• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
southern discourse
  • Home
  • Recipe Box
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Bread
    • Brunch/Breakfast
    • Casseroles
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Hospitality
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • Everyday
  • My South
    • Events
    • Monday Coffee Break
  • About
    • Meet Stacey
    • Privacy Disclosure
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipe Box
  • My South
  • Hospitality
  • About
  • Meet Stacey
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Best Louisiana Crab Cakes

     

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Crisp outsides and delicate sweet crab insides, Louisiana Crab Cakes are loaded with flavor and pan fried to a golden brown to create a classic southern seafood favorite anyone can make! Serve them as appetizers at parties, brunches and showers, as a main dish your family will love or on sliders buns for a tasty crab cake sandwich!

    The best Louisiana crab cake recipe for easy seafood dinners, appetizers and crab cake sliders.

    What Makes Louisiana Crab Cakes Special?

    Everybody knows that Maryland is famous for its crab cakes, but is there any surprise that Louisiana has its own southern style of crab cake? Not when you know that Louisiana has been noted as one of the world’s largest blue crab fisheries.

    RELATED RECIPES: Easy Southern Salmon Patties, Homemade Cornmeal Fish Fry Mix

    Blue Crab live along Louisiana’s coastal waters, but most are harvested from Lake Pontchartrain and the Terrebonne Basin. And with the long Louisiana crabbing season (May-October), there is plenty of time to catch and cook up delicious, crispy crab cakes!

    Even though both Maryland and Louisiana rely on fresh blue crab for the best crab cakes, Louisiana crab cakes are highly seasoned and lightly breaded, or dredged, in flour or a flour/cornmeal mix then pan-fried in oil instead of butter. They are always enjoyed with a dash or two of hot sauce or healthy dunk Louisiana remoulade sauce, homemade tartar sauce or spicy cocktail sauce.

    Louisiana Crab Cakes are made with mayonnaise, spicy mustard, herbs, spices, peppers & onions, crackers, eggs and a flour dredge.

    Louisiana Crab Cake Ingredients

    • lump crab meat, shells picked out
    • red bell pepper
    • green onions
    • mayonnaise
    • lemon juice
    • butter
    • egg
    • All Purpose Creole Seasoning (or Old Bay Seasoning)
    • Worcestershire sauce
    • Creole/spicy or whole grain mustard
    • salt
    • crushed crackers (multi-grain club crackers recommended)
    • flour for dredging
    • oil for frying
    recipe tips
    How to make tender, crispy Louisiana Crab Cakes

    How To Make Crispy Louisiana-Style Crab Cakes

    Mix Up The Ingredients. Use a gentle hand (so the crab doesn’t break down) to mix all of the ingredients, except crackers, flour and oil, together in a large bowl.  Add crushed crackers, starting with 1/2 cup, to bind the ingredients together. Add more crackers if the mixture is too wet.

    Make the Cakes/Patties. Form small 3 inch patties using the wet crab mixture. Gently dredge patties through the flour, lightly covering both sides.

    Fry the Cakes. Carefully place the crab cakes in a heated frying pan with vegetable oil.  Cook 4-5 minutes on one side.  Gently turn the cakes over and cook until golden brown. Remove the crab cakes from the skillet and let drain on a paper towel. 

    classic louisiana crab cake recipe is made with blue crab and pan fried in vegetable oil.

    What is the Best Crab Meat to Use for Crab Cakes?

    While many restaurants use jumbo lump crab to make their cakes, I’ve found that using lump or special crab meat or a combination of the two works best for making homemade crab cakes that are easy to handle and keep together while cooking.

    Even if you don’t have a fresh seafood market, you should be able to buy quality lump crab in the grocery store no matter where you live.

    Is it Better to Pan Fry or Bake Crab Cakes?

    I prefer to pan fry my crab cakes because I like the crispy outsides and juicy, tender insides it creates. It’s also how traditional southern crab cakes are made.

    However, crab cakes can be baked in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes or lightly sprayed with olive oil and cooked in the air fryer for 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees.

    Lump Crab Meat is best for making Louisiana Crab Cakes because of it quality, texture and delicate, sweet crab flavor.

    How to Keep Crab Cakes From Falling Apart

    Crab cakes fall apart while cooking when there isn’t enough binder (eggs & mayo) to hold them together. A little filler (crackers or breadcrumbs) helps too, but don’t add too much! Keep your crab mixture sticky & wet to make patties.

    Secondly, chilling the crabmeat patties for 15-30 minutes before frying also helps keep them together. Regardless, crab cakes require a careful, gentle touch during the cooking process.

    To keep crab cakes from falling apart when cooking, use plenty of eggs & mayo, a few crackers or bread crumbs and a gentle touch.

    Freezing & Storing Louisiana Crab Cakes

    Both cooked and uncooked crab cakes freeze well. Layer with parchment paper in an air tight container and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

    To store leftover crab cakes, just cover tightly or put in a zip top bag and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. Heat leftover cakes underneath the oven broiler or in an air fryer for crispy outsides.

    Making Crab Cakes Ahead of Time

    Louisiana Crab Cakes are perfect for making ahead of time for a party, brunch, cookout or family meal. Just prep the vegetables and make the crabmeat mixture the night before. Cover & refrigerate. Make the patties, dredge and fry the next day.

    serce crab cakes on slider buns with remoulade sauce instead of burgers.

    What to Serve with Crispy Louisiana Crab Cakes

    Serve these crab cakes as a main dish, on sweet slider buns for delicious crab cake sliders, or make smaller sized cakes and serve as an appetizer. For a meal, whip up any of these side dishes to serve with your crab cakes!

    • Apple Coleslaw with Buttermilk Dressing
    • Sweet Potato Wedges
    • Street Corn Pasta Salad
    • Creamy Dill Potato Salad
    • Chilled Avocado Soup
    • Spicy Watermelon Salad

    Other Seafood Recipes You’ll Love

    • Million Dollar Shrimp & Crab Dip
    • Spicy Creole Shrimp Foil Packets
    • Southern Shrimp Salad Roll with Lemon Dill Mayo
    • Louisiana Shrimp & Crab Deviled Eggs
    • New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
    • Easy Sheet Pan Pineapple Shrimp
    If You Love Easy Seafood Dinners & Have Made This Recipe, Give It All The Stars & Leave A Fun Comment! Or Tag Me @SouthernDiscourse On Social Media To Be Featured. I Love Hearing From You!
    The best Louisiana crab cake recipe for easy seafood dinners, appetizers and crab cake sliders.

    Best Louisiana Crab Cakes

    Crisp outsides and delicate sweet crab insides, Louisiana Crab Cakes are loaded with flavor and pan fried to a golden brown to create a classic southern seafood favorite anyone can make!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Appetizer, Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Easy Recipe, Louisiana, seafood
    Servings: 10 cakes
    Author: Stacey | SouthernDiscourse.com

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound lump crab meat, shells picked out
    • 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
    • 3 green onions, finely sliced
    • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
    • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
    • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
    • 1 large egg, beaten
    • 1 teaspoon All Purpose Creole Seasoning (or Old Bay Seasoning)
    • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 teaspoon Creole mustard (or spicy or whole grain mustard)
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 -1 cup finely crushed crackers (multi-grain club crackers recommended)
    • all purpose flour for dredging
    • canola oil for frying (or vegetable oil)

    Instructions

    • Heat about 1 inch of canola oil in a cast iron (or other deep) skillet over medium high heat.
    • Use a gentle hand (so the crab doesn't break down) to mix all of the ingredients, except crackers, flour and oil, together in a large bowl.  Add crushed crackers, starting with 1/2 cup, to bind the ingredients together. Add more crackers if the mixture is too wet.
    • Form 3-4 inch patties using the wet crab mixture. Gently dredge patties through the flour, lightly covering both sides.
    • Carefully place the crab cakes in a heated frying pan with oil.  Turn stove top down to medium- low heat. Cook 4-5 minutes on one side.  Gently turn the cakes over and cook until golden brown. Remove the crab cakes from the skillet and let drain on a paper towel. 
    • Serve with remoulade, tartar sauce or cocktail sauce.
    Crisp outsides and delicate sweet crab insides, Louisiana Crab Cakes are loaded with flavor and pan fried to a golden brown to create a classic southern seafood favorite anyone can make!  Serve them as appetizers at parties, brunches and showers, as a main dish your family will love or on sliders buns for a tasty crab cake sandwich!

             

    Save

    Save

    Join The Discourse Now!

    Join The Discourse Now!

    Subscribe to receive the latest recipes, entertaining ideas, weekly menus & encouragement! 

    You have Successfully Subscribed!

    Share this!

    • Facebook
    • Yummly
    • Email

    You Might Also Like...

    • Glazed orange biscuits are tender, lightly sweet and are similar to glazed orange scones.

      Glazed Orange Buttermilk Biscuits

    • A layered spaghetti with cream cheese, taco seasoned ground beef, black beans, corn, spaghetti pasta and melted cheese makes an easy family dinner.

      Million Dollar Mexican Spaghetti

    • Easy fresh strawberry pie is a no bake dessert loaded with ripe strawberries in a flaky pie crust, topped with whipped cream.

      Easy Fresh Strawberry Pie

    « Monday Menu 107- Easy Summer Suppers
    7 Fresh Tomato Recipes To Make Now »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jan

      July 02, 2015 at 11:13 am

      Looks great. Cool serving table.

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Now I Think Carolina and Calabash - a southern discourse says:
      July 25, 2015 at 11:09 am

      […] I had ever put in my mouth. Even my son, who has decided he loves crab cakes since I made them for ASD’s Fourth of July special and has tried them everywhere he’s been this summer said, “Sorry Mom, but these are the best […]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes and table settings.  We’re bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith and grace from which true hospitality springs!

    Read More →

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    Southern discourse cookbook

    Get your FREE Southern Discourse Mini Soup Cookbook!

    Get all of the latest from Southern Discourse & this mini cookbook when you SUBSCRIBE!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    JOIN SOUTHERN DISCOURSE

    With so many choices in the blog world, my hope is that at Southern Discourse you will find a place where you feel at home, where the conversations are honest and relatable, a place where you are encouraged and know you belong.  A place that makes a real difference in your day-to-day and walk with Christ.  By using the subscribe button, you become an important part of SD and are sure to never miss a post or contest!  I look forward to our conversations- the kind that could only happen on a porch, in a swing, between great friends.

    PRIVACY/COOKIE DISCLOSURE . ABOUT . CONTACT

    Copyright © 2021 Southern Discourse