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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This is the only crab cake recipe I will use! Been making them faithfully for over a year and love them every time. Thank you for sharing your recipes. My household appreciates it and every time I make one, I get all the praises for a fabulous meal. Thanks for making me look good 😉
My husband said these crab cakes were the best he’s ever had including restaurants and he loves crab cakes so he’s eaten a lot of them. I was able to make 6 large cakes but I could easily see it making 18 appetizer size. So delicious!
Loved these crab cakes. Super simple but delicious. I only had dill pickles for the quick tarter which I subbed and was still a perfect accompaniment.
I have made these twice, once for dinner and once for appetizers. Both times absolutely delicious. We love the touch of celery, and don’t really care if anyone thinks they are not eastern shore cakes. Used fresh blue crab, and have gotten raves!!! Love the tarter sauce too.
Absolutely delicious! I also used the mixture to stuff shrimp. Thank you for the recipe.
By far the best crab cakes any of my family has ever had and that includes in any restaurant. My husband eats in some pretty high end restaurants in Southern Ca. and he knows good food when he eats it and he prefers these crab cakes to any others. We recently served them at a Super Bowl Party we hosted at our house and they were a complete hit. I didn’t change anything in the recipe except I used gluten free panko bread crumbs and no one knew they were gluten free until I told them.
Hi Jenn. Absolutely love your website and recipes!
These are fabulous!! If I wanted to make these crab cakes as mini ones for hors d’eourves, can I make them in advance (including the sautéing)? Can I then reheat them in the oven?
Thanks so much!!
Karen Tanenbaum
Sure, Karen, you can make them up to two days in advance, refrigerate, and then reheat them before serving. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hi Jenn,
I would like to make these appetizer size a day or two ahead of time and store them in the fridge as you recommend. How do you suggest re-heating them?
Hi Michele, I’d suggest reheating them in a 350°F oven for about 7 – 8 min or until heated through. Enjoy!
I caught some fresh crab and used a modification of this recipe in this video. The crab cakes were delicious! https://youtu.be/QUPd229exY0
Loved the video, Micha!
Thanks 🙂 Great recipe!
These are the best crab cakes ever! Not happy with any others after making these!
Hello Jennifer
would you be able to freeze these?
Thanks
Janice
Hi Janice, I’m generally not crazy about the way crab freezes, but several readers have mentioned that they’ve frozen the crab cakes successfully, so you could definitely give it a try. Hope that helps! 🙂
Wow, made this yesterday, absolutely delicious! Thanks Jennifer, as always, your recipes never disappoint.
First, I am a huge fan! As someone born and raised in Baltimore, this was a delicious recipe! I prefer good ol’ cocktail sauce with my crab cakes but the tartar sauce was superb! Sorry, but I could not do the celery. I doubled the Old Bay and added a Tablespoon of yellow mustard. Yummy! Thanks Hon for sharing!