Maryland Crab Cakes with Quick Tartar Sauce
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A Maryland staple, these crab cakes are made from fresh lump crab meat and just enough filler to bind the crabmeat together.
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.
I’d never attempt making steamed blue crabs at home. Live crabs, giant steamers—yikes! But I do often make crab cakes, which are just as delicious and easier to prepare (not to mention eat). The key is using fresh lump crabmeat and just enough filler to bind the crabmeat together. I love them with tartar sauce, but you could also serve them with lemon wedges or cocktail sauce. Don’t forget the peel-and-eat shrimp, hush puppies, and cornbread.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Maryland Crab Cakes
It’s very important to use fresh, good-quality lump crab meat. Look for fresh-off-the-boat crab meat, which is sold in a clear plastic container, usually resting on ice in the seafood department. It’s expensive, but one pound is enough to make six generous crab cakes (or 12 mini ones).
If fresh lump crab meat is not available, the second-best option is refrigerated crab meat, such as Phillip’s, which is readily available year-round. Avoid shelf-stable canned crab meat, which contains additives that affect the taste and texture of the meat. (For a less expensive alternative to crab cakes, or when fresh crab meat is not in season, try fresh salmon cakes.)
Note that celery is not traditional in Maryland crab cakes, but I love the little crunch it adds; feel free to leave it out if you’re a purist.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the Crab Cakes
To begin, combine the eggs, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt, celery, and parsley in a bowl.
Mix well to combine.
Add the crab meat (be sure to check the meat for any hard and sharp cartilage) and panko.
Gently fold the mixture together until just combined, being careful not to shred the crab meat.
Shape into 6 large crab cakes (about ½ cup each) and place on a baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This is really important to help the crab cakes set.
Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat and coat with oil. When the oil is hot, place crab cakes in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Flip and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, or until golden. Be careful as the oil may splatter.
Make the Tartar Sauce
Combine the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, sweet pickle relish, red onion, lemon, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Whisk well, then cover and chill until ready to serve.
Video Tutorital
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Maryland Crab Cakes with Quick Tartar Sauce
A Maryland staple, these crab cakes are made from fresh lump crab meat and just enough filler to bind the crabmeat together.
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 parsley
- 1 pound 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
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- 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.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The crab cakes can be formed, covered, and refrigerated a day ahead of time before cooking. The tartar sauce can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.
- Note: 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.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the tartar sauce.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 crab cakes
- Calories: 299
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Sodium: 1141 mg
- Cholesterol: 275 mg
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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Made it for the first time and the crab cakes were awesome! My husband loved them too. The recipe was easy to follow. Had to watch the salt so I didn’t add salt and didn’t have the celery and fried them in olive oil. So delicious. I will definitely make this great recipe again.
This recipe is great, however not nearly enough old bay seasoning to our liking. I’m going to double it next time and see if that helps. Besides that, it’s a good recipe. I baked mine at 350, per another review but found that it took too long to brown them. Next time doing 375.
I lost my recipe and tried this one and glad I did! Made a few changes – we watch our salt intake, so used less Old Bay seasoning (1/2 tsp.), no salt (since the Old Bay had celery salt), used gluten free panko crumbs. I didn’t have time to refrigerate the cakes for an hour, so skipped this step. I baked the crab cakes because I don’t like to fry. Heated the oven to 350 F – sprayed oil on a rimmed cookie sheet and also on the crab cakes (this makes a nice brown coating), they cooked for 15 minutes, then flipped over and cooked for 10 additional minutes. I also put the sheet on the bottom rack of the electric oven. Definitely will make again!
This was my first time making crab cakes and I knew I wanted a recipe with plenty of crab & very little filler so this recipe fit the bill. As always, meticulous instructions which I really appreciate; I had no idea that you needed to check for sharp cartilage/shell in the crab meat – that was a great tip because I found a coupla little pieces. Made these for my husband for Father’s Day & he absolutely loved them. Turned out perfectly; nice and ‘meaty’ with plenty of crab flavor. Great recipe!
What is old bay seasoning. I live in Canada. Would there be a substitute?
Hi Patricia, Old Bay is a combination of spices including mustard, paprika, celery salt, black and red pepper and more. It’s widely available in the U.S. If you can’t find it in Canada, here’s a recipe for homemade Old Bay seasoning. (And it’s a delicious seasoning for all kinds of other foods including popcorn, fries and egg salad.)
Hi I live in Ontario and found old bay at walmart
Celery changed the texture to my disliking so I’ll skip it next time. Otherwise the recipe was delicious. Try Old Bay on butter mashed cauliflower.
Could these work as minis? I would like to serve as an app at a casual cocktail party- too fragile to put a toothpick in?
Thank you
Hi Nancy, You can definitely make them as minis but you’re correct that they are too fragile for a toothpick. Enjoy!
As always, thanks for another great recipe Jenn. Our neighbour brought us some fresh dunganess crab. I froze what we couldn’t eat and used this for the crab cakes. I let the meat drain on some paper towelling first after it had thawed. I didn’t have fresh celery, so used 2 teaspoons of celery seed. I portioned the cakes out with a half cup measuring cup for 6 cakes, and gently shaped. They browned beautifully in the frying pan, 4 minutes on each side. So delicious, and not fishy tasting. Delicate and fresh is what I would describe. We loved them!! Our friend also brought us some shrimp, I am looking forward to trying the shrimp tacos with avocado salsa. That sounds awesome!
Excellent recipe–thank you! Made it for the first time this past weekend with blue crab meat from the Eastern Shore–my husband said they were the best crab cakes he’s ever had. As native Marylanders, my son and I agree.
I love this recipe, today I need it gluten free. What else can I use to replace bread crumbs?
Hi Sharon, most grocery stores carry gluten-free panko or bread crumbs. Also, Worcestershire sauce very often contains gluten, so make sure you look for a gluten-free version.
Jennifer,
These crabcakes were absolutely outstanding and the sauce is a must! This was the first time that I’ve ever made crabcakes and as usual, your recipe was foolproof. You never fail to make me look like I know what I’m doing. Thanks for another blue ribbon recipe!