Louisiana Crab Cakes
Louisiana Crab Cakes are a wonderful addition to any seafood meal. Flaky crab coupled with fresh veggies keep true to the Southern favorite. The slightly spicy chili sauce is so good you’ll want it on everything on your plate!
Origins of the Crab Cake
Now, I am about to tell you something that may surprise you. The delicious crab cake was not invented here in the American South. Yep, sure wasn’t. But like a lot of other things, we added our own signature flair to the dish and developed a distinct difference in what you find elsewhere.
The Crab cake actually comes from the Maryland area. Many think it is derived from a way that Native Americans served the tender, flaky confection. No matter how you fry it up, Baltimore style or Louisiana style, it is a seafood dish enjoyed by many people in all regions.
The Louisiana version is spicy! It also is pan fried in oil rather than butter and is breaded instead of not. Those are the main differences. We tried to stay true to the Louisiana version here but you will see we did pay homage in some flavor profiles to honor the Maryland crab cakes version as well.
If you want to switch things up try serving this with a dollop of our SPICY PIMENTO CHEESE or a dash of hot sauce on top! Whoooooo weeee!
How to make them.
We start off by gently cooking our veggies. This makes a big difference in the taste of the dish. Cooking them just until tender and adding the spices in creates a myriad of great flavor.
Then we pull it all together and fry them up in just a bit of oil to seal the deal. We love BLANCHING OUR OWN VEGGIES in the summer so we can make these beauties all year long. Click the link to find out how to do that.
Want to add a bit more kick of spicy freshness when you serve these beauties? Check out our recipe for REDNECK CAVIAR as a great complement to these flaky bites of goodness.
Ingredients
- 1 Pound of lump Crab meat, can be imitation
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper, any color
- 2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried Dill
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 10 crushed butter crackers
- 4 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
FOR THE REMOULADE SAUCE
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Chili powder
Method
- In a large skillet, cook onion , celery and bell pepper in 2 tablespoons of butter until tender at medium heat. Add minced garlic, parsley, creole seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, dill, old bay seasoning and thyme. Cook just until fragrant. About 1-2 minutes. Cool and place mixture in a large bowl.
- Stir in beaten eggs. Gently fold in crabmeat, flour and crushed crackers. Mix just until combined.
- In a small bowl, combine ingredients for sauce and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat oil in the same skillet at low to medium heat. Form cakes out of crab mixture and place in pan or either in mold in pan to keep them together.
- Cook 3-5 minutes per side until done. Remove and drain to cool.
- Serve with sauce and Enjoy!
How to make the remoulade sauce
The Spicy Chili Sauce is one for the books! It adds so much to this recipe but can also be used for so much more! It is a simple dump and mix recipe. Which is our favorite kind!
Storage
Once cooled, these can be refrigerated for up to a week in an airtight container.
They also freeze well prior to cooking. Form the crab cakes and place them on a sheet pan on parchment paper and freeze for about 30 minutes. Then transfer them to a freezer safe container or bag for storage. Thaw at room temperature to pan fry to prepare.
Why Brooke loves this recipe!
Recipes are like antiques. They are meant to be handed down from one generation to another. Each one holding a special memory or nostalgic memory. Here is why we love this one!
There are just some foods that taste like summer. Crab cakes, for me is one of them. Squeeze a little lemon juice on them and I go right to the beach in my mind. Food is wonderful as it can stir up memories and leave us with feelings of comfort and well being!
If you make this recipe, be sure and post it to Facebook or Instagram and tag us. We love pictures of food.
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Louisiana Crab Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 lb lump crab meat can be imitation
- 2 TBSPS butter
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 2 TBSPS garlic minced
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley dried
- 1/2 cup bell pepper any color, chopped
- 2 tsps Creole Seasoning
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 tsps dried basil
- 1 tsp dried Dill
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 eggs beaten
- 10 butter crackers crushed
- 4 TBSPS canola oil
- 3 TBSPS all purpose flour
For the remoulade sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 2 TBSPS Creole seasoning
- 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook onion ,celery and bell pepper in 2 tablespoons of butter until tender over medium heat. Add minced garlic, parsley, creole seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, dill, Old Bay seasoning and thyme. Cook just until fragrant. About 1-2 minutes. Cool and place mixture in a large bowl.2 TBSPS butter, 1/2 cup onion, 2 TBSPS garlic, 1/2 cup celery, 1 tbsp parsley, 1/2 cup bell pepper, 2 tsps Creole Seasoning, 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning, 2 tsps dried basil, 1 tsp dried Dill, 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Stir in beaten eggs. Gently fold in crabmeat, flour and crushed crackers.
Mix just until combined.1 lb lump crab meat, 2 eggs, 10 butter crackers, 3 TBSPS all purpose flour - In a small bowl, combine ingredients for sauce and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 cup Mayonnaise, 2 TBSPS Creole seasoning, 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder
- Heat oil in the same skillet at low to medium heat.
Form cakes out of crab mixture and place in pan or either in mold in pan to keep them together.
Cook 3-5 minutes per side until done. Remove and drain to cool.4 TBSPS canola oil - Serve with sauce and Enjoy!
See How To Make It!
Tips and Tricks
Be sure to watch us make these CRAB CAKES live over on our youtube channel.
My favorite trick here is to use the largest biscuit cutter I have. I place it in the pan and form my cakes within it. Let them cook a minute then use tongs to remove the mold. You can also form the cakes and chill them for about 30 minutes before cooking to hold them together.
While the main components of the recipe are the same, Maryland style are not breaded. While these are not, they do contain flour and crackers that act more as a binder. The northern version of these are laced with more hints of lemon and thyme and savory seasonings like the Old Bay and usually do not contain any spice like the creole seasoning.
This is a very loose batter. Mainly made up of the crab meat and the veggies. It would be a hard thing to keep it together in a deep fryer without freezing first. Placing frozen food in a deep fryer can be cumbersome.
Yes! Spray them well with cooking spray and air fry at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes, turning over once during cooking. Air fry until they are brown and crispy.
Made this for Mother’s Day and it was out of this world delicious! Thanks for sharing
That makes MY Mother’s Day! Thank you!!!
I love this recipe. It’s easy to follow. Not too many expensive ingredients either. Great side dish for seafood night.