These baked lump crab cakes are so much lighter than frying! My easy recipe combines juicy crab meat with simple seasonings and fresh herbs. Perfect as an appetizer or light dinner served with spicy red pepper sauce infused with chipotle and lime.
Baked Lump Crab Cakes
I love crab cakes! They are great to serve as an appetizer or enjoy two as a meal with a side salad. You won’t miss the fried version when you taste these easy, baked crab cakes! The roasted red pepper sauce adds just the right amount of heat for serving, but you can adjust it to your taste. You may also like these Waffled Crab Cakes and Crab and Corn Cakes.
Why You’ll Love This Baked Crab Cakes Recipe
Whenever I make homemade crab cakes, Fish Cakes, or Shrimp Cakes, I make sure to serve them with a delicious sauce, like the red pepper chipotle sauce in this recipe or the dill sauce from my Salmon Croquettes. It turns them into the ultimate side dish or appetizer! These baked crab cakes couldn’t be easier to make and there are so many reasons to love them.
- Simple ingredients: Lump crab, fresh veggies, mayo, and a handful of herbs and seasonings are all you need.
- Baked, not fried: I’ve always had great results baking my crab cakes rather than frying. These come out super crispy and golden on the outside, with a steamy, flavorful interior. With a fraction of the oil!
- Versatile: Make these crab cakes for a tasty party appetizer, game day snack, Easter brunch, or for an easy dinner any day of the week. There’s only 15 minutes of hands-on prep.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients needed to make this easy lump crab cakes recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Fresh Lump Crab Meat is better than canned, if possible, for best results. Lump crab is more affordable than jumbo lump, but still good quality with lots of flavor.
- Ritz Crackers, crushed. You’ll need to crush about 13 Ritz to get a half cup of crumbs. I use reduced-fat Ritz.
- Eggs combined with the cracker crumbs help bind the crab cakes. Beat one whole egg and one egg white.
- Scallions, chopped. Chives or another mild onion will also work here.
- Bell Pepper, diced. You could also use a yellow or orange pepper. Mix in some seeded and diced jalapeño for a spicy kick.
- Low-fat Mayonnaise helps bind the mixture and adds richness.
- Chopped Cilantro, or you can sub parsley if you aren’t a fan.
- Lime Juice adds brightness. I recommend freshly squeezed.
- Salt and Pepper to season. Old Bay seasoning would also add great flavor.
- Crab Cake Sauce for serving, made from blending jarred roasted red peppers, mayonnaise, chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, and lime juice. More on this in a bit!
Lump vs. Jumbo Lump Crab
Jumbo lump consists of large, whole muscles from the crab’s fins, with a delicate, sweet flavor. Lump crab, on the other hand, is a mix of broken jumbo lump and crab meat. Lump crab is less expensive and is perfect for crab cakes, salad, and dips, like my Hot Crab Dip.
How to Make Crab Cakes
Crab cakes have a lot in common with Zucchini Fritters and Baked Salmon Cakes, mostly how easy they are to make! You can whip these up for a light dinner or make them ahead for a snack, since they need at least 30 minutes to chill in the fridge. Here are the steps.
- Make the red pepper sauce. So easy! Simply purée the ingredients in the blender or food processor. Refrigerate the sauce while you prepare your crab cakes.
- Mix the crab cake ingredients. Next, combine crushed crackers, eggs, scallions, bell pepper, mayo, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Gently fold in the lump crab meat so it remains in large chunks.
- Shape the patties. Using a half-cup measuring cup, scoop the crab mixture and shape it into four equal-sized patties. Then, chill the crab cakes in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Bake. Transfer the patties to a greased baking sheet. Bake the crab cakes at 400ºF for 8-10 minutes per side, until they’re evenly browned. Drizzle them with red pepper sauce before serving.
Air Fryer Method
Making crab cakes in the air fryer is another lighter alternative to frying. Prepare the lump crab cakes as directed. Cook at 370ºF until the edges are golden, about 10 minutes, turning halfway.
Variations
- Ritz: Sub the crackers with breadcrumbs or panko.
- Protein: These cakes would also work with cooked flaked salmon or cod.
- Sauce Swaps: Substitute the mayo for Greek yogurt or use half yogurt and half mayo. And if you don’t like spicy foods, leave out the chipotle.
What to Serve With Lump Crab Cakes
Serve these crab cakes as an appetizer or as a meal. You can even sandwich them between potato rolls topped with the red pepper sauce or Tartar Sauce for a crab cake sandwich! These are more side dishes that pair well with crab cakes.
Salad
One of my favorite ways to eat crab cakes is to serve them in a salad. Use your favorite kind of greens, like arugula, spinach, or butter lettuce, with whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Starches
Bulk up the meal with potatoes or rice. For a low-carb option, try Cauliflower Rice.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Make ahead. If your crab meat is recently purchased and fresh, you can prep the crab cakes up to 24 hours before you bake them. Crab meat can spoil within a few days, so buy it right before you plan on using it.
- Refrigerate leftovers. Leftover baked crab cakes can be refrigerated airtight for up to 3 days.
- Freeze. You can also form the patties and freeze them unbaked on a sheet pan. Once frozen, wrap them in foil or plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container for a month or two. To eat, thaw the cakes overnight in the fridge and bake them as instructed.
More Crab Recipes You’ll Love
Baked Lump Crab Cakes
Ingredients
For the Crab Cakes:
- 9 ounces lump crab meat, picked free of shells
- 1/2 cup about 13 reduced fat Ritz crackers, crushed
- 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, beaten
- 2 finely chopped scallions
- 2 tbsp finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1 tbsp light mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, or parsley
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- kosher salt and black pepper , to taste
- cooking spray
For the Zesty Chipotle Lime Sauce:
- 1 tbsp roasted peppers, jarred
- 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle in adobo sauce, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Instructions
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
- In a small blender (or magic bullet) puree mayonnaise, lime juice, roasted pepper and chipotle pepper.
Crab Cakes:
- In a large bowl, combine crushed crackers, eggs, scallions, pepper, mayo, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper.
- Mix well, then fold in crab meat, careful not to over mix so the crab remains in large chunks.
- Gently shape into 4 patties using a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Chill in the refrigerator at least 1/2 hour before baking or freezer 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a baking sheet with oil spray.
- Bake about 8 to 10 minutes on each side, until browned.
- Drizzle red pepper chipotle lime sauce over crab cakes and serve.
Last Step:
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- Air Fryer Crab Cakes: To make these in the air fryer, cook at 370ºF until the edges are golden, about 10 minutes, turning halfway through.
