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These easy air fryer crab cakes, made with juicy crab meat and zesty seasonings, are deliciously crisp and golden, and cooked with less oil than traditional skillet methods. Enjoy them with homemade remoulade sauce and lemon wedges!
If there’s one way to make seafood more versatile, it’s to turn it into a patty. I love recipes like these air fryer crab cakes, my air fryer fish cakes, and my equally crispy salmon patties. They’re always a hit as an appetizer or as a meal, especially dressed up with dipping sauces like creamy remoulade or tartar sauce.
These crispy crab cakes are packed with juicy crab meat and a handful of tasty mix-ins that make them impossible to resist.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Crab Cake Recipe
They taste like crab. I know it seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many crab cake recipes end up tasting like add-ins and not actual crab meat! If you ask me, the best crab patties don’t have a ton of unneeded mix-ins. Let the meat shine front and center.
Cooked in minutes. My original Maryland crab cakes are quick and easy to make on the stovetop, but I love how hands-free the air fryer is. The cakes get extra crispy and cook through in minutes, and I don’t have to hover over a hot skillet.
Homemade remoulade. Not to brag, but my creamy crab cake remoulade recipe is the bee’s knees. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried it. I love slathering it over these crab cakes, or I’ll use it as a dip when serving.
Versatile. Crab cakes are delicious as an appetizer, side, or main. In the summertime, this recipe is on repeat. With juicy lump crab, fresh herbs, and a few more flavorful add-ins, air fryer crab cakes are easy to make and super tasty in sandwiches, salads, as a party snack, and more.
Ingredients You’ll Need
These are the important ingredients in my tried-and-true homemade crab cake recipe, plus some notes and substitutions. Scroll to the recipe card below the post for a printable list of ingredients with the amounts.
- Shallot and Bell Pepper – Sauteed in olive oil with garlic. You can use any mild onion, like yellow onion, and any colored pepper you’d like. Try to use freshly minced garlic, but if needed, you can substitute one clove with ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Crab Meat – I use lump crab meat (see below). It’s not the cheapest option, but the taste is worth it!
- Mayonnaise and Dijon – Creamy mayo and Dijon mustard bring moisture and flavor to the crab cakes. You can swap mayo for sour cream or yogurt, and use yellow mustard instead of Dijon.
- Egg – The egg helps bind the ingredients together, the same as it does in meatballs. I haven’t tried an egg-free version of this crab cake recipe, but I’d think that it would work with a flax egg.
- Old Bay Seasoning – The best seafood seasoning, hands down! Old Bay is a mix of spices, including celery salt and paprika. I use it to season everything from crab cakes to my seafood boil and crab-stuffed salmon recipes. If you absolutely must substitute it, a good replacement for Old Bay is Cajun spice, or you can mix celery salt with paprika in a pinch, and season to taste.
- Breadcrumbs – I use Italian breadcrumbs, but you can use any type of seasoned or unseasoned breadcrumbs, or even Panko.
- Lemon Zest – Fresh lemon zest is a must. Save the leftover lemon to squeeze over the crab cakes when serving.
- Parsley – Fresh or dried.
What Kind of Crab Meat Is Best?
You’ll find kinds of crab meat in stores: “Jumbo lump”, “lump”, and canned. Jumbo lump crab meat is larger, meatier, and more expensive (great for crab salad), while lump meat is made up of smaller pieces, perfect for crab cakes, IMO. You don’t need to be too fancy, though you will taste the difference. In a pinch, canned crab meat works in this recipe if you can’t find fresh.
How to Make Crab Cakes in the Air Fryer
Make juicy, crispy, golden air fryer crab cakes in just 4 steps:
- Saute the veggies. First, saute diced bell pepper and onion over medium-high heat. Add the garlic.
- Combine and chill. Next, the sauteed veggies go into a bowl with the rest of your crab cake ingredients. Give that a good mix. Afterward, pop the crab mixture into the fridge for an hour.
- Shape the crab cakes. Now, form your mixture into patties. Be gentle! I usually press them to about ¼” thickness.
- Air fry. To air fry crab cakes, arrange the patties inside the basket of your preheated air fryer. Cook at 400ºF for ~10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overwork the mixture. Be careful not to crush the crab mixture when mixing and shaping your patties. Overworking leads to dense, tough crab cakes. I find that the easiest way to avoid overworking the crab is to use your hands. A wooden spoon is your next best bet.
- Avoid non-stick sprays. If you’re worried about these crab cakes sticking, give your air fryer basket a light spritz with olive oil spray or another non-aerosol oil spray. Non-stick sprays, like PAM, will smoke and damage the coating on your air fryer basket.
- Cook in batches. The key to air frying is to leave plenty of space in between the food so that the hot air can circulate. This way, the outside crisps up while the inside cooks. If needed, air fry in batches so that the crab cakes fry and don’t steam.
- How to tell when crab cakes are done. These crab cakes in air fryer are ready when they’re nice and evenly browned on the outside and hot through the middle. In my air fryer, this takes about 5 minutes per side.
- Pan fried crab cakes. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the crab patties to the hot oil, about 3 patties at a time, and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until browned and firm.
The Best Remoulade Sauce for Crab Cakes
Remoulade sauce is a bit like tartar sauce with a few extra spices in the mix. Creamy, spicy, and zesty– it ties all the flavors of these crab cakes together when serving. It’s ridiculously easy to make with ingredients you probably have on hand, too.
While your crab cakes are in the fryer, whisk together mayo and mustard with hot sauce (Tabasco or Sriracha work well), paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon juice. That’s it! Serve the sauce with your air fryer crab cakes as a topping or dip. It’s also great for dipping French fries.
Serving Suggestions
I’ll make a batch of air fryer crab cakes to serve with the remoulade as an easy summer appetizer. They’re also great as a light meal with a side of salad, like this Cobb salad or a family-style chef’s salad. Or, have a fish n’ chips moment and pair your crab cakes with a pile of crispy seasoned French fries or Cajun fries.
They’re even delicious to serve between bread as a sandwich or as a replacement for burger patties.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Leftovers will last for up to 3 days in the fridge. To freeze, individually wrap each crab cake in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer bag for up to one month. To prepare, defrost them in the refrigerator overnight before cooking.
My favorite way to reheat crab cakes is to return them to the air fryer! Set them to cook for 10 minutes at 350ºF. You can also reheat them covered in the oven or in a skillet on the stovetop.
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Air Fryer Crab Cakes
Ingredients
For the crab cakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, diced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 pound lump crab meat
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons old bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- ½ tablespoon fine chopped fresh parsley
- lemon slices, for serving
For the remoulade
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Saute the veggies. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet and add the shallot and bell pepper. Saute until softened, and then add the garlic. Saute for 15 seconds or until fragrant.
- Put it all together. To a large mixing bowl, add the sauteed veggies, crab, mayo, Dijon, egg, Old Bay seasoning, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and parsley. With your hands or a wooden spoon, mix it all together just until combined.
- Chill. Cover the crab mixture and let it sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Prep. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and spray the basket liberally with cooking spray.
- Form the crab cakes. Form the crab mixture into 1/4-inch patties. Don’t overwork the mixture.
- Air fry. Arrange the crab cakes in the basket of the air fryer with plenty of space between them. If you need to air fry in batches, do so. Air fry the crab cakes for 5 minutes. Flip and air fry for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Make the sauce. While the crab cakes are cooking, whisk together the mayo, mustard, hot sauce, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon juice. Taste the remoulade sauce and season with salt and pepper if desired.
- Serve. Serve the crab cakes warm with the remoulade and lemon slices.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
can i substitute canned salmon? directions please
Sure! You can also use my recipe for canned salmon patties here: https://diethood.com/salmon-patties/
You’ll need to preheat the air fryer to 400หF. Spray the basket with cooking oil, then add the patties to the basket. Spray the tops with cooking oil and cook for about 8 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking.