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.
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.
Jang Aaron says
it turns out so so good I love the taste of it my husband approve it so yeah 10/10⭐️
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my crabcake recipe!
TB says
Loved the crab cakes. They’re best using the recipe as listed. The onions and red peppers make the cakes as does the dressing. I used it inside as directed and out. I found a great deal on Phillips lump crab meat at Costco and bought 2 lbs so I’ll have enough for more. Used Panko breadcrumbs inside and lightly outside.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the crabcakes, they were always a big hit at the restaurants I worked at.
Jean says
There is no sugar in recipe.
Chef Dennis Littley says
It’s optional. I always include a little in the imperial sauce. In my restaurant days, I sold about 1000 of them a week.
Kim Armstrong says
Outstanding!
Z says
I feel like you should have the ingredient list at the top of your page. You literally have a break down of old bay before you show the actual ingredients for the dish. Looks good
Nancy says
Z, just click where it says “jump to the recipe” and you don’t have to look at anything else. I personally prefer to see it the way he had it. No reason to criticize.
Hope says
I just have to say I love that you put different variations and ways to make. Every question that I had such as can I do with out peppers and old bay was answered. I have to be careful of what foods I intake due to sensitive stomach issues and this article was just perfect. Even though I love those ingredients my belly doesn’t. Can’t wait to try! Well done!
Jamie says
The imperial sauce is so delicious with all the flavorings and spices! It goes perfectly with the crab cakes which are a favorite of ours!
Debbie says
I love crab cakes and never really knew how to make them until now. That imperial sauce sounds like a perfect compliment and will make these restaurant quality.
Erin says
Thanks for including a recipe for Old Bay! I live in Germany now and have been missing that. And these crab cakes came out looking amazing! It’s time I give them a try.
Amy Liu Dong says
Hands up to this recipe. It’s delicious and looks so easy to prepare. Perfect dish for this weekend. Yum!
Aleta says
We catch a lot of crab over the summer, well, as soon as the ocean isn’t too treacherous for my husband and our row boat lol… Usually we just crack the crab and dunk it in butter, but these look so incredibly delicious, I’m going to make my family some with the first catch of the year!
Maria says
Seems like a very easy and simple recipe! Great job at photographing it as well.
veenaazmanov says
This awesome recipe is definitely a treat to my family. Total love and dedication for my loved ones. They to relish every bit of it. yum.
Shelley says
Oh thank you for this! I have always felt like crab cakes were such a wonderful indulgence, but to be honest, I often skip them on restaurant menus, since many restaurants these days have way more bread crumbs than actual crab in the crab cakes (so disappointing)! What a treat to be able to make really great ones at home!
Anosa Malanga says
This is very new to me and I am not actually sure if I can really do this. I need to ask assistance with my sister. I will try and see if it would be a good try. Thank you for sharing your recipes! So many to try out.
Swathi says
I don’t like immitation crab meat. sure I will look for the one you suggested. This looks delicious.