Maryland Crab Cake Recipe
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If you’re looking for an authentic Maryland crab cake recipe, this is the one to make. Packed with sweet lump crab meat and just enough filler to let the crab shine, these crab cakes are crisp and golden on the outside, tender inside, and full of classic Maryland flavor.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
When you live in Maryland, eating Chesapeake blue crabs and crab cakes is practically a religion—and, in my family, we are all loyal devotees. Every summer, we hit all of our favorite crab shacks, from local joints all the way to the Eastern shore, where you can look out over the bay and put your feet in the sand. While steamed blue crabs are always a treat, these Maryland crab cakes are every bit as delicious and much easier to prepare.
This is the crab cake recipe I make most often at home. I keep the filler to a minimum—there’s just enough binder to hold the cakes together, so the fresh crab meat is what you actually taste.
I love these crab cakes with homemade tartar sauce, but you can also serve them with lemon wedges or even cocktail sauce. Don’t forget the peel-and-eat shrimp, hush puppies, coleslaw, and cornbread on the side.
“This is the best crab cake recipe I’ve ever tried! Absolutely delicious and loaded with all crab, hardly any fillers.”
What You’ll Need To Make Maryland Crab Cakes
- Eggs: Help bind the crab cakes so they hold together when cooked.
- Mayonnaise: Adds moisture and richness to the crab cakes. Use a good-quality brand like Hellmann’s or Duke’s for the best flavor.
- Flavorings: These classic Maryland seasonings enhance the sweet crab without overpowering it.
- Celery (optional): Adds a bit of crunch to the crab mixture—nontraditional but a nice touch. Skip it if you’re a purist.
- Fresh Lump Crab Meat: Look for it fresh in the seafood department, not canned—see “Buying Crabmeat” below for what to look for.
- Panko breadcrumbs: Just enough to help bind the mixture while keeping the crab cakes light. Unlike traditional breadcrumbs, panko creates a delicate texture without weighing the crab cakes down.
- Vegetable oil: For pan-frying the crab cakes until crisp and golden brown.
- Quick Tartar Sauce: A quick mix of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, red onion, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Buying Crabmeat
The quality of your crab meat will make or break this recipe. Look for fresh refrigerated crab meat sold in plastic containers in the seafood department, or ask at the seafood counter. Pasteurized refrigerated crab meat, such as Phillips, is the next-best option if fresh isn’t available. Avoid shelf-stable canned crabmeat.
Stick with lump crab meat rather than jumbo lump. Jumbo lump is pricier and best saved for dishes where those oversized chunks can shine on their own; in crab cakes, they actually make the mixture harder to hold together. Before mixing, gently pick through the crab meat to remove any bits of shell or cartilage without breaking up the lumps.
How To Make Maryland Crab Cakes
Step 1: Make the binder. To start, whisk together the eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl until well combined.
Pro Tip: Make sure everything is evenly mixed before adding the crab. Once the crab goes in, you’ll want to handle it as gently as possible to keep the lumps intact.
Step 2: Fold in the crab and panko. Add the crab meat and the panko. Gently fold the mixture together until just combined. Be careful not to overmix—the goal is to keep the crab in generous pieces rather than shredding it into small flakes.
Step 3: Shape and chill. Form the mixture into 6 cakes, then place them on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour to help them firm up. Don’t skip this step—it makes a big difference in helping the crab cakes hold their shape when cooking.
Step 4: Cook the crab cakes. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat with a thin layer of oil. Once hot, add the crab cakes and cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping carefully with a thin spatula—they’ll pop and sizzle, so watch for splatters.
Step 5: Make the tartar sauce and serve. While the crab cakes cook, whisk together the quick tartar sauce and chill until ready to serve. Plate the crab cakes with the sauce on the side and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
In my family, we have a running rule: never order crab cakes outside of Maryland. It’s partly a joke, but it comes from growing up on authentic Maryland crab cakes, where the sweet lump crab meat is always the star and the filler is kept to a minimum. That’s exactly the philosophy behind this recipe.
You can, but I don’t recommend it. Pan-frying gives these crab cakes the crisp, golden crust and rich flavor that make them truly special. Baking or broiling will cook them through, but the texture won’t be nearly as delicious. If you’ve gone to the trouble of buying good crab meat, I think it’s worth spending a few extra minutes pan-frying the cakes.
Crab cakes usually fall apart if they aren’t chilled before cooking, are flipped too soon, or don’t have enough binder to hold them together. Be sure to refrigerate the shaped crab cakes for at least an hour before cooking, and wait until the first side is nicely browned before flipping. A thin fish spatula makes turning them much easier.
Lump crab meat is my favorite because it gives the crab cakes their signature large, tender pieces of crab. Backfin crab meat is a decent substitute if that’s all you can find. I don’t recommend using claw meat on its own, as it has a stronger flavor and a finer texture that won’t produce the same classic Maryland-style crab cake.
Crab cake Recipe Video Tutorital
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Maryland Crab Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Crab Cakes
- 2 large eggs
- 2½ tablespoons mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup finely diced celery, from one stalk
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lb lump crab meat (see note below)
- ½ cup panko
- Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking
For the Quick Tartar Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 1½ tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon minced red onion
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste, from 1 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Crab Cakes
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a large bowl and mix well. Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko; using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat. Shape into 6 cakes (each about ½ cup) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This helps them set.
- Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and coat with oil. When the oil is hot, place the crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Be careful as oil may splatter. Serve the crab cakes warm with the tartar sauce.
For the Quick Tartar Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, onion, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Notes
- If you can only find jumbo lump crab meat, you may need to break the pieces up a bit. If the clumps are too large, the crab cakes won't hold together well.
- The nutritional information does not include the tartar sauce.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The crab cakes can be assembled and refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 24 hours before cooking. They can also be frozen, uncooked, for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking as directed. Leftover cooked crab cakes will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The tartar sauce can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I have some king crab legs in the freezer. Can I use those and do I need to cook these first and the pull the meat or just thaw and pull the meat
Yes, I think king crab should work. And I’m pretty sure that they’d already be cooked so you’d just need to thaw them. Hope you enjoy!
Can I bake instead of fry the crab cakes? What would be the temp/time?
I like these best pan-fried but you can cook them in the oven. I’d suggest you use a combination of baking and broiling; bake them in a 350-degree oven on a lightly greased baking sheet for about twenty minutes, or until hot (and it’s not necessary to flip them). Then I’d slide them under the broiler for about a minute to get them golden brown on top. Enjoy!
Can these be baked instead? If so, what temp and for how long?
Thanks!
Hi Shelley, I’d suggest you use a combination of baking and broiling; bake them in a 350-degree oven on a lightly greased baking sheet for about twenty minutes, or until hot (and it’s not necessary to flip them). Then I’d slide them under the broiler for about a minute to get them golden brown on top. Enjoy!
Mine came out perfect- followed the recipe 100% as written. My husband was very impressed
Definitely the best recipe I’ve used so far, and I’ve tried many. Very tasty!
The best crab cake recipe ever! I broiled mine. The only recipe I will ever use!
I am a professional chef and made the above recipe. I did not like the crab cakes or the tartar sauce. In the sauce the mustard overpowered everything. And for the crab cakes they were falling apart even when leaving them in the fridge for a few hours. Also the flavour was not there. A waste of my nice king crab meat.
What do you suggest to do differently?
Hi Nell, Regarding the crab cakes falling apart, I’m wondering if he used jumbo lump crab meat. Sometimes if the lumps are too large, they can be hard to form into cakes. You don’t want to shred the meat, but smaller lumps work best. Hope that helps.
I would have hoped a professional chef would provide constructive comment – not downright dismissal – and a professional chef might also know how to remedy something like the cakes falling apart, you would also have tried your sauce and adjusted it to your taste beforehand right? being a professional chef and all….
I totally agree with you. No professional chef would respond like that.
Kurt if you are indeed a professional chef why are you following another chef’s recipe? I would think that you would know how to make your own.
Also the constructive criticism wasn’t very professional. It was mean. If you can’t make crab cakes from someone’s recipe where many other people have had success maybe you’re not a good chef. (Sorry)
He said he used king crab meat. No wonder it fell apart. Maryland crab cakes use blue crab which is entirely different in shape, texture and taste to king crab.
P.S. to onceuponachef: this is the rare food blog where every recipe actually works.
I really love these crab cakes! I’ve made a different salmon cake recipe that is also delicious, but didn’t hold together. I think your idea of letting them sit in the fridge to bind together is smart. I halved the tartar sauce recipe and still ended up with extra. I’m not sure if we use less tartar sauce that average or the recipe was designed to have leftover tartar sauce.
i like this recipe and mine came out great! thx dmv cook
Not a true Maryland crab cake and as a Marylander these were super disappointing.
I was looking to see what others used in their crab cake recipe to maybe enhance mine even more. I came across this recipe & it had 5 stars and it was exactly how I make mine. However, I don’t add celery. And sometimes I add fresh or dried tarragon, whichever I have on hand. I am from the DMV and we use finely chopped green peppers not celery but this recipe is dead on. Awesome!
Thank you for the substitution of green pepper for the celery. I was out of celery but had a small piece of green pepper in the back of the produce drawer!
Can one use shrimp for his recipe?
Hi Jane, I haven’t tried it but a few readers have commented that they’ve used shrimp successfully. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!