Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (no egg)
Updated May 14, 2025, Published Nov 25, 2022
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Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (no egg)- if you love Maryland-style crab cakes, this recipe is for you! There is little filler, and the jumbo lump crab meat is the star of the show. Seasoned with lemon, parsley, and Old Bay Seasoning, this is the best crab cake recipe!
You can make the filling up to a day in advance and bake them when ready. Serve them for a special occasion or any night of the week!
You will also love Fried Butterfly Shrimp Recipe (Easy and Crunchy), Stuffed Salmon Recipe with Shrimp and Crab, Classic Lobster Bisque Recipe (Easy), Shrimp Salad, and King Crab Salad Recipe (Simple and Easy). If you are wondering what to serve with crab cakes- get inspired here.
Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (no egg)
I fell in love with authentic Maryland crab cakes when I visited Maryland as a child. The Chesapeake Bay is home to Maryland’s famous blue crabs.
This recipe is inspired by my dad’s *famous* and delicious crab cakes. I request his crab cakes every chance I get. They are filled with lump crab meat and contain just the right spices and filling to make any crab lover swoon.
They are baked to golden brown perfection and served with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (or tartar sauce, if desired).
Crab Cakes Without Eggs
This is recipe is similar to my dad’s but made without using eggs in the filling to create eggless crab cakes. I love this easy recipe, and it is beautiful for all of those with egg allergies.
You will also enjoy this Vegetarian Quiche Recipe and Falafel Pita with Tahini Sauce!
Table of Contents
- Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (no egg)
- Simple Ingredients
- Best Crab Meat for Crab Cakes
- Crab Cake Filler
- How to Make Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (no egg) Step-by-Step Photos
- Variations
- Can I make these easy Crab Cakes ahead of time?
- Storage
- What to Serve with Crab Cakes
- Top Tip
- Crab Cakes Recipe FAQ
- More Seafood Recipes
- Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (egg-free)
Simple Ingredients
These easy crab cakes are best made with quality crab meat (see my recommendations below). Splurge on good crab meat as the rest of the ingredients are inexpensive.
- Crab Meat
- Mayonnaise (egg-free or vegan mayo)
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- Green Onion
- Fresh Parsley
- Dijon Mustard
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Old Bay Seasoning
- Lemon Juice
- Butter or Olive Oil
See the recipe card for quantities.
Best Crab Meat for Crab Cakes
The fresher the crab meat, the superior the taste of the crab cake. Ask your grocer where to find the freshest crab meat in the store.
I purchase fresh crab meat sold in a 1 lb plastic tub from the seafood counter in my local grocery store. You can sometimes find the tubs on the ice next to the seafood counter. Buy the best crab meat you can find to create the very best crab cakes.
Here are some options and names you will find on package labels for the type of crab meat for this recipe.
- Jumbo lump crab meat
- Blue crab meat
- Claw meat
- Fresh lump crab meat
- Backfin crab meat
Stay away from imitation crab meat for making crab cakes. It’s simply not worth it and won’t give you the best results.
Crab Cake Filler
We don’t want a lot of filler to let the crab remain the star ingredient, but we need a little texture and binger to hold everything together. All of these options work well interchangeably.
- Panko bread crumbs (used in this recipe and my personal preference)
- Saltine crackers, made into crumbs
- Ritz crackers, made into crumbs
How to Make Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (no egg) Step-by-Step Photos
Can you believe these crab cakes are ready in 20 minutes? They are super easy to pull together for a fabulous presentation and a luxurious-tasting meal.
Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C). Generously grease a rimmed baking sheet with butter or nonstick spray or line it with a silicone baking mat.
In a large bowl combine the mayonnaise, parsley, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, lemon juice, and salt together. Mix until combined.
TIP: Place the crab meat on top, followed by the panko breadcrumbs. With a rubber spatula or large spoon, very gently and carefully fold them together. Do not mix vigorously or the crab meat will fall apart.
Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day if making ahead of time.
Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, portion the crab cake mixture into 6 mounds on the baking sheet. (Do not press down or smush the cakes). Use your hands to shape the mounds, so they are one uniform mound.
Brush the tops with melted butter or olive oil. This creates a nice crust.
Bake the crab cakes for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges and on top. Drizzle each with fresh lemon juice and serve warm.
Variations
Try this recipe as it is written the first time you make it and try these variations the next time!
- Spicy – add a little hot sauce to the crab mixture for added heat.
- Saucy – crab cake sauce ideas (even though I prefer without a sauce) include tartar sauce, hollandaise sauce, and even cocktail sauce.
Can I make these easy Crab Cakes ahead of time?
Yes! The good news is you can prepare the crab cake mixture and store it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking the crab cakes. Simply brush with butter or olive oil before baking, and you are ready to bake and serve.
Storage
Cover leftover crab cakes tightly with plastic wrap or an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Crab Cakes
Crab cakes make a delightful main dish or even as a sandwich on a toasted bun. Serve with a pear gorgonzola salad, roasted potatoes, and ciabatta bread or focaccia.
Make a surf and turf dinner with these recipes- How to Cook Steak in a Pan (Perfect Recipe) and How to Cook a Small Prime Rib Roast Recipe.
You can make mini crab cakes and serve them as finger food, a crowd-pleasing appetizer. They make great leftovers as well if you have any!
Top Tip
- For the best crab cake texture, use (jumbo) lump crab meat, a little filler, and bake the cakes in a very hot oven. Alternatively, you can use an air fryer.
Crab Cakes Recipe FAQ
You can certainly do both. I find that frying them in a frying pan makes it easier for the crab cakes to fall apart when flipping them. I simply brush butter or olive oil on top of the crab cakes and bake them in the oven. They are perfect that way and don’t fall apart!
Typically, crab cakes use eggs as a binder. In this Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (no egg) we use vegan mayo as a binder and skip the egg. The crabcake holds together great without any egg white or whole egg added.
Jumbo lump crabmeat is generally the best choice for crab cakes. Jumbo lump Maryland crab meat is perfect for making these easy crab cakes at home. Using delicate lump crabmeat requires less binding for the cakes.
More Seafood Recipes
- Crispy Baked Cod with Panko Recipe
- Baked Stuffed Flounder with Crab and Shrimp
- Easy Blackened Cod Recipe
- Trottole Pasta Recipe with Tomato Sauce and Shrimp
- Seafood Pasta with Red Sauce (Linguini Frutti di Mare)
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta Recipe (with Fettuccine)
- Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass With Lemon Butter Herb Sauce
- Squid Ink Pasta Recipe with Shrimp and Cherry Tomato Sauce
- Steamed Lobster with Garlic Sauce
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Easy Crab Cakes Recipe (egg-free)
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh lump crab meat
- ⅔ cup Panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, vegan mayo, or regular mayo if no egg allergies
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, or 2 teaspoons dried
- 1 tablespoon green onion
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, up to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons for a spicier kick
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus more for serving
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons melted butter, or olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C). Generously grease a rimmed baking sheet with butter or nonstick spray or line it with a silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl combine the mayonnaise, parsley, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, lemon juice, and salt together. Mix until combined.
- Place the crab meat on top, followed by the panko crumbs. With a rubber spatula or large spoon, very gently and carefully fold them together. Do not mix vigorously or the crab meat will fall apart.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day if making ahead of time.
- Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, portion the crab cake mixture into 6 mounds on the baking sheet. (Do not press down or smush the cakes). Use your hands to shape the mounds, so they are one uniform mound. Brush the tops with melted butter or olive oil. This creates a nice crust.
- Bake the crab cakes for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges and on top. Drizzle each with fresh lemon juice and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The crab cakes I made are delicious (anything with panko and crab will be) but they fall apart! They have no shape. I think the 1/4 cup vegan mayo I used wasn’t enough of a binder. I’d add a little more next time. Further, my expensive lump crab meat should have been cut up a bit. The pieces were often 1/2″ to 1″ in size.
Also I think I really needed more than 15 minutes baking time. So I’m cooking the remaining ones again, pressed together and anointed with another dollop of melted butter.
Finally, that tablespoon of green onion listed in ingredients does not seem to appear in the directions. I would put that in with the mayo, parsley, worcestershire, etc. before adding the panko and crab.
These are amazing! I live in Maryland, so this is a blasphemy, but I replaced the Old Bay with Cavender’s Greek seasoning so it wouldn’t be too spicy for visiting grandkids. I used high quality local Maryland lump crab and they were amazing – a huge hit with all! I will be coming back to this one over and over for sure!
Yay! So happy everyone loved them. What a treat with that fresh Maryland crab!
If I plan to make these ahead of time and freeze them, would you recommend freezing before baking or after?
Freeze after baking and the reheat! Enjoy.
Just tried the recipe for the first time and my husband loved them!
So happy he did! We love to make them for special occasions. Enjoy!
Excellent! These crab cakes are very easy to make and are absolutely delicious. I made them as an appetizer fir a dinner party. My guests were impressed.
Yay! So happy you love this tried and true recipe!
I made these crab cakes for Christmas Eve. They were amazing!! Everyone loved them. I will always make this recipe for the holidays!!
So happy you found a staple recipe to make again and again! It is one we love!
These are the best crab cakes! So easy to make too.