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Seafood · American

Crab Cakes

Lump crab cakes with minimal filler, pan-seared or baked to a golden crust.

Serves
4
Prep
20 min
Cook
20 min
Storage
Bake from frozen
Freezer
up to 2 months (freeze raw formed)

Crab-forward cakes with just enough binder to hold them together. Form and freeze raw, then cook from frozen — crab is already cooked, so gentle handling keeps the lumps intact.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb lump crab meat
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp Old Bay or Cajun blend
  • ½ cup panko, plus more to coat
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 lemon (juice)

Instructions

  1. Gently fold all the ingredients together, being careful not to break up the crab lumps.
  2. Form into 8 cakes and chill 20 minutes to firm up. Coat lightly in extra panko.
  3. Pan-sear in a little oil 3–4 minutes per side, or bake at 400°F for 18–20 minutes, until golden and heated through.

Make-Ahead & Storage

Form the raw cakes and freeze on a tray, then bag, up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 400°F for ~25 minutes. Because crab is pre-cooked, you're really just heating and crisping.

Notes

Serve with lemon and a quick remoulade. Keep the filler minimal — the crab should be the star.

Equipment
skillet or sheet panoven
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