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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)
When you live in Maryland, eating Chesapeake blue crabs and crab cakes is practically a religion—and in my family, we’re all loyal devotees. We even have a running rule: never order crab cakes outside of Maryland. It’s partly a joke, but it comes from growing up on the real deal, where sweet lump crabmeat is the star and filler is kept to a bare minimum. That’s exactly how I make these Maryland crab cakes at home, with just enough binder to hold them together and let the crab shine.
“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. 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bake or broil these crab cakes? You can, but I don’t recommend it. Pan-frying gives these crab cakes the crisp, golden crust and rich flavor that make them truly special. Baking or broiling will cook them through, but the texture won’t be nearly as delicious. If you’ve gone to the trouble of buying good crab meat, I think it’s worth spending a few extra minutes pan-frying the cakes.
Why are my crab cakes falling apart? Crab cakes usually fall apart if they aren’t chilled before cooking, are flipped too soon, or don’t have enough binder to hold them together. Be sure to refrigerate the shaped crab cakes for at least an hour before cooking, and wait until the first side is nicely browned before flipping. A thin fish spatula makes turning them much easier.
Crab cake Recipe Video Tutorital
Crab Cake Recipe (Maryland Style)
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.
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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I’m from So. Maryland, St. Mary’s County! Crab country. Catch our crabs off our BOMB! Mmmmmm! Can’t wait to try it with our crabmeat.
I wonder how this would taste with “Comeback Sauce”? Yum!
I think it’d be good, Stacey!
Could you bake these to save on calories from the oil? If so, do you recommend a temp and time?
Hi Cindy, I like to pan fry crab cakes for additional flavor, but you can bake them in a 350 degree oven on a lightly greased baking sheet for about twenty minutes, or until hot. I’d slide them under the broiler at the last minute to get them golden brown on top. Hope that helps!
This recipe is awesome! Better than just about any I’ve had at restaurants and as good as the Maryland Crab Cakes I ate years ago at the restaurant located in the Watergate hotel in D.C. – and those crab cakes were GOOD!!! Thanks!!
Can not wait to try this recipe….Thanks….Patsy Dennis
This looks like a real Maryland recipe, except for the celery, no Marylander would ever put celery in a crab cake. I would also suggest making only four cakes, these are so good you will want a larger crab cake.
Delicious! This is my new favorite crab cake recipe, for sure.
I just made these for Father’s Day Dinner & they were GREAT! My husband immediately loved them as soon as they hit his taste buds. He’s from DE and loves fresh seafood. These were right up his alley. I paired this with roasted organic red potatoes, corn on the cob & your corn bread recipe. Thanks so much for the recipe…P.S. I’ve been sharing all the recipes on facebook & telling everyone about this wonderful site. Looking forward to making more recipes.
I made these the other night and they were delicious! Note for the other gluten-free poster — I could not find GF panko either, so I used regular GF breadcrumbs (Glutino brand). The crabcakes were still fantastic! The tartar sauce is delicious also. However, the quantity of tartar sauce suggested by the recipe is a bit too much — I will halve it next time.
mazon). My dad, who grew up in Delaware, would happily live off crab cakes if he could afford it