Cajun Crab Cakes (No Breadcrumbs) Recipe

I've tried crab cakes at different restaurants all of my life and can honestly say that I disliked them to the point that I stopped even ordering them anymore. These are delicious! Anyone who tries this recipe will never get them anywhere else again, they are the best.

I had to triple the recipe due to having 14 people over for Easter brunch So I didn't make the sauce but I followed the recipe omitting the celery, carrots and dill. The first two cause I don't like them and the dill cause once I got everything going and the rest of the herbs in, it's didn't need it. The vegetable mixture is pretty fragrant by itself. I mixed everything up and formed the crab cakes the night before and took them out to come to room temp about 30 minutes before popping the into the oven at 350 for 25 minutes. I turned them over about half way through. I couldn't keep people away from them. Everyone made some comment about it being the best they've had etc. I frankly don't cook crab often, and will def not be making this for such a large crowd again in the future only due to the expense of crab meat. But according to Hubby, I need to keep this recipe handy, in case he gets a craving.

I made this for New Years special dinner. It was amazing. I skipped dill. Also, I keep it simple wherever possible so I just combined all ingredients except crab, eggs, breadcrumbs and sautéed all together- much easier and tasted fabulous. Then cooled the veggie/spices till room temp, combined with eggs and cracker crumbs. I lined 6 oz ramekins with Saran Wrap and put 2/3 c. Of crab mix in each. Sealed them up and refrigerated for 2 hrs. Then you can pull pre portioned to cook when you want. Also, I baked at 350 for 25 min instead of sautéing to save calories- was amazing! If possible make sauce day before to give time for flavor to develop. I used low fat mayo for healthier version without flavor sacrifice- enjoy!

Similar experience as boomzila’s 12/26/12 review w/ our first four crab cakes not holding together. Wonder if using fresh vs. canned lump crabmeat could be the cause (ingredients list does not specify although Tracy mentions using fresh in her lead in; if using canned crab, suggest not only draining {which was done} but also squeezing out any excess moisture {which was not done}). Cracker crumbs were added and the remaining mixture was left in the fridge for awhile which then made the cakes bind together noticeably better. The crab cakes were pretty tasty although a bit salty. If made again, the following changes would be made: (i) use the Creole Seasoning Blend by Joslyn from this site and omit the Tony Chachere's® Creole seasoning (homemade allows you to control the sodium content); (ii) to better bind the mixture if using canned crab, add three large eggs instead of two, use 14 Keebler Club® crackers, and refrigerate the crab mixture for at least one hour; and (iii) eliminate pan frying in oil by baking/broiling them as other reviewers did. We wasted ingredients by making the spicy Cajun dipping sauce as Tony Chachere's® seasoning made a salty sauce for our tastes thereby elevating the overall saltiness of the crab cakes . . . no one used the sauce after an initial taste test. We’re only rating the crab cakes as the sauce need not be an integral part of this recipe.

These were fantastic. Even my non seafood eating daughter ate one... and loved it! I formed them and put them under the broiler for a few minutes till they browned nicely and them served them with a spicy remoulade. This method of cooking them was so good that I will probably never try them fried in oil! Who needs the extra calories! By the way the remoulade sace I made can be found on the Food Network: Patrick and Gina Neely's Fried Oysters recipe.

If you are a fan of the "Maryland" type crab cake, which uses less filler, then this is not the recipe for you. I live in the Deep South where we like food spicy, full of ingredients and full of flavor! This is by far, the best crab cake we've had to date. I did not add all the crab to the mixture at once, reserving about 1/4 of the chunks to press/gently work into already-made patties before cooking. I broiled some under high heat, about four minutes per side. It was good, especially for the health conscious. I fried the rest, which is how we preferred it. So delicious! Also, if it seems like the mixture won't hold together, add crumbs. And pop the mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes before forming patties. Thank you for a fabulous recipe!

I will make this again. Read all the reviews, and I broiled them. Really good! Made the remoloude and it was good too. Did cut back on the Tony's, but if you use Tony's regularly (like I do) you already know it's kind of salty. But excellent recipe and I will make this again.

These had excellent taste and balance. My only difficulty was keeping them together as a patty. I squeezed out excess moisture when forming the patty which helped a lot. I will surely make this again.

I have made this recipe twice: the first time without dipping sauce, and I used some fresh parsley I had around, and made my own cajun seasoning. It was very good (4.5 stars). The second time, I made it according to directions (2.5 stars-- maybe I misread them): dried parsley flakes do not hack it for me; Tony Cachere's seasoning has way too much salt; and I have to believe that there is a typo on the dipping sauce: we could not eat it, way too salty. IMHO, make it with fresh parsley; add 1/2 lemon's juice, cut the Tony Cachere's seasoning in half; use one tsp of basil. Better yet, make your own cajun seafood seasoning mix: 1/2 tsp salt,1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/4 tsp cayeene, 1/4 tsp crushed peppers (like you use on pizza), 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp onion powder-- use 1/2 of this mix and add salt judiciously after tasting the final mix before forming the cakes. I don't know what to do about the sauce-- the cakes are so good alone we don't need it anyway. --Bill

The test cake fell apart while frying. I had to add an egg and double the cracker crumbs. After that they were pretty amazing, probably the best crab cakes I've ever had! I have a feeling that if I had broiled them they would have held together without the additions. Be careful when adding creole seasoning, some have drastically different salt contents and its hard to adjust when you shouldn't taste the mix with raw eggs in it.

The crab cakes are excellent and the sauce is excellent. I left out the green onions because I didn't have any, and I used slightly less seasoning. Adjust according to your taste. They are very moist and flavorful.

Needs more binder.

This was the highlight of my day.

This is the first time I have ever made crab cakes. They were delicious! Better than most I have had in restaurants. This recipe will be a mainstay for us forever. Don and Virginia

Liked the flavor but I should have cut the crab (imitation ) smaller. Needs more binder too. They completely came apart so I will do something next time to help it hold together.

I made these for dinner last night. My daughter who ‘hates’ crab cakes liked them. They were really good and the sauce made them even better.

The flavor was delicious. I would make it again, but it needed more binder so I would add more crackers.

used fake crab still tasted good to me. I had no green onion or fresh parsly or celery. Served with re moo loude sauce..yum

These were delicious, very flavourful and an excellent texture. The dipping sauce added extra zip!

Making it for the third time. We can't get enough of these crab cakes. I should put out copies of the recipe because I keep getting asked for it. One change, is that I bake them in the oven. Delicious!