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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The poster is right use just enough filler to hold together And This May be a good or even a great recipe, but Is not a true Maryland recipe, Marylanders do not waste the extraordinary natural flavor of crab cakes with sauces, tarter of anything else, nor do they put celery, pinko bread crumbs, or Dijon mustard in their them
I’ve been craving crab cakes ever since returning from my vacation at the Maryland shore. This recipe was just perfect! I left out the salt, though. The salt in the Old Bay was enough for me. I had no idea they were so easy to make. Thank you!
Excellent
I made these crab cakes for my Sister-in-law last Christmas (it was requested). I followed the recipe except for the Dijon mustard, which I don’t like, so I don’t keep it on hand. They turned out GREAT! They held together very well, the refrigeration step helps with that. They tasted excellent! I got rave reviews, thanks for such an easy recipe.
The best crab cake recipe I’ve made! It’s now my go to recipe.
Utterly delicious and just about perfect! However there’s a slight variation I’ll offer here for anyone who might be interested, that more closely follows the famously magnificent local house made tradition for crab cakes down here on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore. Our Somerset County is the home of Crisfield the “Crab Capital of the World.” Anyway…Just substitute original flavor Ritz crackers finely ground to dust, ideally using a mortar and pestle, for the yummy and trendy Panko breading (which is also excellent). The particles of Ritz dust are too small for any identifiable texture of filler, so they do nothing but hold the cake together, almost as if using self-rising flour. Also, if one has eaten a lifetime of local crab cakes here on the Shore, the subtle Ritz flavor imparts that last little bit of “Downey Ocean, hon” authenticity. I need to note that Ritz is not “better” than Panko but rather merely different, with each wonderful in their own way. It might even be that with enough experimentation the difference comes down to how well each variety goes with whatever else will fill the plates for a particular meal. I’ll be using this Panko recipe again and again because it’s the ONLY one I’ve found online that comes up to the default or baseline recipe I’ve used for years, from an ancient cookbook by the legendary Mrs. Kitching of Smith Island on Tangier Sound. Thank you Jenn Segal!
I am making these to enjoy for dinner and to freeze for another time, how would you suggest heating these from a frozen state?
Hi Kristen, I haven’t frozen these, so I can’t say for sure, but I’d suggest reheating them in a 350°F oven for about 15 min. Enjoy!
Despite committing many recipe crimes: (1) didn’t have celery (2) didn’t have Old Bay (3) substituted Greek yogurt for mayo (4) used imitation crab…
These were STILL amazing! I can’t imagine how good they must taste with all the right ingredients.
Thank you so much!
Hi there,
I will be making these as an appetizer. If my dinner guests arrive at 7pm, how early can I pan fry these?
Thanks!
Zed
Hi Zed, I’d say 30 minutes before and keep warm in a low oven. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hello Jenn,
I follow your recipe except for not adding the celery, but my crab cakes turns out really salty. Do you know why and how to fix it? I still have 6 uncooked crab cakes. Thank you for your help.
Hi Kelly, Sorry to hear these are too salty for you! I think the best way for you to salvage them is to recombine the remaining crab cakes in a bowl and add more of all the other ingredients with the exception of the salt and Old Bay seasoning. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn. I did like what you told me and it came out pretty good. Thank you so much for your help. I was o happy to see you replied.