeat is definitely a splurge.)
Best I have ever had. Five stars without a doubt, I am always at Jersey shore and Maryland and love crab cakes, this receipe outshines them all. Thanks so much and very easy to
Make
How significant is the celery in this recipe? I just left the grocery store and forgot the celery! I prefer not to go back, if I don’t have to. 😉
Hi Christine, It just adds a little crunch — definitely not worth going back to the store 🙂
Can these be frozen prior or after cooking?
Hi Joann, Generally I don’t love the way crab freezes, but several readers have commented they have frozen them with success, so you could certainly give it a try! (Some readers have frozen them before cooking and some after.)