Homemade Crab Cakes (Baked in Oven)

These homemade crab cakes are baked instead of fried so you can feel good about enjoying a few! Serve with a side of tartar sauce for a tasty snack or appetizer.

I spent some time in the Baltimore area where crab cakes are nothing but fresh crab with a little binder to hold them together. The quality was amazing! You might even say that I got a bit spoiled.

But when I found myself craving them recently, I decided to create my own recipe for homemade crab cakes using tinned crab.

With vibrant flavors and some bread crumbs to hold it all together, these are almost as good as the ones I remember.

Not to mention, they’re baked in the oven instead of fried, which means you can actually feel good about eating them!

How to make homemade crab cakes

Believe it or not, crab cakes are quite simple to make right at home. Mix up the ingredients, coat them in bread crumbs, and toss them in the oven!

Here are the step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, mix together the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, hot sauce, and Old Bay until well combined.

Step 3: Stir in the red bell pepper, scallion, and dry bread crumbs.

Step 4: Gently stir in the crab. You want the crab meat to be just barely incorporated into the rest of the mixture.

Step 5: Put the Panko bread crumbs on a plate.

Step 6: Divide the crab mixture into 8 portions, shaping each portion into a ball and then rolling it in the Panko crumbs. Once covered, place the ball on the baking sheet and flatten to form a patty. Repeat until you have 8 patties.

Step 6: Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the patties are golden brown on the bottom.

Step 7: Carefully flip the crab cakes over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Once they are golden and crispy, remove from the oven and enjoy!

What to serve with this dish

Crab cakes make a delicious snack or appetizer. They’re so good, you could easily eat them all on their own.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy them is with a little light tartar sauce. They don’t need much, just some cool creaminess to offset the crispy bread crumbs. The combination is just fantastic.

For a more well-rounded meal, you could serve them over some fresh greens with tomatoes and a mustard-based dressing for a tasty salad.

Or throw them on a bun, top with coleslaw and tartar sauce, and enjoy a hearty crab cake sandwich!

Nutrition

Traditional crab cakes are either pan-fried or deep-fried until crispy. They are delicious, but they aren’t terribly healthy.

With this oven-baked version, you still get the amazing flavor of the crab and the crispiness from the breadcrumbs, but way fewer calories and fat!

In fact, each crab cake is just 100 calories with only 1.1 grams of fat. I like to enjoy two with some tartar sauce for a wonderful snack.

These are a bit high in sodium though, so keep that in mind if you have high blood pressure.

Storage

If you find yourself with leftover crab cakes, be sure to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

For maximum freshness, the crab cakes should be consumed within 3-5 days.

Other healthy seafood recipes

Do you love seafood as much as I do? Fish and shellfish can be great sources of protein, and there are so many different ways to cook and flavor these dishes!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes that I know you’ll love:

• Shrimp Scampi Foil Packets
• Southwest-Spiced Salmon Chowder
• Sesame Seared Tuna with Fennel Apple Slaw

You can also take a look at my roundup of the best low-carb seafood recipes for more inspiration.

When you’ve tried this dish, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!