Simple, Light Crab Cakes.
Yesterday I broke out my grandma’s little red recipe book in search for her crab cake recipe.
It is filled was quite the array of recipes, including this lime ham salad above which I can promise will not be making it on to the blog. Eeeek.
That’s all I have to say about that.
So… the secret ingredient for the crab cakes? Saltines. But only eight saltines. No more, no less. That’s it!
There is nothing more disappointing than ordering crab cakes in a restaurant, only to bite in and discover they are filled with junk.
No fear, you won’t have that problem here. No junk in the trunk.
See, I have this little issue of rarely ever being able to make the same recipe twice. This is true almost always when it comes to cooking – I would say 98% of the time I have no recipe in mind and just throw things together until they taste good. I get bored quite easily.
However, I followed this recipe nearly to a T. I already have a favorite baked crab cake recipe that includes peppers and onions sauteed in olive oil and butter, with entire said mixture being poured into the crab cake ‘dough.’ They are buttery and melt in your mouth. But they are a bit more complicated, and include a few steps such as chopping and sauteing veggies before even making the cakes.
Some days, I just crave simple.
And I’ve been dying to try this recipe for months. It is one of my brother’s favorite meals. They are just too easy and too quick not to love them.
The outside is crispy and the inside is filled with tons of crabmeat. I loved the different textures. The only issue I had? The recipe claims it yields 4 to 6 servings. Really? Maybe back in 1965. Maybe for normal people. Maybe for those of us who aren’t gluttons.
I can tell you one thing. You will absolutely not get 4 to 6 servings if you live with Mr. How Sweet. In fact, you will get no servings. He will get one.
And he will eat them with 2 side dishes: macaroni and cheese and leftover 3 meat pizza. Because that sounds about right, no? Funny, when I put a call out on Facebook a few months ago suggesting side dishes for crab cakes, neither one of those came up. I wonder why?
serves 1-2
1 pound lump crabmeat
8 saltine crackers, crushed
1 egg
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon greek yogurt (her recipe called for mayo, I was out)
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoons olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a bowl except oil and stir until thoroughly combined. Heat a skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. While it’s heating, form the crab mixture into small patties – you will get about 5 to 6 cakes. Place them in the skillet and cook until lightly golden brown, about 3-4 minutes on each side.
Moral of the story? These rock. They taste incredible. You can make them in less than 20 minutes. And they’re healthy. Now get in the kitchen!
159 Comments on “Simple, Light Crab Cakes.”
Pingback: Crab Cake Sliders with Pineapple Kiwi Salsa | How Sweet It Is
I made these last night for dinner. They were delicious! My husband, who says he doesn’t even like crab cakes, went back for seconds! He thought they were awesome. Thanks for the recipe! :)
Pingback: BBQ Salmon Burgers | How Sweet It Is
Pingback: What I Made: Light Crab Cakes « Catch the Moments
What kind of mustard do you recommend using for this receipe?
I like dijon!
These were great and just like you said simple! They didn’t even fall apart because I refrigerated them
what a pleasant surprise. Easy and good tasting crabcakes in 20 minutes. who woulda thought?
Thanks to you and your grandma for a great recipe. Had to substitute Panko for the saltines. These are so light and I love the tang of the Greek yogurt.
Pingback: Crab is Back in Town! | The Meaning of Me
Pingback: Love Letters from the Kitchen | The Meaning of Me
I dipped them in panko before frying and gave them an extra crunch. Yummy!
Pingback: Tilapia Burgers with Watermelon Salsa + Avocado | How Sweet It Is
Pingback: Easy crabcakes | Entrenandoatup
Just made these! Thanks for the great recipe!
P.S. I LOVE YOUR BLOG. Seriously. Makes me feel at home. You have a great way of connecting to your readers; you’re everyones best friend!
-Hayley
HI. I thought these were great. My first time to ever make a crabcake and I was surprised and how easy they were. I had to improvise tho. I used Red King Crab from Adak, Alaska, which I hand cracked from a leftover crab leg dinner last Friday. I don’t think I had a pound though. Maybe 1/2 a pound. I didn’t have saltines so used a big flatbread rosemary cracker instead. I used mayo as I didn’t have greek yogurt. And I think I used too much mustard, because there was a definite predominant mustard flavor. Looking back, I should have cut that in half because I used half the crab meat. So, at the end of the day…. very little junk filler, excellent crab… they bound together well, and cooked up just so perfectly. And they were delicious. My side was fresh eggs just laid and one goose egg, cooked over easy, fried rice, and green salad. Served it up with a wonderful Ravenswood Cab Sauv. A wonderful dinner. I run a bed and breakfast and I am going to make these crab cakes and serve them as a base in an Eggs Benedict. Still thinking about what to call it. What was your grandmother’s name? Thanks for sharing this stellar recipe.
I want to come to your house!
GREAT recipie! Needed 2x the amount of saltines to hold together. But still very very light and not bready at all.
this absolutly sucks. i did everything to a “T” and this is discusting.
Most cultivated varieties of cayenne, Capsicum annuum, can be grown in a variety of locations and need approximately 100 days to mature. Peppers prefer warm, moist, nutrient-rich soil in a warm climate. -`’`
Our very own webpage
http://healthmedicinebook.com/
Try half an egg. Yes..mix it in a bowl. For the amount of ingredients used if it takes more than 8 saltines there is too much liquid. Whether you use yogurt or mayo makes no difference. Yogurt is better for you. Just sayin
Excellent recipe IF… you use fresh crabmeat. If you have to use canned crabmeat, drain it first.
Pingback: Product Review: Follow Your Heart Vegenaise | Kitchology Blog
Pingback: Easy Seafood Recipes For Beginners - 3 guilty pleasures
Pingback: Skipping the Restaurant! Homemade Crab Cakes and Crême Brûlée | Diary of a Hungry Québécoise
Liked your recipe a lot. Looking forward for some more mouth watering recipes. Keep up the good work.
I started with your recipe and used 2 tablespoons of pesto white bean hummas (from Trader Joes) instead of the mayo, garlic powder and multi-seasoning instead of the cayenne pepper, a chopped green pepper, wheat crackers and dion mustard…they were yummy and we will make these again.
I used fresh crab and no mustard, and these still came out delicious! Perfect, simple, and fast crab cakes
Going to try these. How many calories per serving?
I tried this recipe last night and absolutely loved it!! It was so good. I used Old Bay seasoning and Lawry’s seasoned salt
Appreciate the ease of this recipe.
Deli bought, cole slaw tasted good on the side, so did a can of Reed’s German Potato Salad.
I would like to make these. how might they get broiled instead of fried.
I’m gluten free….so, what can I use instead of crushed saltines? I look forward to trying this recipe!
Pingback: 21 sastojak koji su novi roditelji potrebni za brze, zdrave obroke - Zdravlje vašeg tijela
Pingback: 21 Bahan Setiap Ibu Bapa Yang Sibuk Perlu Dibeli untuk Makanan Cepat dan Sihat - Syok
Pingback: 21 Ingredients New Parents Need On Hand for Quick, Healthy Meals - elmenulocal
Pingback: 21 Ingredients Every Busy Parent Needs on Hand for Quick, Healthy Meals - Wypas
Pingback: 21 ingredienti di cui i nuovi genitori hanno bisogno per pasti veloci e sani - Uno stile di vita sano
a side dish to go with crab cakes snow peas sauteed with bacon sweet n sour sauce…cut bacon into pieces 3/4′ fried crisp. in a pan. to that add 1 1/2 tbl spoons of sugur 2 1/2 tbl spoons cider vinegar and 1/3 cup miracle whip stir mixture in a skillet stiring till bacon mixture clears med low heat ( so vinegar doesn’t cook off add deviened snow peas and toss before serving.
a great chef once told me his secret ingredient in crab cakes and that is to add a small amount of mashed yam to the mixture he told me when he came to our table after i said to the waitress to tell the chef how terrific his crab cakes were.
I am about to try this recipe but use salmon instead of crab. That’s because I have salmon but I don’t have crab. I can’t imagine it won’t be good????