These Maryland crab cakes get the stamp of approval from locals and out-of-towners alike. This classic lump crab cake recipe combines the flavors of lemon, parsley, and Old Bay seasoning, but the most flavor comes from the crab meat itself. For the best texture, use lump crab meat, very little filler, and bake the cakes in a very hot oven.
I’ve lived in Maryland for over half my life and say with 100% honesty that crab cakes are as essential as the air this state breathes. My husband was born and raised here and has crab-feasting down to a science. Crab isn’t just food, it’s a way of life here. I’ve served these particular crab cakes to locals and out-of-towners alike, all of whom rave about the recipe. I’m really proud of it and am so excited to share these Maryland crab cakes with you!
One reader, Lois, commented: “I am 65 years old and from southern Maryland. I have finally found the BEST crab cake recipe ever! I have tried many over the years, but this is the one! My husband and I have these for dinner twice a month. I don’t like ordering crab cakes out at restaurants anymore, because I know I can make these at home, and they always taste amazing… ★★★★★”
Another reader, Annie, commented: “Oh my! I live in Ohio and I’ve never had the opportunity to get a real Maryland crab cake. I decided to make this recipe and I’m telling you, it is the best crab cake I’ve ever had. I love crab cakes but living in the Midwest, I rarely find a crab cake that’s worth eating at a restaurant. So glad I found your recipe. ★★★★★”
I’ve also published solid recipes for Maryland crab soup as well as crab dip!
Overview: How to Make Maryland Crab Cakes
Crab cakes make a wonderful main dish or even as a sandwich on a toasted bun. If shaped smaller, mini crab cakes are a fabulous finger food. With this recipe, you can be confident that you ALWAYS have a quick dinner recipe in your back pocket, as well as an impressive crowd-pleasing appetizer. They make great leftovers, too.
The full written recipe is below, but here’s an overview.
- Whisk the flavors and binders together.
- Add the crab meat & filler.
- Very gently mix together: Fold the ingredients together slowly and carefully. If over-mixed, the lump crab meat will break apart.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes: This is a key step in the recipe. Make sure the crab cake mixture is cold before you shape it into individual cakes. There is little filler in this recipe, so the cakes will fall apart if the mixture is not refrigerated before cooking.
- Grease baking pan & preheat oven. The oven gets pretty hot, so I don’t recommend using parchment paper. Grease the pan or use a silicone baking mat.
- Portion into cakes: Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to scoop and portion out the mixture. Form into individual cakes. Place on the greased baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake the cakes on very high heat for about 12–14 minutes.
Baking vs. Sautéing: Some cook crab cakes on the stove, but I prefer the baking method. When cooked on the stove, crab cakes are often flattened into patties so the center cooks. For thick jumbo-style crab cakes, I recommend baking them in the oven at a high temperature. They cook very quickly and remain extra plump.
Types of Crab Meat
- Jumbo Lump: Jumbo lump crab meat is off-white and comes from the crab’s swimmer fin muscles. Crabs only have 2 of these muscles, so you need a lot of crabs to make a serving of jumbo lump crab meat. This is why it’s the most expensive type. It’s very sturdy and is wonderful served alone or as a topping for dishes or salads.
- Lump: Lump crab meat is also off-white, but a bit smaller than jumbo lump. It’s still very sturdy and flavorful. It comes from the body of a crab and is ideal for chunky crab cakes.
- Backfin: Backfin crab meat, also known as flake crab meat, is off-white too. It also comes from the body of a crab. The term “backfin” can also include the broken pieces of lump crab meat. It’s flakier than big lumps of crab meat.
- Claw: Claw meat is darker than the other types of crab meat. It’s not as sweet, but it has a stronger flavor. Claw meat is the least expensive and is ideal for soups, dips, and stews.
Best Crab Meat for Crab Cakes
The Chesapeake Bay is home to Maryland’s famous blue crabs. Opinions vary on what the best-tasting crab variety is, and it’s usually determined by where you live. Maryland crabs are known for their delicately sweet, buttery flavor, and Dungeness crabs, found on the West Coast, are known for their impressive size and meatier texture. If you aren’t steaming your own crabs for crab meat, let me help you navigate which crab meat is best for crab cakes.
Whichever crab variety you use, make sure you purchase crab meat labeled “hand-picked” or “fresh-picked,” which means that the crab meat has been picked through for shells and cartilage. (Still, it’s good practice to gently run your hands through the meat for any hard cartilage remnants.)
Crab meat sold out of the shell has been cooked and can be consumed. It’s very rare to find raw crab meat sold out of the shell—it’s almost always cooked before it’s picked out of the shell. At the market, you can find canned, frozen, or fresh (refrigerated) crab meat. Unrefrigerated canned crab meat doesn’t have an ideal flavor for crab cakes. If you need to use canned, look for canned crab meat in the refrigerated section of your market. The fresher the crab meat, the better the crab cake will taste. Ask your grocer where to find the freshest crab meat in the store. I purchase fresh crab meat sold in a 1-pound tub from the seafood counter in my grocery store. Sometimes the tubs are behind the glass or found on ice next to the seafood counter.
For the absolute best crab cake (and crab dip!), I recommend using lump crab meat or a mix of lump crab meat and backfin meat. Lump crab meat guarantees those big, mouthwatering bites of crab. Don’t worry, all the other ingredients are pretty inexpensive.
Ingredients in Maryland Crab Cakes
Let’s walk through each ingredient so you understand its importance. While there are a few flavorful and binding ingredients, the real star of this crab cake is the crab itself. These flavors and binders simply enhance the true taste of crab.
- Egg: Egg is the main binding ingredient in crab cakes.
- Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise is another binding ingredient. I don’t like mayonnaise and I LOVE these crab cakes, so if you aren’t a mayo person, don’t worry. You can’t taste it.
- Fresh Parsley: Fresh herbs are a MUST in crab cakes. Sometimes recipes or restaurants use dill, but fresh parsley is most common. If needed, you can use dried parsley.
- Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard is another must-have ingredient in crab cakes. I don’t recommend any other type of mustard—just dijon.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Just a small amount provides big flavor, just as it does in chicken meatballs, black bean burgers, and beer cheese dip.
- Old Bay Seasoning: What is Maryland crab without locally made Old Bay seasoning???
- Lemon Juice & Salt: Fresh, balancing flavors.
- Crab Meat: The leading role in the whole recipe.
- Cracker Crumbs: Drumroll please… the filler in this crab cake recipe is cracker crumbs. There is so much debate on what the best filler is and, trust me, some of the best crab cakes are made with CRACKERS! See more below.
Since we’re baking the crab cakes and not sautéing them in butter or oil, brush the cakes with a little melted butter prior to baking. This tiny addition gives them that unmistakeable restaurant flavor. When they come out of the oven, squeeze a little lemon juice on top!
Crab Cake Filler
While we have binding ingredients like mayonnaise and egg, crab cakes need a filler so they remain intact when cooked. And this is where people are very opinionated: what is the best filler? I’ve tested many and have even asked popular restaurants to spill the beans—most are very secretive about the crab cake ingredients they use! My #1 crab cake filler choice is cracker crumbs—specifically, saltine cracker crumbs. Bread crumbs are flavorless and too crunchy. Go for the saltines! To make the crumbs, you can place the crackers in a zipped-top bag and crush the heck out of them with a rolling pin, or you can use a little ninja, a big food processor, or even a blender.
What to Serve With Crab Cakes
Keep it simple and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon. These Maryland crab cakes are so juicy and flavorful that they don’t need tartar sauce or cocktail sauce, but both are popular finishing touches. (I love a touch of cocktail sauce with mine.) If you’re making crab cakes for a big family meal or on your menu of Memorial Day recipes, here’s what I recommend serving with your crab cake dinner:
- Cornbread and/or corn on the cob
- Caesar salad
- Baked potatoes or roasted potatoes
- Zucchini casserole
- Steamed vegetables
- Dinner rolls
- Coleslaw
- Asiago-crusted skillet bread
- Homemade garlic bread
For even more inspiration here are 15+ summer dinner ideas! And don’t forget the chocolate chip cookies or vanilla cupcakes for dessert!
Print
Crab Cakes Recipe (Little Filler)
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 large crab cakes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
For the best texture, use lump crab meat, little filler, and bake the cakes in a very hot oven. Serve with lemon wedges, a garnish of chopped parsley, and/or cocktail sauce or tartar sauce. For more success tips and to learn which crab meat to use, see blog post above.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (60g) mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (up to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons for a spicier kick)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus more for serving
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound (454g) fresh lump crab meat*
- 2/3 cup (41g) saltine cracker crumbs (about 17–18 2-inch crackers)
- optional: 2 Tablespoons (30g) melted salted or unsalted butter
Instructions
- Whisk the egg, mayonnaise, parsley, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, lemon juice, and salt together in a large bowl. Place the crab meat on top, followed by the cracker crumbs. With a silicone spatula or large spoon, very gently and carefully fold together. You don’t want to break up that crab meat.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
- Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C). Generously grease a rimmed baking sheet with butter or nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, portion the crab cake mixture into 6 mounds on the baking sheet. (Don’t flatten!) Use your hands or a spoon to compact each individual mound so there aren’t any lumps sticking out or falling apart. For extra flavor, brush each top with melted butter. This is optional but recommended!
- Bake for 12–14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges and on top. Drizzle each with fresh lemon juice and serve warm.
- Cover leftover crab cakes tightly and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the portioned unbaked crab cakes for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, brush with melted butter, then bake as directed. You can also freeze the baked and cooled crab cakes for up to 3 months. Thaw, then warm up in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10–15 minutes or until warmed throughout. Or bake the frozen crab cakes at 350°F (177°C) for about 25–30 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat | Pastry Brush
- Which Crab Meat to Use: For any questions regarding which crab meat to use, see Best Crab Meat for Crab Cakes in the blog post above. I highly recommend fresh (refrigerated) lump crab meat.
- Smaller Sizes: For smaller crab cakes, divide the mixture into 12 1/4-cup portions. For mini crab cakes, divide into 24 2-Tablespoon-size portions. Bake at the same oven temperature. The bake time is shorter for these smaller sizes. The crab cakes are done when the tops and edges are lightly browned.
Reader Comments and Reviews
New Orleans exiled to Dallas…always looking for new recipes to use the fresh seafood I bootleg back with me. These were PERFECT! Like, best I’ve ever had, friends raved about them too. FYI, I used 4C plain gluten free bread crumbs due to diet restrictions and it was fine.
Ça c’est tres bonne cher, merci! Continuez les bonnes recettes de fruits de mer!
Excellent recipe! I doubled the recipe and used one lb Jumbo Lump and the other Backfin. We went a little heavy on the Old Bay and added seasoned salt. Perfect.
I have made these three times and they are delicious. I substituted panko for the cracker crumbs. I half the recipe as it is just my husband and I. We have two crab cakes for dinner and one left over for lunch the next day. Will continue to make. Yummy.
I live in southern Maryland and I made these last night. They were seriously the best crabcakes I’ve ever had. That is a blessing because now I know I can make them for much cheaper than in restaurants but also a curse because that means now my husband is not gonna take me out for them LOL. I like to serve mine with apple cider vinegar and extra old bay. Wouldn’t change a thing. Can’t wait to make these again.
These were delicious! I’ve made them at least 3 times now and everyone raves about them.
What sauce do you serve with crab cakes
These crab cakes are delicious as is and don’t need any sauce. The brushing with melted butter before baking will suffice.
This recipe was absolutely SPOT ON!
I used to work for Legal Sea Foods in Boston … and you pretty much nailed it! I do add a dash or two Frank’s Red Hot for spice ( my personal preference)
and serve it with a remoulade sauce on the side (even though it doesn’t need it )!
What is the particular reason that you say not to flatten the crab cakes? I was sort of expecting them to spread out a little and wanted to use the for Crab Cakes Benedict are they didn’t quite lie flat on the English muffin…
Hi Sally, When baked in the oven at a high temperature, thick jumbo-style crab cakes will cook through and remain extra plump. Some cook crab cakes on the stove, but we prefer the baking method. When cooked on the stove, crab cakes are often flattened into patties so the center cooks.
I fixed these crab cakes and they were awesome. I will be making my own crab cakes from now on instead going out and spending so much to get so little. These crab cakes were perfect for me and my family. Thank you for this gem.
Authentic Maryland crab cake! They came out great. Taste was amazing. Thanks for sharing your recipe with us.
Hi! About how many cups of crab meat are in 1lb? I have some I want to pick, but no scale to weigh it out! Thank you!
Usually about 2 cups!
Absolutely INCREDIBLE crab cakes, the best I’ve ever had! We thought they were much better than restaurant crab cakes. So easy and so delicious. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Best crab cakes I’ve ever had, bar none!
I made these tonight and they were delicious. 5 stars! Recipe was easy to follow, I will definitely be adding this recipe to my regular rotation.
This recipe is amazing! And by the way, I made your blueberry scones yesterday and they were also a huge hit! Thanks a million.
We really enjoyed these crab cakes! Was even able to easily substitute some rice crackers and corn chips for a gluten free version! Thank you.
living on the eastern shore these crab cakes were on it! added just a bit more mayo & old bay but totally delicious! debe
Delicious, easy to follow recipe. Will definitely make them again!
I never thought I could make anything so fancy and delicious! We used 1/4 cup sized cakes instead of 1/2 cup, we wanted to be dainty haha. EXCELLENT recipe!!!
I live Maryland and these crab cakes are WAY better then any I have ever had in a restaurant. This recipe is perfect. It was so good I’m actually going to make them for our 4th of July cookout instead of burgers. Thank you!!!!
Its my 2nd time making this recipe , my husband loves it, thank u for sharing ur recipe. All the best
I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend. I like that I can bake (rather than fry) them and that they have so little filler!
I usually prefer my crab cakes fried but always like to try a recipe how it’s originally made before changing things up and these crab cakes are amazing! Will be using this recipe exactly how it’s written alot more!
My family loves this recipe. The crab cakes take a bit longer in my oven and I broil them to crisp them. They are so delicious! These have been added to our dinner rotation. Thank you for another great recipe Sally.
Excellent! Right up my kids alley with no onions and peppers! Easy to prepare….easily baked in the oven!! You come out looking like a rockstar And there was nothing to it
I don’t usually review recipes, but I figure it’s time I start since I rely on the reviews so heavily.
I made these yesterday and they were wonderful! My mom always fries hers, but I loved the baked option. Baked are slightly less crispy on the outside, but way less work and less breakage so it’s a great trade-off.
Here are my tips:
– I doubled the Old Bay because I like a little extra flavor. 2 teaspoons was great, BUT don’t add any extra salt. Old Bay has plenty of salt in it.
– Use an oven thermometer to ensure you’re at the right temp. Lots of ovens get wonky in those higher temps.
– To shape, form into a ball, plop it down, and VERY LIGHTLY flatten the top. They’ll pretty much keep whatever shape you put them in, and mine were just a bit spherical and definitely looked like testicles when I served them 2 per plate lol.
– If they don’t brown how you want (my oven sucks), at the end of cooking time, brush them with butter and let them BROIL for a minute or two (keep an eye on them – they can burn fast!)
– Serving with fresh parsley and a lemon wedge is non-negotiable!
I served mine with my dad’s homemade rémoulade, which is a sexier jazzier tartar sauce and very easy to make yourself AND will keep for a few weeks. Highly recommend.
I’m trying this recipe tonight. I’ve never made crab cakes before. Question- what if I want to fry them? Honestly that’s how I thought they get cooked. I really dont eat them. My husband does.
Hi Victoria, you can cook these on the stove in a little butter or olive oil but you’ll need to flatten them out considerably to ensure the centers cook evenly. I prefer the baking method for thick jumbo-style crab cakes.
Sally, Can I combine all ingredients except cake and cakes a week in advance?…..Thanks, Jessica
Hi Jessica, Do you mean combine all the ingredients except the crab a week in advance? If so, I don’t recommend it as the cracker crumbs would get soggy. Instead, assemble the whole crab cakes and then freeze them according to the make ahead instructions in the recipe notes.
Amazing! Made these for my dad on Father’s Day with cocktail sauce and a honey mustard dill sauce from another recipe and they were great. My dad LOVED them. He can’t stop thinking about them. Great and easy recipe.
Add Claw Meat! I have grown up in Maryland and get praise all the time for my crab cakes. Everyone wants the recipe and when I tell them it is the same one as on the Old Bay can, with a little extra Old Bay to taste, they say it can’t be because theirs are never that good. Then I tell the the true secrets: 1) Use half claw meat. Stronger and different flavor but at half claw it is just the right touch. 2) Be picky about the species. Even here at the top of the Chesapeake much of the crab meat available is no longer Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) but Portuguese Swimmer Crab. They taste different and side by side, a true Marylander will know. I don’t care where the crab meat comes from as they are found from the Gulf of Mexico up along the Atlantic coast. Just get true blue crab. Beyond these two items, the rest of the ingredients are open to debate/personal preference/taste.
I have to say these were very easy, but not as moist or flavorful as I would have liked. I even added more old bay than called for. They were good, ok, people liked them, but not fantastic.
awesome crab cakes made them last week….. very very moorish making them again this weekend, thank you sharing this yummy recipe so very much appreciated.
Made these tonight, and they were a huge hit. I’ve missed Maryland crab cakes since we moved out of state 7 years ago, and these really hit the spot. The only changes I made were to use Ritz crackers because that’s what I had in the house, and I cooked them in my air fryer at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. I’ll probably increase the Old Bay to 2 tsp next time, too, because we love it. Wonderful recipe, though!