Okay get ready because this recipe is a true banger, a facelift to my original Vegan Crab Cakes recipe. I decided to tweak this one after watching literally hours of Diners Drive Ins and Dives. Every single really good seafood spot on that show puts mayo, dijon and Worcestershire sauce in their crab cakes. That was probably a no brainer but cut me some slack will ya?
I made this revamped version for the first time at my Party for the 2020 Super Bowl. We did a themed sliders menu for the teams: Kansas City Barbecue Slider and San Francisco Crab-less Cakes. I know, I’m super cute. These were awesome as sliders topped with slaw ,but they are easier and just as good to eat them as the meal themselves!
What Exactly Is a Vegan Crab Cake?
It’s this miraculous creation with all of the flavor, texture and deliciousness of a crab cake, but made entirely without meat, seafood or dairy. Here’s why you’re going to love them:
Texture: These bad boys are made with artichoke hearts instead of crab meat. When chopped up, the thick part of the artichoke takes on a very similarly meaty texture to crab. Also, the briny flavor of artichoke hearts is perfect for mimicking seafood. I even have you add a little extra brine to the patties, which really amps up the flavor.
Flavor: The secret to getting seafood flavor out of non-seafood items is fairly simple, Old Bay Seasoning. The Old Bay seasoning give the crab cakes a spicy, salty flavor similar to what you’d find at a seafood boil or a traditional crab cake. In addition, the Worcestershire sauce gives it an excellent umami flavor (basically what you need to make vegetables mimic meat). Finally, these get a delicious punch up from lot’s of fresh herbs and fresh lemon juice.
Price: Let’s all just take a moment to realize that crab and seafood in general is expensive. Since we’re not all millionaires who live next to sustainable fisheries and personally know the guy who caught the fish (Ina Garten anyone), this version is far more accessible! Artichoke hearts on the other hand are under $4 a can.
Realistic: I swear these really do have all the flavor of crab cakes. I have made them for multiple people who later asked me for the recipe and completely forgot they weren’t actual crab.
Easy: These are incredibly easy to make, everything is thrown into a bowl and combined. Then, all you have to do is form them into patties and fry them. It’s one bowl, one pan and literally zero fuss.
Things You Should Know Before You Make These Vegan Crab Cakes:
The entire recipe is below for you but I want to give you a quick overview of a couple of things. First, if there are ingredients on here you do not have, all of them can be found at your regular grocery store. Old Bay is a spice mix that is common in all spice isles and usually near the flavored salts and crab boil seasoning packets. If you cannot find Old Bay, you’ll want to add just a pinch more cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of celery salt.
Artichoke hearts can be found in the canned vegetable isle. Capers are usually in the international isle by the Italian food. If you cannot find them you can cut them out but it’s really worth it to grab them.
When you’re making these, one important step is to flour your hands before you make the patties. Otherwise they will stick to your hands. The batter should be really thick like a paste and not liquidy at all. If it is too runny, you’ll want to add some more flour, just a tablespoon at a time until it thickens.
Let’s Talk About Sauce Baby:
The sauce I use here is a roasted red pepper aioli which comes together really easily in the food processor. You can buy roasted red peppers from the grocery store, or you can roast you own. If you are buying them, they are also located in the Italian section of the grocery store.
Roasting your own red peppers is extremely easy and takes about 15 minutes, plus about another 10 minutes to cool. You simply rub the peppers down with oil, salt and pepper, and roast for 15 minutes at 450, turning halfway through. Place them into a bowl and cover for 10 minutes. After they’ve cooled, peel the skin off. I make my own roasted red peppers a lot and keep them in the fridge but I also know #aintnobodygottimeforthat so please feel free to buy them instead.
I think this tangy red pepper sauce is the perfect semi-fancy accompaniment to these vegan crab cakes but these are equally good with tartar sauce.
Also please note, I typically use real mayo because I’m not vegan. However, both my tartar sauce and this aioli can be made with a 1:1 swap for vegan mayo. If you are vegan, you’ll need to swap out the Worcestershire sauce. I know you can get vegan Worcestershire at Whole Foods or on Thrive Market, but you can also swap it for soy sauce or a vegan fish sauce.
Can I Make These Gluten Free?
Yes! I have made these gluten free myself. All you’ll need to do is get gluten free breadcrumbs, and substitute all purpose flour for either brown rice flour or chickpea flour. I have tested it with both and they work great! If you have all purpose gluten-free flour that will work as well. One thing with gluten free flour, you’ll likely need to add a little extra as they don’t soak up moisture quite as well.
I know you’re going to absolutely love these Vegan Crab Cakes. They have the appearance and taste of being fancy without any of the fuss or the price.
For the Road … here’s some more meatless seafood options:
Lots of Love,
Jackie
Print
Vegan Crab-less Cakes with Red Pepper Aioli
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 cakes 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Pan Frying
- Cuisine: East Coast
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These vegan crab cakes have all of the fresh bright flavor of a traditional crab cake but with zero crab! Chopped artichoke hearts mixed with creamy mayo, spicy dijon mustard, flavorful Worcestershire sauce and lots of fresh herbs and lemon juice, these are a true perfect recipe.
Ingredients
Scale
Crab Cakes
- 2 cups canned artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1/4 cup liquid from artichoke can
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1/2 white onion, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 tsp old bay seasoning
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour (see notes)
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (see notes)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tbs capers
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (see notes)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (see notes)
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- vegetable oil (enough to fill 1/2 inch at the bottom of a pan)
Roasted Red Pepper Aioli
- 1 cup mayo (see notes)
- 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Chop all your vegetables and drain and the artichokes, reserving 1/4 cup of the can liquid. In a large bowl combine all of the crab cake ingredients. Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are combined into kind of a paste.
- Heat the oil on your stove until it’s ready for frying. It’s ready when you splash water into it and the water sizzles.
- Dust your hands with flour so that they won’t stick to the crab cake mix. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the crab cake mix and flatten it with your hands into a cake.
- Place the crab cakes into the hot oil and cook until they’re slightly browned and crispy. This will take about 3 minutes on each side.
- Make the red pepper Aioli by placing all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Serve the crab cakes with an extra squeeze of lemon and the red pepper Aioli on the side or drizzled on top! This recipe is also delicious with my homemade tartar sauce from my fish taco recipe.
Notes
- If you’re vegan, you can substitute vegan mayo and make sure you buy vegan Worcestershire sauce. You can use soy sauce as a substitute as well
- For a gluten free option, I recommend using chickpea flour or brown rice flour. You can either buy gluten free breadcrumbs or I recommend using almond meal which has a breadcrumb-y texture.
Keywords: vegetarian, vegan, crab cake, mayo, dijon, red pepper, aioli, parsley, dill, fresh, gluten free, dinner, appetizer, sliders
