My Jersey Shore Famous Crab Cakes Recipe is made with very little filler and lightly seasoned with old bay, cooked to a golden brown. Every bite is packed with crab meat, and the best part is these delicious crab cakes can be on your dinner table in about 30 minutes.
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Whether you serve them at your next date night or dinner party these crab cakes are guaranteed to be the hit of the night!
Ingredients to make Crab Cakes
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need for my crabcakes. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How to Make the Best Crab Cakes
- Mix all the ingredients for the crabcakes together, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab meat.
- Mix the ingredients for the imperial sauce together in another bowl
Some recipes call for a little Dijon mustard in the imperial sauce, feel free to add a teaspoon to the recipe, I sometimes do.
- Add the imperial sauce to the mixture.
If you like this recipe, you will absolutely love my Crab Imperial Recipe.
- Gently mix the ingredients together, being careful not to break up the big lumps too much.
Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to give the bread crumbs time to absorb the liquids.
- Shape the mixture into portions (feel free to make them as big or small as you like)
- Dust the crabcakes with a light coating of breadcrumbs. You can use seasoned breadcrumbs, unseasoned bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, or cracker crumbs for this crab cake recipe.
*You can even skip the breadcrumbs if you’re cutting back on carbs and simply broil the crab cakes.
- Add the crabcakes to a hot pan with a little cooking oil to saute the crab cakes.
- Gently turn them over and saute the other side.
- Place the finished crab cakes on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 -25 minutes or until an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees is reached.
If they do break apart, you can squeeze them back together gently to reform them. This recipe can also be used for crabcake sliders.
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Using a digital instant-read thermometer will help you cook the perfect crab cakes and check the temperatures of everything you cook.
Do I have to put onions and peppers in my crab cakes?
No, you don’t. True Maryland-style crab cakes would not contain either. I like added flavor that the onions give, but in all honesty, the peppers and fresh parsley are just for color.
What type of crab meat can I use to make crab cakes?
Be aware of what part of the world the crab meat is coming from, crabs from the east coast of the US and Gulf of Mexico produce the best crab meat. Crabs from other parts of the world have a different flavor and may come from questionable waters.
The source of crab meat can be from any part of the world that has crabs and includes varieties such as Blue Swimming, Dungeness, Snow, King, and of course, my favorite, Blue Claw (blue swimming is not the same as blue claw).
- Jumbo lump
- Lump
- Backfin
- Claw
- Imitation crab meat
How do I make Old Bay Seasoning?
If you can’t find Old Bay at your local grocery store, it’s easy enough to make at home.
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 2 teaspoons ground bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 pinch ginger
If you’d rather not make the seasoning, you can always use the recipe as a guideline and use seasonings that you enjoy eating with seafood.
Do I have to fry the crab cakes?
No, you don’t. They bake up nicely with or without the final bread crumb coating and will cook nicely in an Air-Fryer.
Then it’s just a matter of serving them up with your favorite side dish and enjoying a restaurant-style dinner that would have cost you a lot more if you had gone to eat. Serve with lemon wedges, tartar sauce, or hot sauce, and enjoy the Best Crab Cakes you’ll ever make at home!
Quick tarter sauce recipe
You can whip together a delicious homemade tartar sauce in a matter of minutes. Simply blend 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish, 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. If you’re feeling fancy, add 1 teaspoon of chopped capers and any of your favorite herbs. With these additions, you’ve made a basic remoulade.
Recipe FAQ’s
You can either bake or fry these crabcakes. My personal preference is to saute them because I can cook them long enough to get a good color and freeze them for later dinners when I don’t feel like cooking. But if you’re trying to save calories, baking them is a good option.
Refrigerating the crabcakes before cooking is the secret to keeping them from falling apart while they’re cooking. Make sure to cover the uncooked crabcakes with plastic wrap and chill them for one to three hours before cooking.
Too much filler will result in mush crabcakes. You should only use just enough bread crumbs to help hold the crab cakes together.
Crab cake filler is generally bread crumbs but can also be made with saltine cracker crumbs and unsalted cracker crumbs.
More Crabmeat Recipes You’ll Love!
Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes
Ingredients
Imperial Sauce
- ½ cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 1 squeeze fresh lemon juice
Crab cakes
- 1 lb crab meat jumbo lump, lump or claw, wild caught
- 1 tablespoon onions finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon roasted red peppers or fresh red peppers finely chopped finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Italian parsley finely chopped
- ¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs or plain bread crumbs
Instructions
Imperial Sauce
- In small bowl add the mayonnaise, and egg and mix together well. Then add the sugar, Old Bay, Worcestershire and lemon juice, mix well.
Crab cakes
- Mix crab meat, chopped parsley, onion, and peppers together. Gently mix them do not break up lump crab meat.
- Add the imperial sauce to the crab meat and mix together gently, add the bread crumbs and work them into the mixture.
- Allow this mixture to sit for about 10 minutes, the bread crumbs will soak up any extra liquid so you can easily form the crab cakes
- Divide the crab meat mixture into 8 small or 4 large crabcake
- If you are frying the crab cakes, lightly coat the crab cake in panko bread crumbs, and sauté in olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Place in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.If you'd prefer you can also bake them in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes. With or without the panko bread crumb exterior.
Jon says
Loved this recipe. I love crab cakes but they are hard to find a “real” one. Thank you for sharing they are chef’s kiss delicious. Can these be frozen if I’d make a large batch?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Absolutely! I always make up a batch and keep them in the freezer for dinners and crab cake sandwiches!
Jon says
So is it better to cook then freeze or freeze raw?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Since the crabmeat is already cooked, I brown them on both sides, then freeze them solid on a tray, and once frozen, store them in ziplock bags. I wouldn’t fully cook them, because then they’ll be dry with the reheat.
Jason says
Fast, easy, and spectacular. Highly recommend. Used the Costco lump fresh wild crab. The cakes were top notch (made 4 large) and used red onion but no peppers. Paired with Brussels sprouts and Chardonnay but would be interested in adding a sauce. What would be the ideal sauce to use on these and roasted vegetables?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Depending on your taste preference either my cocktail sauce or tarter sauce would go with the crabcakes. As for the brussels sprouts, you can toss them with a balsamic glaze (most grocery stores sell it) and add a bacon and leeks to the pan to roast with them. As for a sauce for the sprouts, I think the only sauce I would add is a cheese sauce, but I think if you use the glaze you won’t need it.
Meg says
Made it tonight! it was ore than enough fir 6 nice size cakes. I lived the red peppers and onions. I baked to 20 minutes without sauting, but next time I’ll try sauting. thanks for sharing the recipe Chef Dennis!!!
Chef Dennis Littley says
You are very welcome, and I’m glad you enjoyed my crab cake recipe.
Matt says
Fantastic recipe. I was a cook for a long time, I make many things well at home (often better than going to a restaurant). I’ve always struggled to make good crab cakes at home. This recipe is the one.
Chef Dennis Littley says
That’s what I like to hear! Thanks for letting me know you both enjoyed my crab cake recipe, it was always a big hit in my restaurant days.
Heidi Culver says
These were amazingly tasty! I replaced the panko with fried pork skin, green onion for onion, no red pepper, and dried parsley. I then poured the whole bowl into a square baking pan and baked it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Amazing! Scooped bits off with more chicharrones! Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed my recipe. Pork skin sounds like an interesting addition and making it more like a dip is a delicious way to serve it, especially with chicharron dippers.
Judith says
These are not “Maryland style”! We would never put onions and peppers in crabcakes– it buries the taste of the crab!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Too bad you didn’t read the post. I don’t call them Maryland crabcakes, they are Jersey Shore crabcakes. I also make mention that for Maryland crabcakes you don’t add onions peppers.
Cathy says
Just made these tonight and they were excellent. I did substitute crushed saltines for the panko since I didn’t have panko.
This will be my go to recipe from now on and I will definitely share with friend and family. Thank you.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the crabcakes. Crushed saltines or ritz crackers are a nice change of pace from the panko bread crumbs.
John Rhoe says
I have searched for a good crab cake recipe for years and now I have it!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my crab cake recipe, it was always a big hit during my restaurant years.
Celia says
Can these be prepared a day ahead of time, but adding the breadcrumbs just before baking so that they remain crisp? My concern is the mixture will become soggy, but I really would like to make the most of my time since I have a large crowd coming over.
Chef Dennis Littley says
These are pan fried, and can be browned, cooled and refrigerated the day before. Reheat in the oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees when ready to serve. Use a instant read thermometer to make sure they are at least 165 degrees before serving.