Mini Crab Cakes Recipe

These mini crab cakes are easy to make and perfectly crispy. Coated in panko bread crumbs and shallow fried, they are packed full of flavor. Perfect as an appetizer, finger food or main meal. They can be made ahead of time and are a real crowd pleaser. This is the best crab cake recipe you'll try!

Crab cakes remind me of holidays in the states, they're simple but full of flavour. It's super quick to make a big batch and they have flavours of lemon, dill, parsley and oozy cheese. You can make big ones for main meals, or snack size (like I did!) for nibbles. They are a great option for an easy weeknight meal or serve alongside my Vegetarian Stuffed Baked Mushrooms and Crispy Jalapeno Fries as part of an appetizer plate.

How to Make Mini Crab Cakes

It's so easy to make these tasty crab cakes!

• Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks, place in a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for around 15 mins until the potato is cooked through.  Drain, place in a saucepan with the butter and mash.  Leave to cool (photos 1 & 2).

• In a large mixing bowl, place all the other ingredients, apart from the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.  Mix well. Once the potatoes have cooled, mix them in (photo 3).
• Roll into patties / balls, place on a plate and pop them in the fridge for at least 20 mins (photo 4).

• In three bowls, put the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs.
• Once the cakes are ready dip each one, in turn, in to the flour, egg and breadcrumbs insuring even coverage (photos 6, 7 & 8)

• When ready to cook, heat a large frying pan. put in enough oil to cover half of the cakes.  When the oil is hot place the crab cakes gently in.  Fry on each side for about 3 minutes until golden brown.

What do you serve crab cakes with?

These mini crab cakes are super versatile. Serve them as party food with dips like sweet chili, sriracha or ranch, as an appetizer, or as a main meal with a salad and potato side like Roast Potatoes or Oven Baked Fries. You can make them any size you want, make tiny ones for finger food and larger ones for a main meal. I'm thinking of making some to build a burger with!

Can you make this crab cake recipe ahead of time?

These crab cakes are perfect to make ahead of time - this recipe makes a fairly big batch so they are perfect for meal prep.

• You can bread the cakes and then freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen, pop them in a container or ziplock bag. Thaw them in the fridge before frying them, or you can bake them in the oven from frozen for around 25-30 minutes.
• You can keep the uncooked crab cakes covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before cooking them.
• Cooked crab cakes will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, just reheat them in an oven at 390ºf / 180ºc for about 10 minutes until heated through.

What's the best meat to use for crab cakes?

I've made these cakes with both fresh and canned crab, and they both come out tasty and delicious. If you can get your hands on fresh crab meat then absolutely use that, but canned crab meat still works well. If you use canned, get lump if you can, otherwise white will work well. If using canned crab meat, be sure to drain it well before using.

What do crab cakes taste like?

These mini crab cakes are flavored with lemon, parsley and dill so they are super fresh and zesty. Crab meat has a slightly fishy flavor but it is delicate and sweet, no overpowering at all.

These mini crab cakes are shallow fried, but you can oven bake them too

I elected to shallow fry these crab cakes - it's so quick, they just need a couple of minutes each side, and they come out perfectly crisp and golden. If you don't need them in a hurry, you can oven bake them at 390ºf / 180ºc for around 15 minutes until golden brown. Because they are coated with panko breadcrumbs, they will still turn out nice and crispy.

Top tips for this recipe

• You can use canned or fresh crab for this recipe and panko breadcrumbs are preferable over fine.
• The mashed potato should be cool before adding it to the crab mixture.
• When dredging the the crab cakes in the egg, flour and breadcrumbs, keep one hand wet and one dry so you don't end up in a clumpy mess.
• Uncooked crab cakes can be frozen, cooked crab cakes will keep refrigerated for 2 days.

If you are looking for more seafood dishes:

• Thai Mussels
• Scallops with Bacon Puree and Black Pudding
• Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail
• Baked Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Puree
• Salmon Baked in Foil with Pesto
• Potato Salad with Trout & Chorizo

I love hearing from you!! If you have tried this yummy crab cake recipe, be sure to scroll down, give it a star rating and let me know what you thought!

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Bite Size Crab Cakes

These mini crab cakes are easy to make and perfectly crispy. Coated in panko bread crumbs and shallow fried, they are packed full of flavor. Perfect as an appetizer, finger food or main meal. They can be made ahead of time and are a real crowd pleaser. This is the best crab cake recipe you'll try!

4.67 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Resting time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 mini crab cakes

Calories: 204kcal

Author: Slow The Cook Down

Ingredients

• 8.8 ounces crab meat (fresh or canned) (250g)
• 8.8 ounces potatoes (250g)
• 0.7 ounces salted butter (20g)
• 3.5 ounces mild cheddar cheese (100g)
• handful of finely chopped parsley
• handful of fresh dill
• zest of lemon
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 4 tablespoons single cream or light cream (300ml)
• Salt and pepper
• all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• panko breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil

Instructions

• Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks, place in a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for around 15 mins until the potato is cooked through.  Drain, place in a saucepan with the butter and mash.  Leave to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, place all the other ingredients, apart from the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.  Mix well. Once the potatoes have cooled, mix them in. Roll into patties / balls, place on a plate and pop them in the fridge for at least 20 mins.
• In three bowls, put the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs.
• Once the cakes are ready dip each one, in turn, in to the flour, egg and breadcrumbs insuring even coverage.
• When ready to cook, heat a large frying pan. put in enough oil to cover half of the cakes.  When the oil is hot place the crab cakes gently in.  Fry on each side for about 3 minutes until golden brown.
• Serve with sweet chilli dip and a wedge of lemon

Notes

• You can use canned or fresh crab for this recipe and panko breadcrumbs are preferable over fine.
• The mashed potato should be cool before adding it to the crab mixture.
• When dredging the the crab cakes in the egg, flour and breadcrumbs, keep one hand wet and one dry so you don't end up in a clumpy mess.
• Uncooked crab cakes can be frozen, cooked crab cakes will keep refrigerated for 2 days.

Nutritional values are based on one of twelve crab cakes and is an approximation.

Nutrition

Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 324mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 456IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 2mg

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