Crab Cakes with Creamy Cajun Sauce
My favorite crab cake recipe for tender, fluffy crab cakes made with loads of crab meat, spiced with a blend of Cajun seasonings, then drizzled with a flavorful creamy Cajun sauce. Try this for a great dinner option.
Who’s in the mood for crab cakes? I certainly am! Crab cakes are a nice recipe item to keep on your menu. They’re kinda-sorta fancy in a way, so if you wanted to impress your date with a romantic evening dinner in, you could always serve up crab cakes as either the main course or as a small plate starter.
Truth be told, they’re a nice option for holiday meals, but once you’ve gotten the hang of making them, they might become an easy weeknight meal for you.
Honestly, they’re not very hard to make. The key thing to get down is nailing the consistency of the hand formed patties before cooking them so they don’t fall apart on you. Outside of that, you can have them on the table in about a half hour or so.
YES, even for a slow cook like me.
Good crab cakes are light and delicate, not dense. These are made with a lot of crab, with just enough other ingredients to help hold them together.
Realistically making them is as simple as mixing your ingredients together in a bowl, forming the patties and cooking them in a pan.
The Creamy Cajun Sauce can be whipped together in no time while the crab cakes are cooking up for you.
Let’s talk about how we make them, shall we?
How to Make these Crab Cakes with Creamy Cajun Sauce – the Recipe Method
In a large bowl, combine some bread crumbs with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and a bit of salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl, combine an egg with mayonnaise, hot sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, celery, shallot, serrano and parsley.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix it all up with a fork. Add the crab meat and hand mix.
Form them into 6 large crab cakes and set them on a large plate. Alternatively, form them into smaller patties for appetizer or small plate portions.
For the Cajun Cream Sauce, simply process some mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, pickled jalapenos, celery, Cajun seasoning, lemon juice and minced garlic in a food processor until smooth.
Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the butter. Add the crab cakes and cook them for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until they are nicely browned on both sides.
Serve with the Cajun Cream Sauce and lemon wedges.
The Heat Factor
These crab cakes are in the mild-medium range of spiciness. You can up the heat a bit with extra serrano peppers and/or Cajun seasonings, or use a spicier Cajun blend. I like to make mine with a pinch of ghost powder.
Check out my homemade Cajun seasoning blend recipe.
Dinner or Small Plates
As mentioned, I’ve written up the recipe to make 6 good sized crab cakes. You can serve one or two of them up as a dinner. Just add a side dish for a more complete meal.
However, crab cakes always make for a nice appetizer. I usually order them at restaurants as a starter, or if we’re in the mood for a number of small plates for dinner. If you’d like
What Type of Crab to Use for Making Crab Cakes?
You can use any type of crab to make crab cakes. I enjoy purchasing Alaskan King Crab Legs from our local market, then extracting the meat from the shells for lump crab cakes. You’ll get beautiful huge chunks of crab in every bite this way. It’s an expensive option, however.
Crab claw meat is also great for making chunky crab cakes. Making crab cakes from canned crab is the most budget friendly option. They’re still big on flavor.
Try Some of These Other Popular Crab Recipes
- Crab Stuffed Peppers with Lemon-Basil Butter
- Crab Claws with Mustard Dipping Sauce
- Roasted Red Pepper and Blue Crab Bisque from the Chesapeake Bay
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
- ¾ cup bread crumbs or crushed saltine crackers
- 2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning or more to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon whole grain spicy mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 shallot chopped
- 1 serrano pepper chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1 pound fresh lump crab meat
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon whole grain spicy mustard
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeno peppers
- 1 tablespoon diced celery
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 cloves garlic minced
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In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper to make the crab cakes. Mix well.
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In a separate bowl, combine the egg, mayonnaise, hot sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, celery, shallot, serrano and parsley.
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Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a fork. Add the crab meat and hand mix. Form them into 6 crab cakes and set them on a large plate.
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Next, make the Cajun Cream Sauce by processing the mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, pickled jalapenos, celery, Cajun seasoning, lemon juice and minced garlic in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
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Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the butter. Add the crab cakes and cook them for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until they are nicely browned on both sides. Serve with the Cajun Cream Sauce and lemon wedges.
Recipe Video
Heat Factor: Mild-Medium. Up the heat a bit with extra serranos and/or Cajun seasonings, or use a spicier Cajun blend.
18 comments
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Was in search of a nice cajun-type sauce for my Mardis Gras-themed dinner, and Googled upon this site. Only made the sauce part of this recipe…but even just that is amazing! Will definitely be making this again. Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous recipe.
Thanks, Coconut! I LOVE the sauce, too!
The cajun sauce in this recipe is really unique! It gives them that extra something. Can’t wait to make them again for a crowd.
These crab cakes look delicious and super flavourful! The cajun sauce sounds fantastic and I could see myself using it in other recipes too!
these look amazing, I really want to start eating more seafood based meals so these would be perfect! I love salmon patties so only can imagine I’d love these!
These will definitely get you eating more seafood, Georgie! Enjoy.
These crab cakes look fabulous and I love the idea of cajun kick of flavor!
Yes! Awesome!
MMM. I was looking for a crab cake recipe to surprise my husband who is from the East Coast. Can’t wait to make this for Christmas eve.
Perfect timing!
Love crab and salmon cakes but my wife is allergic to eggs and can’t find a recipe or a substitute with out egg.
Michael, I would use some olive oil instead of eggs. I believe it will bind nicely that way. Let me know how it turns out for you.
I love crab but the wife hates it. do you think this would work with salmon?
Tom, yes, this would totally work. I also have a recipe for Salmon Patties you might check out as well. Let me know how they turn out for you.
Looks absolutely delicious! I’ll try that in the next days, thank you Mike!
Great, Jeremie! Enjoy.
Done! Hmm, this one was gorgeous, a rich lemony sauce, solid cakes full of flavors… that’s definitevely a win! …and I love your videos, Mike!
Awesome, Jeremie. Glad you enjoyed them. And the videos. Thanks!