Baked Maryland Crab Cakes

If you’ve read my posts on Berlin and Ocean City, Maryland, The Famous Foods of Maryland, The Best Crab Restaurants in Ocean City, MD, or the The Ultimate U.S. Food Bucket List, you know I love a traditional blue crab feast and Maryland crab cakes!

When my mother-in-law, Halyna, was alive, we always knew our visit would be celebrated with a bushel of crabs and homemade lump crab cakes. Halyna made the best crab cakes on the Eastern Shore, but just like in restaurants, they were always fried.

Always on the lookout for a recipe that needs a healthy overhaul, I decided to create a no-fry Baked Maryland Crab Cake recipe.

This healthy crab cake recipe is so good, it has made it hard for me to enjoy the fried ones at restaurants. Although the ones in Maryland and Virginia on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay are much better than those in my state of California.

Imitation crab cakes are also definitely out. Buy fresh or canned lump crab meat and you will not be sorry! You will see crab claw meat in cans, and that is ok, but the lump crab meat has a richer, less fishy taste. If the expense is an issue, consider mixing the two, rather than opting for the cheaper claw meat. I also don’t recommend any imitation crab seasoning; Old Bay is the way to go!

If you want to serve a crab cake sauce, I recommend remoulade, and have included my Remoulade Sauce recipe below.

Baked Maryland Crab Cakes Recipe

Makes 10 large crab cakes

Ingredients
2 large eggs, beaten
¼ cup light mayonnaise
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 slices white or wheat bread, diced small
2 pounds lump crab meat "picked through"
5 lemon wedges (optional)

Instructions
1. Mix mayonnaise, eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.
2. Mix in old bay and parsley.
3. Add bread into the bowl and fold in so mixed well. The secret to these crab cakes is letting this mixture sit for an hour.
4. Use a spatula to chop up the bread mixture to where the lumps are almost all broken up.
5. Gently fold crab into mixture. Try not to break all of the lumps apart.
6. Form into burger-like cakes. Make as uniform as possible for even cooking.
7. Place crab cake on well sprayed sheet pan. Pat them so that stray pieces of crab are not sticking out, or they will burn and become hard.
8. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Pull out of oven and flip each one over. They should be browned on the bottom, and firm enough to flip while still being soft.
9. Bake another 5-10 minutes until cooked through.

Tips
1. If you are making appetizer crab cakes, make 20 per recipe.
2. They are delicious on their own, but try the traditional crab cake sauce, remoulade below.

Meal Prep
Crab cakes can be fully prepared and cooked ahead for an easy reheating at meal time.

Remoulade Sauce aka Crab Cake Sauce

Servings: 10

Ingredients
1 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until mixed well.

What to serve with Bake Maryland Crab Cakes

Crab cakes can be filling, so they go well with sides that are a little lighter like corn on the cob and salads rather than heavy potato oriented sides. Here are a few recipes I like with them:

Kale and Quinoa with Orange Dressing
Nutty Coleslaw
Strawberry Arugula Salad

What to do with leftover Baked Maryland Crab Cakes

The way I see it, there are only 2 good choices for leftover crab cakes.

1. Reheat and eat! They will heat well in the oven or the microwave.

2. Crab cake sandwich, of course! And anything goes here. Try the crab cake on a roll with remoulade or tarter sauce mixed with old bay. Possible additions to your sandwich: onions, tomatoes, pickles, bacon, avocado. This is making me hungry!