These flavorful baked crab cakes are guaranteed to have a crispy, golden crust even without the frying! Serve with a creamy, lemony, and spicy remoulade sauce for the perfect pairing!
The Secret to Crispy Baked Crab Cakes
The best thing about a crab cake is of course the massive amounts of crab you get to stuff in your face. Obviously. But the next best thing is the crispy crust that goes along with it. The crust on these baked crab cakes are so crunchy that you won’t even miss the frying! What’s the secret? Pre-toasting the bread crumbs so they get crispy and golden brown.
I used two types of bread crumbs in this recipe – panko and regular bread crumbs. The regular bread crumbs ensure an even, consistent coating since they have a finer grain. On the other hand, the panko adds extra texture and crunch with their larger flakes. You certainly don’t have to use both as the crust will still be crunchy with whatever bread crumbs you use so use whatever you have on hand.
See how golden brown and crunchy the pre-toasted bread crumbs look below? This helps prevent any sogginess once it’s added to the crab mixture, and you won’t have to worry about uneven browning in the oven since they’re already toasted!
Start off by sauteing the veggies so they don’t release any moisture during the bake. Next add all the ingredients for the crab cake into a bowl and toss gently so you don’t break up the crab meat too much.
Next, divide them into 7 – 8 sections and then roll them tightly into patties. Then set them aside for the breading.
The breadcrumbs should completely cover the crab cakes and create a nice, even coating. That way you get a bit of crunch in every bite. Once that’s done, pop them in the oven just until the coating sets. Since there’s no egg in the crab cake mixture, these babies are ready as soon as the crust get crunchy.
Serve them with this delicious creamy, lemony remoulade crab cake sauce!
Try this remoulade crab cake sauce!
I hope you enjoy these baked crab cakes with remoulade sauce! Please share, rate, and comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
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Baked Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce
Ingredients
Crab Cake Mixture:
- 1 lb lump crab meat well drained of any soaking liquid
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- 3 Tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
- 2 Serrano peppers finely chopped skip if you don't like spicy
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¼ cup mayo
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
Crab Cake breading ingredients:
- ¾ cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup Remoulade Crab Cake Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add a tablespoon of oil and the breadcrumbs. Stir occasionally until the breadcrumbs are an even golden brown and then set aside. Watch it carefully as it can burn easily.
- Make sure your lump crab meat is well drained of any liquid if it came stored in a brine. This will ensure your crab cakes don't get soggy.
- Saute the onion, red bell pepper, and serrano pepper until soft, about 3 minutes. Add this into a large bowl along with the crab, parsley, lemon zest, garlic powder, mayo, dijon, cayenne, and smoked paprika. Gently fold the mixture together so as not to break up the crab meat too much. Taste to see if it needs salt & pepper. Crab meat is stored in a brine so it will already have added salt.
- Divide the crab mixture into 7 - 8 sections. Roll them tightly into patties and slightly press down on them to create disk shapes.
Bread the Crab Cakes
- Crack two eggs into a bowl and give it a good mix. Next add the flour and breadcrumbs each on a separate plate.
- First coat the crab cakes in flour, then dip it into the eggs. Finally coat them with the toasted breadcrumbs. Make sure the breadcrumbs completely cover the crab cake and press it in tightly. Repeat this for all your crab cakes.
- Bake your crab cakes for about 15 minutes until the crust sets and feels crispy. Serve with this remoulade crab cake sauce.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Halle
Any time I can avoid deep frying, I will! (I hate the mess!) So, these baked crab cakes really appealed to me. I love how light they are in texture and crisp on the outside! Really tasty, and work so well with the delicious sauce.
Jamie
Thanks Halle! So glad you enjoyed these baked crab cakes!
Ronica
Can I also fry these after preparing them this way?
Jamie
Hi Ronica! I haven’t tried frying these before so can’t say. But if you’d like to fry them, I’d recommend making sure the crab cakes are packed tightly, hold their shape well, and be gentle during the frying since they can fall apart if you’re not careful.
Kristian
This came out so good! It stayed together in the oven and the breadcrumbs added a nice touch. Remoulade sauce is delicious!