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I had Maryland crab cakes one time and I never got over them.
Here in Houston, we live near the gulf, so we’re also lucky to have our share of great seafood, but there’s not a single crab cake better than the ones from Maryland.
So, when my friend T’ara, who is a Baltimore native, made a video about her recipe for crab cakes, the case was closed.
I was going to make those crab cakes.
I ran into some obstacles (like having to make my own Old Bay Seasoning because the store ran out??)
But let me tell you folks, the obstacles were worth it for what came out of the oven.
Why are Maryland Crabcakes so good?
They’re simple. They contain a few fresh ingredients, that when cooked at a high temp and melted into each other are pretty dang amazing.
They’re also much easier than you think to make.
Some chopped parsley, Old Bay Seasoning and a few other things sprinkled in will have you amazed with yourself.
Oh, and the remoulade? Whewww baby. Some homemade mayo, old bay, hot sauce and lemon?
Thank me later.
What ingredients do you need to make crab cakes?
There were a few ingredients for this recipe that I needed. All were relatively easy to find.
- 16 oz lump crab meat (yes, all jumbo lump crab).
- An egg for binding
- Crushed crackers (you could either go for herb crackers, or just regular Ritz).
- Parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
- Hot Sauce (Louisana Hot Sauce for this)
- Old Bay Seasoning
- Crushed red pepper
- Lemon (for drizzling)
- Worcestershire
Why is jumbo lump crab meat best for crabcakes?
Jumbo lump crab meat is more expensive, but if you want those big pieces of crab in every bite, it’s the way to go.
You can go half and half with claw meat if you want to make them less expensive. They’ll taste just as wonderful and still have those hearty chunks of crab.
Do I have to use breadcrumbs?
Breadcrumbs are a part of the binder. I know that that means extra carbs. You can skip them if you want to avoid extra carbohydrates, but your crab cakes might not stay together.
You also may miss that little bit of crunch that you get from the crackers.
Can I make crab cakes keto or low carb?
Yes! Instead of using crackers to bind them and help them stick together, you can use 1/4 cup of almond flour in place of the crackers.
It will impart a nutty flavor, which is delicious and complements the crab very well!
I hope you enjoy the recipe. I made mine into ball shape, but you can flatten yours out. I just really liked the way they looked with my shape.
To cook these, you just need a screaming hot oven and a baking sheet. The rest will work together to make something magical for you.
Get T’ara’s original recipe for these here! Check out my adapted version below.
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Maryland Crab Cakes Recipe (no filler)
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 crab cakes 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
Authentic Maryland style crab cakes with just a few ingredients.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces of jumbo lump crab meat
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup of finely crushed crackers (I used Ritz) (sub almond flour for keto/low carb alternative)
- 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
- 1 tbs of Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
- 1/4 tsp of kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of old bay seasoning
- 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the egg, mustard, hot sauce, Worcestershire and mayo.
- Fold crabmeat into the mixture.
- Add the old bay, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, parsley and crackers and fold them into the crab meat.
- Scoop the crab cakes into 1/4 cup crab cakes and place onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. This is enough for six crab generous-sized cakes.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the mixture can set. You can also make this the night before and cook the crab cakes the next day.
- Place in the oven and broil on low for 10 minutes and then 6 minutes on high until lightly browned.
- Spritz lemon on top and serve with remoulade.
Notes
- You will broil these. Make sure to set your oven to low broil first once you’re ready to cook.
- I didn’t measure the remoulade, but it’s a couple tablespoons of mayo, a squeeze of lemon, a dash of old bay, and a dash of hot sauce. Add things in and taste to your heart’s content.
- Check out the original recipe here!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Broil
- Cuisine: Seafood
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 crab cakes
- Calories: 276
- Sugar: 1.3 g
- Sodium: 1285.3 mg
- Fat: 15.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 23.5 g
- Cholesterol: 99.9 mg
14 Responses
This recipe was perfect. Thank you for sharing. My homegirl swears she’s a crabcake connoisseur. I made them for her and she loved them so I will definitely use this recipe again.
In Maryland crab cakes, I have tried ghee instead of mayonaise. I am a keto follower and I want to make the recipe high fat dish by including ghee here. You may try the recipe with organic ghee for ghee high smoke point safety and excellent flavor.
I was so happy with the results of my adventure. I did not have mayonnaise so I used yogurt. I did not have parsley but I had cilantro. The end result was great! Thanks for the inspiration.
I love your swaps! Thanks so much for trying it, and being inventive with you swaps. I also really appreciate you sharing your swaps here. It always helps others learn!
What is the oven temp supposed to be?
You will broil them per the instructions. You’ll turn your oven to broil for the high function first and turn it down to low to cook them the rest of the way. Hope this helps!
I took your tip to use herb crackers and the result is…wow. Will be making these again!
I am from Maryland, the home of the best crab cakes, and I can say that these crab cakes here are incredible! The flavor, texture, and filling are absolutely perfect! I will definitely be making this recipe again!
Girl!! These crab cakes took me back to my days living in Baltimore! They held together perfectly and were flavored just right.
I’m a sucker for a good ol’ crab cake. When I looked for a recipe, I stumbled across yours. It did not disappoint! This is my go-to recipe from now on!
These are my kind of crab cakes – just the fresh flavor of fresh crab meat. Filler what? No way! Thanks for such a delicious recipes for this seafood lover
I made these on Friday and my husband is still talking about them today! The breadcrumbs were def not optional!
This was my first time making crab cakes and they were amazing! Thanks for this recipe.
These were so great, and the best part was making my own old bay seasoning ahah!! Thanks for that recommendation! We’ll make these again soon!